Attach PC subwoofer to AVR?

[am_dew]

I am sure most of you will think this is crazy to think about doing, but bear with me.

I have been looking for a small subwoofer for my bedroom's 5.1 surround sound system. I don't need anything big or powerful, just something that will give me a little more thump than what I get from my front, center, and surround speakers. I found a powered 2.1 computer speaker system which has a 5" subwoofer which normally you would connect to a computer's sound card using a cable with a 1/8" male stereo connector on the end. The question I have is, assuming I get the right gender changers to make the connections, will my AVR's subwoofer output supply the proper signal to the computer subwoofer? It seems like this should work, but would like to hear any comments.

 

[ssddx]

sure, its been done before.

if your subwoofer have an aux input just connect using that from the sub pre out. if not, you may need to isolate the sub signal on the 3.5mm connection (remember its expecting C/Sub on one line) and use that.

its possible though the sub may be underpowered and might not sound as nice as the rest of your speakers do.

 

[am_dew]

Thanks. I will give it a try. The sub has a hard-wired cable going into it with the green 3.5mm male connector on the other end, which I will attach to a 3.5mm female -> stereo RCA adapter, which I will then plug into the AVR sub out. And yes, I may very well find out that it will be underpowered, but it's worth a shot.

 

[ssddx]

now that you put it that way... you're correct the 2.1 sets DO have a single 3.5mm only (not sure why i was thinking cen/sub like in a 5.1 setup before).

those 2.1 sets pull the low tones from the L/R stereo signal going into them so it makes it even easier to hook up than a 5.1 system would.

been a long day.. should have caught that

 

[am_dew]

No problem, thanks for your input. I've got it working, but yea, the subwoofer is severely underpowered in relation to the rest of my system. I have to turn the sub gain up to max on everything -- the AVR and the sub's own volume adjustment -- to hear it much at all. The sub I am using is from the Logitech Z313 2.1 computer speakers, which is rated at 25 watts so I was not expecting too much, but I thought it might be more than what I am getting because it is fairly loud when attached to a computer. I guess I will look at budget subwoofer options intended for home theater use.

 

[ssddx]

perhaps look into the dayton sub-800 for about $90. it scores good marks despite the low price (just as daytons speakers do).

i figured that the subwoofer from pc speakers wouldnt be too great though the z313 really was asking too much. its a good little set for the money though its severely underpowered compared to any home theater equipment.

 

[am_dew]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I ended up ordering this one: http://www.amazon.com/Cyber-Acoustics-Subwoofer-Satellite-CA-3602a/dp/B0027VT6V4

The reviews are good, it's got a line level input, and it's less than half the cost of the Dayton. I am sure the Dayton would be vastly superior but I'm hoping the CA one will be good enough for my needs.

 

[ssddx]

CA speaker quality is generally inferior compared to other brands.

that also appears to be another set of pc speakers so i think you're going to end up in the same boat as before.

 

[am_dew]

Perhaps, but for the price I am willing to give them a try. I will find out Friday and post the results.