Everything you need to hook up subs

Do I need an amp to hook up a subwoofer?

If youre installing a subwoofer that comes with a built-in amp, you wont have to hook up speaker wires, but you will have to install a patch cord (or tap into your speaker leads for the input signal). Youll need an amplifier wiring kit for power, ground and turn-on leads.

How many subwoofers should you put in a subwoofer box?

It’s best to start with a subwoofer combo in which 1 or 2 subwoofers are correctly matched to the box. In most cases, a brand name box with speakers is designed specifically to work well with the speakers based on their particular characteristics. This is the most convenient option for some people.

What equipment do I need to install a bass subwoofer?

An enclosure designed for bass to install the subwoofer in (or a preassembled subwoofer box) An amplifier with a low-pass crossover feature and enough power to drive your subwoofer (150W RMS or above is recommended)

Do subwoofers come with screws?

Most component subwoofers dont come with hardware, so you might have to provide your own screws. Also, you might need speaker wires and hardware to connect the speaker to the terminal cup in the box. Finally, find some brackets or straps to hold the enclosure in your vehicle.

How to connect a subwoofer to an amplifier?

There are a few ways that one can expect to connect a subwoofer to an amplifier, receiver, or processor (also known as a home theater receiver). The most common method is done by connecting the subwoofer to the SUB OUT or LFE output of a receiver/amplifier. But you might also come across a subwoofer that uses stereo RCA or speaker wire connections.

Do subwoofers need to be wired differently?

Subwoofers require a lot of power, so they have to be wired to both a power source, like a car’s battery, and an amplifier. After connecting them to the stereo speakers, run a separate wire to a ground source, such as an exposed metal bolt, for safety.

Do you need an amplifier for a subwoofer in a car?

A subwoofer is, again, kind of a massive machine, and most subwoofers are going to require more power than your car can provide on its own. As such, prospective buyers are best off just accepting (from the start) the fact that they’re going to have to purchase some kind of amplifier in order to have a functioning subwoofer in their car.

How do you hook up a subwoofer to a car?

Lastly, you need a solid ground cable connected to a bolt somewhere in the trunk out your car, make sure its connected to bare metal; if there is a paint coating covering the metal its best to sand it down for the best connection. Once you have a properly wired car youre ready to hook up your amp to your subwoofers.

Do subwoofers add power to speakers?

Some subwoofers are designed to extend the system’s bass response without filtering bass from the signal driving the main speakers. Although this technique doesn’t add a crossover to the signal path, it doesn’t increase the power handling of the main speakers, either.

What is a subwoofer?

A low-frequency driver in an enclosure with an output extending to 40Hz and used with small satellite speakers is more properly called a woofer. You’ll also see full-range speakers with a built-in “subwoofer” powered by its own amplifier. Most of these products actually employ woofers that are simply driven by an integral power amplifier.

How to connect a powered subwoofer to a home stereo system?

For example, if you were connecting to a home stereo system, you’d connect the sub to the system with RCA cables and connect the powered sub to the wall for its power supply. It can be difficult to determine which type of subwoofer you need for your audio system.

Can you put a subwoofer in a two-channel system?

It’s still quite possible to blend a subwoofer smoothly into a two-channel system by running the main speakers full-range and using the crossover built into the sub to filter the mids and highs out of the sub. But you have to do three things to get it to sound good: