what do i need to use a my sub w/ monitors

J

jcmuse

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 10, 2006
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329
i've got some Swan D1080MkIIs which i really enjoy but i also have a hsu stf-2 that i want to take advantage of.
i'm using a usb dac to output analog to my monitors, i'm under the impression i just need some sort of splitter device to split the analog output so that i can plug one into my monitors and one into my sub.

Where can i buy such a splitter? a link would be appreciated! thanks
 
Okay, so your USB interface doesn't have a subwoofer output, first of all? If not then you're only going to get one channel of bass going to the subwoofer because if I linked you a cable to mix the left and right in then it would affect your speakers as well. Your options:

-Live with only one channel having bass, which might mean missing out on some bass
-Use a sound card/interface with a subwoofer output
-Use an external amplifier if your speakers let you, run high level inputs into the subwoofer and then run your speakers to the subwoofer
-Get an active crossover from a brand like Behringer and separate out the subwoofer stuff and then you can combine them with a simple cable
-Get a cheap mixer or, really, any sort of buffering thing so that you can combine the output of it without affecting your original signal


The first option would need these cables:
- http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=2 (use one on the subwoofer and ignore the other)
- http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021802&p_id=667&seq=1&format=2 (the splitter)
 
Last edited:
If the RCA output and the headphone output are independent then you can combine the output for the subwoofer and use the headphone jack for your speakers... if they are not then you can use an optical DAC for one output and the analog output for the other.

To use the analog output for the subwoofer, you would need:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=663&seq=1&format=2
and a regular RCA cable that you may already have: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=659&seq=1&format=2
 
dandragonrage said:
Okay, so your USB interface doesn't have a subwoofer output, first of all? If not then you're only going to get one channel of bass going to the subwoofer because if I linked you a cable to mix the left and right in then it would affect your speakers as well. Your options:

-Live with only one channel having bass, which might mean missing out on some bass
Click to expand...

Why would it matter if you only use 1 channel? Bass signals are mixed in mono so each channel "should" get the identical Bass frequency.
 
Zepher said:
Why would it matter if you only use 1 channel? Bass signals are mixed in mono so each channel "should" get the identical Bass frequency.
Click to expand...

No, not really. 5.1/7.1 soundtracks have mono bass but not necessarily other material (and even 5.1 material can still have significant bass on the front channels).
 
dandragonrage said:
No, not really. 5.1/7.1 soundtracks have mono bass but not necessarily other material (and even 5.1 material can still have significant bass on the front channels).
Click to expand...

Is he decoding 5.1/7.1 with his audio setup and stereo monitors?
 
Zepher said:
If that's what you think, then you are mistaken.
Click to expand...

The point is that stereo material is far more likely to have stereo bass than 5.1 material with a single dedicated channel for it is. Or, rather, I should say music is more likely to have stereo bass. The LFE channel is not that good with music except for REALLY low bass, like < 50Hz instead of < 80Hz or so with movies.

That subwoofer has a pretty poorly configured amplifier as far as connection options go.
 
dandragonrage said:
If the RCA output and the headphone output are independent then you can combine the output for the subwoofer and use the headphone jack for your speakers... if they are not then you can use an optical DAC for one output and the analog output for the other.

To use the analog output for the subwoofer, you would need:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=663&seq=1&format=2
and a regular RCA cable that you may already have: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=659&seq=1&format=2
Click to expand...

headphone and rca are independent so im outputting the rca to speakers and headphone to subwoofer. However, im using only the right channel connector going to sub. You're saying i need to get this:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=663&seq=1&format=2
to mix the two bass channels into one? So bass isnt the same on each channel? Im listening to stereo music.
 
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