BASX A-100 and subwoofer

[bertmacho]

I have a BASX A-100 and was thinking of getting a subwoofer.  Can I just wire it into the speaker posts alongside my regular speakers or do I need something else?  Is this even possible or do I need a new amp?  I haven't picked out a subwoofer so any recommendations would be good (around $200 or $300)

In your opinion, will I gain much by adding one?  According to listenbrainz, my top artists are either white men with guitars (The Smiths, The Who, The Clash) or rap (Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Ice-T)

Thanks for your consideration

[KeithL]

That is one option... although that will depend on the sub.

Most modern home theater gear has a separate LINE LEVEL subwoofer output...

And so all modern subwoofers have a line level input (or a stereo pair).

This input can ONLY be connected to a LINE LEVEL output... and so not a speaker output.

If you want to take the simple approach - and connect the sub to the SPEAKER outputs, you'll need a sub that has SPEAKER LEVEL inputs.

In the old days a lot of subs had this option but today many do not.

Our Emotiva Flex Subs DO include this option.

Note that, by doing it this way, you lose one of the benefits of using a sub... which is that the low frequencies that are sent to the sub are NOT sent to your main speakers.

So the speakers and amp don't have to work quite as hard.

(To be quite honest, unless you play loud music with a lot of bass, and your main speakers don't handle bass well, this isn't a big concern for playing music.)

There are actually a few ways you can do this with a Flex Sub and an A-100....

But the drawback is that the Volume control on the A-100 will no longer control the Volume on the sub.

(Odds are using a speaker-level connection will work fine for you - so just make sure you select a sub that supports that option.)

Feb 21, 2022 10:42:57 GMT -5 bertmacho said:

I have a BASX A-100 and was thinking of getting a subwoofer.  Can I just wire it into the speaker posts alongside my regular speakers or do I need something else?  Is this even possible or do I need a new amp?  I haven't picked out a subwoofer so any recommendations would be good (around $200 or $300)

In your opinion, will I gain much by adding one?  According to listenbrainz, my top artists are either white men with guitars (The Smiths, The Who, The Clash) or rap (Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Ice-T)

Thanks for your consideration

[bertmacho]

Feb 21, 2022 10:58:35 GMT -5 KeithL said:

That is one option... although that will depend on the sub.

Most modern home theater gear has a separate LINE LEVEL subwoofer output...

And so all modern subwoofers have a line level input (or a stereo pair).

This input can ONLY be connected to a LINE LEVEL output... and so not a speaker output.

If you want to take the simple approach - and connect the sub to the SPEAKER outputs, you'll need a sub that has SPEAKER LEVEL inputs.

In the old days a lot of subs had this option but today many do not.

Our Emotiva Flex Subs DO include this option.

Note that, by doing it this way, you lose one of the benefits of using a sub... which is that the low frequencies that are sent to the sub are NOT sent to your main speakers.

So the speakers and amp don't have to work quite as hard.

(To be quite honest, unless you play loud music with a lot of bass, and your main speakers don't handle bass well, this isn't a big concern for playing music.)

There are actually a few ways you can do this with a Flex Sub and an A-100....

But the drawback is that the Volume control on the A-100 will no longer control the Volume on the sub.

(Odds are using a speaker-level connection will work fine for you - so just make sure you select a sub that supports that option.)

Gotcha - thanks.  It makes more sense now.