Is it possible to power a sub with a receiver?

[scruffy57]

I have the onkyo tx-sr607. I am planning on building a subwoofer. I was wondering since I am only going to use 5.1, can I use the extra 2 channels to power a passive subwoofer? I didn't know if it was possible to use a crossover to filter out the high frequency or something.

I am going to go ahead and apologize for my ignorance on home audio.

thanks for your help!

[Kal Rubinson]

You cannot do that as you wish. There's no way to insert the proper filters in those outputs. You would have to add an external amp for the sub.

[ribd1]

scruffy57....

yes it can be done...your sub would have to have two drivers to feed one with the left amp output and the other with the right...or build two seperate subs and feed them independently...you would need a crossover to filter the high-pass...check out www.partsexpress.com you can get a basic 12db octave crossover that is pre-built, I think they only go down to 80hz...this would be fine if you are using it for hometheater. It would be ok for music, but a little high for most tastes...otherwise you'd have to build your own crossover to accomodate your needs. The only problem you may encounter is you might need to also get a passive volume control(also available from partsexpress) to balance the sub. I hope this all makes sense. Goodluck!

[Kal Rubinson]

scruffy57....

yes it can be done...your sub would have to have two drivers to feed one with the left amp output and the other with the right...or build two seperate subs and feed them independently...you would need a crossover to filter the high-pass...check out www.partsexpress.com you can get a basic 12db octave crossover that is pre-built, I think they only go down to 80hz...this would be fine if you are using it for hometheater. It would be ok for music, but a little high for most tastes...otherwise you'd have to build your own crossover to accomodate your needs. The only problem you may encounter is you might need to also get a passive volume control(also available from partsexpress) to balance the sub. I hope this all makes sense. Goodluck!

Sounds pretty kludgy and inflexible to me. Good integration of the sub will require some adjustability in level and crossover.

Another (imho, better) approach would be to buy a plate amp, made for just this purpose.

[ribd1]

you're absolutely right...a plate amp or out-board sub amp would be much easier, flexible, and cost effective...but yes, it could be done...

[jeffc52053]

Receiver

If the Onkyo is truly a 5.1 receiver, it should have a "Sub-Out" output for a dedicated amp. That's the .1 in 5.1, RF/LF, RR/LR, center and sub.