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Sub wolfer advice

Hey guys I need some advise on a power sub. Here is my set up. Krell FPB 400CX & Krell KCT pre-amp with BMW speakers. I have never run a power sub before. I will be running my transparent cables from the amp to the power sub. Then another set of cables out of the sub into my BMW's. The sub will be 2ft away from my right speaker. Do I need to keep both lengths of speaker wire coming out of the sub into my BMW's the same length or can I run a short speaker lead from the sub to my BMW speaker that is sitting next to the sub or am I splitting hairs?

Next question should the speaker wirer coming out of my amp going into the powered sub need to be the same quality of wire going into the speakers?

Thanks guys for all your help in advance. Hope this makes sense. Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Chip
dancer
dancer OP
56 posts
 
Thanks Dave it was nice talking to you on the phone. I want to thank all you other guys as well for your quick responses. You guys have given me a lot to think about. Little did I know there was that much to know about a sub. I guess you are never too old to learn. Time to go out tomorrow and look for a sub. I will be running the sub out of my pre-amp RCA's into the sub. Seems like this is the best way to go.
hifihvn
943 posts
 
Before you follow through connecting the Krell to a subwoofer, please read page 2 (PDF reader) under "warnings", at the very beginning of the manual. This is what Almarg was referring to above. Manual link.[http://www.krellonline.com/assets/support/0162_020_MAN.pdf]
dancer OP
56 posts
 
Hey guys thanks for the heads up. I just purchased a Rel R-528 sub. According to the salesmen this sub is made for two channel operation. Looks like I better call Krell to find out more about this. I've had the sub playing and I must say it's giving me the depth and detail I have been looking for. Thanks again for the heads up as I stated I will be giving Krell a call tomorrow. Any body using this sub is their another way of hooking this sub up. I am going to go through the manual and read on but you know how we are. When you get a new toy the last thing you do is read the manual.
hifihvn
943 posts
 
I would call Krell or the dealer, and let them work it out. I wouldn't try anything else (especially some different connection yet IMO) without finding out first. It does have a common speaker ground wire, but shows (REL) hooking it (Neutrik Speakon) up to a one channel ground. I don't have any idea whether this is OK or not. Who knows if anything else shares a ground, like the power cord. Maybe email them the link for the manual, and let them (dealer or Krell) worry about it, and tell you. [http://www.sumikoaudio.net/rel/manuals/REL_Serie_R_Manual_08-08-11.pdf][http://www.krellonline.com/assets/support/0162_020_MAN.pdf]
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Hifihvn, thanks for providing the links.

Dancer, note that on page 6 of the manual for the sub (pdf page 7) it is specifically cautioned that if speaker-level connections are used, the ground wire from the sub should NOT be connected to the negative output terminal of a balanced amplifier. Otherwise there is a good chance that damage to the amp will occur, as I explained earlier.

The sub manual suggests that if speaker-level connections are used, the ground wire from the sub should be connected to the amp chassis. That will probably work fine, but as I indicated earlier it would be a good idea to first verify that the chassis and internal circuit grounds are common, either with a multimeter or by asking Krell.

REL generally advises that speaker-level connections are sonically preferable to line-level RCA connections, as you'll see in the manual. That is a somewhat controversial position, and there is undoubtedly no one right answer that is universally applicable. The only way to definitively tell which method is preferable in your system, to you, is to try them both.

Regards,
-- Al
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