Does speaker-level input to sub by pass its electronics?

I've used HGS-15s & 10s for years, but not with high-level input.  It's the high-gain servo function I want to preserve.  I'm not familiar with how high-level input functions.  A local is selling an HGS-15 that I might use with the Ayre A7e to supplement KEF LS50s.  I assume I just add a second pair of speaker leads.  The other possibility is a REL T/5i or T/7i.

My primary setup has a pair of HGS-15s that supplement KEF Reference 1s, and use a pair of SMS-1s for acoustic room correction.  I also have a pair of HGS-10s that I hope to try in a distributed bass setup.

db

no

There’s no part of that amp you want to bypass.

If you want to start modding or DIY'ing a sub, consider making your own from scratch.

The "speaker level input" on a subwoofer goes into a "voltage divider network", which derives a line-level signal from the speaker-level signal.  This line-level signal then goes into the subwoofer's electronics, including the gain control, low-pass frequency control, and any others, before going to the power amp section and being amplified to actually drive the woofer.  

If you use the "line level input", there would be no need for the voltage divider network, but everything else would be in the signal path.  

Some subwoofers have an "LFE input", which is designed to accept the LFE channel output from a processor.  In this case the gain and frequency and EQ (if any) have already been set by the processor, and all that's left is for the subwoofer's amplifier section to amplify the signal and drive the woofer.  

Given that the motion feedback feature is part the amplifier section, it would be active in any of the above scenarios.   

Duke

Duke, thanks for the explanation.  It gives me much more understanding of high-level input to a sub, and confidence in using it.

Erik, I have no interest in bypassing the amp or HGS function.  To the contrary, I was concerned that speaker-level input might treat the subs as ordinary 15" speakers, but the high input impedance of subs is always stressed as the reason it doesn't stress the amp.

I'll ask Ayre if they see a problem with high-level input from the A7e to a sub, but now I doubt they will.

db