The signal to the powered subwoofer is very very low level we are speaking in ohms. The preamplifier is
The most accurate signal without question.
Call SVS .Velodyne, or any company why would low level sound better ,then you need to put extra speaker wires in the chain and extra connectors coming off the speaker.
Think about it the signal has to be sent from the preamplifier First before it even gets to the speaker .
Then has to be processed through the Xover network. The original sourse signal without question
Is line or high level in pro audio allways daisy chained with multi subwoofers using XLl.
My uncle has been in pro audio for many years and I just followed what JL audio said .
Remember you are not caring and current like with a speaker wire ,just a low voltage signal to
Direct the subwoofers signal. Thst being said buy a good pair for $ 150-250'a very good pair
$50 you loose articulation and detail in the bass .i had bunches to compare to .the conductors are beefier
As well as isolation and rf rejection . Just call the companies when in doubt.
I'm sure Audiophile58 is well intentioned but I feel compelled to respectfully push back on a few points in his post. Presented is a list of commonly accepted Industry Talking Points. The opinions expressed appear to be based on what other people have told him and not necessairly based on personal experience (comparing Line Level (interconnect) connections to Speaker Level (speaker wire) connections on a Sub in his system). There was a time in the past when I would have accepted these statements without much question.
First of all I think it is important to differentiate between Home Theater Multi-channel systems and basic Two-Channel Music systems with a Sub. I had an expensive Multi-channel HT system with all the Digital bells & whistles. I used all the fancy digital tools and problem was I never could get High Quality music reproduction. Home Theater sounded great but not Music. Needless to say I sold all my HT gear in favor for a much simpler and much better sounding 2-channel music system.
So all of my comments (yes opinions) will be with regard to 2-channel music reproduction only and my personal experience (not something someone told me). The point here is that how you connect a Sub in an HT application is not necessarily the best sounding connection method for a dedicated 2-channel music system based on my personal experience and direct comparisons. Results may vary with different systems but as I stated earlier I think it is worth trying both.
I think Audiophile58's points actually support my original points in favor of Speaker Level connections:
The signal to the powered subwoofer is very very low level we are speaking in ohms. The preamplifier is The most accurate signal without question. Call SVS .Velodyne, or any company why would low level sound better ,then you need to put extra speaker wires in the chain and extra connectors coming off the speaker.Quote from REL website (
http://rel.net/support/faq/): "Unless your amplifier does not allow for High Level Connection we always recommend using the High Level Connection. The purpose of using the High Level Input, instead of the Low Level Input, and connecting to the speaker output terminals is one of the unique secrets of REL’s success. By connecting to the high-level input on the REL from the amplifier you build forward the sonic signature of your main system, including the tonal balance and timing cues of the entire electronics chain. In this way, the REL sub is fed the exact signal that is fed to the main speakers. This is a very important point and together with REL’s Active Bass Controller (ABC), ensures far superior system integration of the sub-bass with the main system."
This statement
"The preamplifier is The most accurate signal without question." is basically an admission that the signal being sent to the mains via Speaker Level connection is different than the signal being sent to a Sub via Line Level interconnect connection. Every device (source, pre-amp, amp) tend to have a sonic signature. So as REL suggests, when your mains reproduce low frequencies with a Sonic Signature from the amp and the Sub reproduces low frequencies with a different Sonic Signature from the pre-amp the result is not always seamless. In my system the differences between the two connection methods is more than subtle.
Think about it the signal has to be sent from the preamplifier First before it even gets to the speaker .Then has to be processed through the Xover network. I'm a little confused about extra speaker wires and a crossover network. In my original post I think I was pretty clear that I'm running the Main Speakers Full Range (no crossover to degrade the music signal). Seems to me if you run Left & Right channel interconnects to the Sub or a second set of Left & Right channel speaker wires to the Sub there are no extra wires?
The original sourse signal without question Is line or high level in pro audio allways daisy chained with multi subwoofers using XLl. My uncle has been in pro audio for many years and I just followed what JL audio said . Remember you are not caring and current like with a speaker wire ,just a low voltage signal to Direct the subwoofers signal. Thst being said buy a good pair for $ 150-250'a very good pair $50 you loose articulation and detail in the bass .i had bunches to compare to .the conductors are beefier As well as isolation and rf rejection . Just call the companies when in doubt.
This makes my point that Line Level (interconnect) connections are more susceptible to picking up noise & hum (especially in longer runs). Rather than a $250 interconnect I use inexpensive CAT-5 computer network cable to connect from the amp to the Sub. Cat-5 is designed to reject noise in sensitive computer network systems. The Sub amp draws virtually no current from your main amplifier so small gauge CAT-5 conductors work just fine.
