How Many Times Can You Split A Subwoofer Signal Using A "Y" Connector?
My Marantz AV7705 preamp processor has two line level rca subwoofer pre-outs.
I am trying to emulate the Audio Kinesis SWARM subwoofer system.
Can I connect four or eight powered subwoofers to the system using y-connectors?
Can you split a single subwoofer signal into two or four signals?
These are the subwoofers I'm considering using...I'd like to use eight subs if the signal doesn't degrade from having it split so many times.
Each sub has a 12 inch driver with a 115 watt internal amp (230 watt peak)
Klipsch R-120SWi wireless subwoofer...
I will hard-wire the subs, I will not go wireless
SPECIFICATIONS: FREQUENCY RESPONSE 29Hz - 120Hz
MAXIMUM ACOUSTIC OUTPUT 115 dB
AMPLIFIER All Digital AMPLIFIER POWER (CONT/PEAK) 115W RMS/230W
Low-pass, 0/180 phase, Auto Power On
12” high excursion spun-copper IMG woofer MDF Bass-Reflex via rear-firing port
Line level/LFE RCA jacks 16.5” (419 mm) 14” (356 mm) 19.2” ( 488mm) 31 lbs
Assuming all subwoofer input impedances are the same, you divide the input impedance of one by the number of total inputs. So, if you have a 40K input impedance, but 5 subwoofers: 40,000 / 5 = 8,000 final impedance. Whether your preamp can drive that or not is another story. An alternative to the swarm is documented at the miniDSP site here. |
Your prepro should have 2 XLR outs and 2 rca outs for subwoofers, i.e. 4 sub outs already. You can get great results with fewer subs if you place them correctly, understand how to create "virtual subs", etc. Eight subs seems willy-nilly (poor understanding) but, the swarm salesman would probably have more sales. For a single listening position, you could get great results even with a single sub or 2 subs, if you have freedom of placement.. For more than 1 listening position, you might creep up to 4.The question you may ask yourself is..."Is taking care of your seat good enough? Or is the non-audiophile mother-in-law’s seat that important?" (Nevertheless, you could also try some minidsp 2 in, 8 out, etc kit. Minidsp and dayton products have utility, but tend to be lower quality junk, not the same as a Yamaha, Sony, Marantz prepro)
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@mitch4t the answer depends on the source output impedance as to how many you can drive, but my thought is this, IF you are using room correction for a swarm of subs, each one will need its own phase and delay setting and if the receiver only has one output for a sub, then about all you can get away with is two off the one output. With them equal distant from the listening position and the settings the same they should sound good, but add more and it just muddies the water and bass definition will suffer. But lets say you add 4 subs to the mix, balancing output from each of those 4 is going to difficult if not impossible to do manually, and if that is enough load on the sub output from the receiver, you may hear Pink Floyd singing quietly in the background, talking to the 4 subs, saying: "share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie." :) |
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