subwoofer not working when plugged in to c/sub port

[shiftyape]

i have the sub plugged into the c/sub port via a RCA - 3.5mm converter. my stereo speakers are plugged into the normal port. in realtek audio manager, when i do the sound test thing, i can hear noise on the subwoofer, but it is super quiet. (btw its in 5.1 speaker mode, speaker fill and swap center / subwoofer output are checked.) please help me guys... i have no idea what im doing wrong. when i play music my subwoofer makes no noise.

 

[Guest]

Is the subwoofer powered? The audio outs on a pc are tiny under a watt, anything outside of headphones will need an amp of some kind.

 

[shiftyape]

Is the subwoofer powered? The audio outs on a pc are tiny under a watt, anything outside of headphones will need an amp of some kind.

oh i see. im not sure if it is powered but i guess it isnt. how expensive are amps? what kind would i need for a pc? thanks btw

 

[shiftyape]

this is probably a dumb question, but is there any way to make an amp out of spare parts? like a power supply or old speakers or something like that? either that or somehow routing more power to the audio port?

 

[Guest]

with what you have you will need a receiver. that subwoofer is designed to get power and signal from somewhere, your pc can give signal but the problem is power. I do not see this happening without more equipment. if your gonna buy something to hook it up may as well get powered pc speakers with a sub.
http://www.amazon.com/Cyber-Acoustics-CA-3000-Subwoofer-Satellite/dp/B00005BC0K/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1428027007&sr=1-1&keywords=powered+subwoofer