How to Hook Up Dual Powered Subwoofers for a Home Theatre

If you want hard hitting and dynamic movie theater sound at home, then the addition of powered subwoofers will enhance your home theater experience greatly. When you add the right equipment to your home theater setup, you'll produce a greater dynamic range of sounds and be able to both hear and feel the bass for that true movie theater experience.

Things You'll Need

• 3 Quality subwoofer cables
• Female subwoofer cable Y-splitter
• Selection of music for testing purposes

Instructions

How To Hook Up Dual Powered Subwoofers for a Home Theater

1. Position one subwoofer between the left front and center channel speaker and place the other between the right front and center channel speaker. The subwoofers should be on the same horizontal plane as the front speakers. It is also acceptable for the subwoofers to be slightly behind the plane of the main speakers, such as during corner placement. However corner placement tends to yield boomier, less-accurate bass overall and should only be used to reinforce the bass of lower-powered subwoofers.

2. Connect the powered subwoofers to the receiver using a high-quality subwoofer cable and Y-splitter. The Y-splitter plugs into the male end of each subwoofer cable, the other end of each cable plugs into the "line in" jack on each powered subwoofer. Another subwoofer cable will plug into the singular end of the Y-splitter and connect to your receiver using the "LFE/Subwoofer" input. Y-splitters and subwoofer cables are available at retailers that sell subwoofers, such as BestBuy.

3. Select the right crossover frequency for your powered subwoofers. If the rest of your system is composed of larger floor-standing speakers, a low crossover of 50 to 60 hertz (Hz) is possible. If you are using bookshelf speakers, a crossover between 70 and 100 Hz is desirable. For the smallest satellite speakers, choose a crossover of 120 to 150 Hz.

4. Adjust the output of your powered subwoofers. Play a song you are familiar with that contains a steady bass line. Turn the output knob on the back of the subwoofers, increasing their output volume until the bass sounds right to you. In general, the bass should not be so loud that it overpowers the music. However, it should also not be so low that your system sounds thin and lacks impact. Both powered subwoofers should be set to the same output volume level.

5. Set the phase control switch. On the back of the powered subwoofers will be a phase-control switch. This switch typically has two settings--0 and 180 degrees. Play the test song again and try both positions. Make sure both subs are set to the same position. Whichever setting yields the most bass is correct. If you cannot tell a difference, use the 0-degree setting.

Tips & Warnings

• When using two subwoofers, make sure they are both the same size, make and model. This will ensure even frequency response and keep the subs working together and not against each other. Two subwoofers usually result in more even bass coverage with less peaks and dips in bass output, especially in larger rooms. Using two subwoofers means that the volume of the output load on each subwoofer is reduced by half. This results in cleaner bass with less distortion.

• If you hear your powered subwoofers distorting or making clicking sounds during movies or music, either turn down the volume or buy larger, more powerful, subwoofers.