How to Hook Up a Subwoofer-Simple Guide in 2023

How to Hook Up a Subwoofer

Some people love to listen to loud music in their homes, car, for playing games, or in their home theater. So, for that, they have to pick pair of speakers. What number of speakers do you have? Your phone, computer, TV, and automobile are probably more than you realize if you count them. Anyone who wants to listen to music, watch TV, or simply browse the internet needs speakers as a basic piece of equipment.

A subwoofer is one of the best speaker types you can purchase to instantly improve your sound. These heighten the richness and bass of anything you’re listening to.

A subwoofer allows the listener to feel the bass instead of just hearing it like with ordinary speakers. Bass guitars, pipe organs, and kick drums are just a few examples of instruments that fall inside the frequency range, namely between 20 and 200 hertz. Additionally, it improves deep voices and sound effects from movies like explosions.

Subwoofers are most likely to blame if you’ve ever been to a movie theatre and experienced chair trembling whenever a significant event occurs on screen.

In order to know how to hook up a subwoofer you have to follow the following steps below:

Steps to Hook Up a Subwoofer for Cars

Method 1
Shopping for Wiring and Unplugging the Battery

• Buy a wire kit that includes all the materials required for the installation.
  The sub-woofers do not come with wires, You must therefore make your own purchase. It should include different types of wires like 16 ft (4.9m) long as well as a few connectors for use in the wiring process.
• Speaker wire, which is also available for separate purchase.
• a fuse holder and in-line 50-amp fuse.
• To connect the wires, crimp ring terminals.
• a crimp connector made of plastic for the remote wire
• 20 feet (6.1 metres) of electrical cable.
• a ground wire that is at least 3 feet (0.91 metres) long
• a 4.6 m (15 feet) long RCA cable with red and white connections.
• a 4.6 m (1.5 ft) long, blue remote wire.
• Select a stable area with good ventilation for the subwoofers.

It leaves room for the amp to be placed next to it and gives the subwoofer plenty of room. Your sound system will generate heat, so the extra room keeps it aired, extending its lifespan. The subwoofers might potentially fit somewhere else, such as underneath the driver’s seat.

Note: the amplifier should be placed as close to the subwoofers as feasible for optimum sound quality. This is less of an issue because some subwoofer systems come with an integrated amplifier.

• Before starting the car, disconnect the battery.

Open the hood after turning off your automobile with the key in the ignition. Find the battery, which will resemble a square box with two metal prongs on top and a red and black cord connecting the two. A set of metal nuts is used to secure these cables. Using a standard wrench or a socket wrench of a comparable size, turn them counterclockwise. Deactivate every electrical systems and disconnect the battery, that’s make the wire safe to touch. Make sure the red cable doesn’t make touch with bare metal, but you can keep the battery in the car.

Check the batteries before touching them, if you feel unsafe put on the safety goggles and gloves.

Method 2
Power wire routing to the engine

• Locate a hole in the firewall so you can pass the power line through it.
• Connect the subwoofer’s power cable to the battery.
• Trim the power wire’s front end by 6 inches (15 cm).
• Trim the remaining wire’s insulation to 12 in (1.3 cm).
• By crimping the exposed wire, you can attach it to the in-line fuse.
• Crimp the cut wire length and then attach it to the fuse.
• Use a ring terminal to secure the power cord to the positive battery terminal.

Method 3
Subwoofers being connected to the stereo

• From the trunk, run the RCA wires and the remote control to the stereo head.
• To access the wiring behind the stereo head, pull it out.
• Connect the colored contacts on the stereo with the RCA cable.
• Join the blue stereo wire with the blue remote wire.
• Replace the enclosure’s stereo.

Method 4
Fixing the Ground Wire to the Metal That Is Visible

• Find a metal screw or bolt that is exposed on the car’s frame.
• Scrape any paint off the bolt’s surrounding area.
• Before inserting the ground wire, remove 12 in (1.3 cm) of it.
• By putting the wire into a ring terminal, you can connect it to the bolt.

Method 5
Connecting the Subwoofers and Amplifier

• If an amp isn’t already installed, wire it.
• Connect the amplifier to the red power cord.
• In the remote slot on the amplifier, insert the blue remote wire.
• Connect the amp’s negative slot to the black ground wire.
• If the subwoofer and amp are separate, connect them together using speaker cables.
• Connect the RCA cable to the amp’s back’s colored ports.
• To test the subwoofers, reattach the cord to the negative battery terminal.

Steps to Hook Up a Subwoofer for Home Stereo

The subwoofer plays a great role to enhance any stereo system sound. The deep bass that you might be lacking can be added with a subwoofer, even if you have high-end speakers and amplifiers.

• First, turn on the subwoofer “Power On” on the menu of your preamplifier or receiver.
• Use speaker-level connections to communicate. Passive subwoofers need external amplification and hence a speaker-level connection, but certain receivers do not have a Sub Out jack.
• The Speaker cable should be connected to the subwoofer’s input terminals from the primary speaker outputs on your receiver/amplifier. correctly match the polarities and corresponding speakers (left and right) (positive, negative).
• Speaker cables should be connected from your subwoofer’s speaker outputs to the matching left and right speakers. Once more, pay attention to matching the polarities. Set the speakers on your menu to “Large” and “Off” the subwoofer.

Steps to Hook Up a Subwoofer for An Amp

Excellent addition to any sound system is the subwoofer. It enhances both music and movie soundtracks by adding the rich bass that is absent from ordinary speakers. To make your powered or passive subwoofer function, you must connect it to your amplifier.

• Subwoofer cables should be connected from your amplifier’s “Sub Out” jack to the subwoofer’s RCA input jack if it has one. It is not amplified because this is a line-level connection. Only powered subwoofers can use this connection.
• Use speaker wire to link. If your subwoofer is passive or your amplifier does not include a “Sub Out” port, you can connect the two devices similarly to how you would connect two speakers. Connect the amplifier’s Main (Left and Right) speaker output terminals to the subwoofer’s speaker inputs. Make sure that each wire strand’s polarities are the same.
• Utilize speaker wire to connect. You can connect the amplifier and subwoofer like two speakers if you have a passive sub or if your amplifier doesn’t have a “Sub Out” port. Connect the subwoofer’s speaker inputs to the amplifier’s Main (Left and Right) speaker output terminals. Make certain that the polarities of every wire strand are the same.
• Make necessary stereo adjustments. Make sure the subwoofer is turned on if you utilised the “Sub Out” jack. If you used speaker level connections, set the crossover frequencies to the required levels and set the speaker size to large. For information on available adjustments, consult the user manual for the preamplifier or subwoofer that you have.

Steps to Hook Up a Subwoofer for Home Audio System

Your home music system gains a new sonic level with a powered subwoofer. Your music’s bass response will be enhanced, and shows played on your home theatre system will have more noticeable sound effects. A subwoofer can be connected to a home audio system in two different ways. Depending on the receiver or amplifier in your system, you will utilize a different one.

• Look for a single RCA-style input labeled “Line In” or “LFE” on the rear of your subwoofer. Look for a set of speaker wire terminals with “Speaker In” or “High Level In” written on them. A matching pair of speaker terminals denoted “Speaker Out” or “High-Level Out” will also be present.
• Look for an RCA output on the rear of your receiver that is labeled “LFE” or “Sub Out.” Go to Step 3 if your receiver has this output. If this output is absent from your receiver, move on to Step 4.
• From the “LFE” or “Sub Out” RCA connection, attach a subwoofer cable to the equivalent connection on the subwoofer. This directs your receiver’s low-frequency data to your subwoofer for amplification. It is the link that home theatre receivers utilize the most frequently, and it dedicates a channel of information to low-frequency effects.
• The Speaker wire should be run from your receiver’s speaker outputs to the subwoofer’s speaker inputs. From the receiver’s “in” to the subwoofer’s “out,” move.
• Connect the left output of the receiver to the left input of the sub, then the right speaker output to the sub’s right speaker input.
• Speaker wire should be used to connect your stereo speakers to the subwoofer’s “speaker” or “high-level” outputs. The speakers will get the remaining information after the subwoofer amplifies and amplifies the low frequencies, which it filters out.
• Set the “low-pass” control knob on your subwoofer to 100 Hz and then tweak it as you listen to the sound. Setting it lower will limit the sub to the absolute lowest frequencies, whilst setting it higher will send higher notes to the sub.

How to Hookup a Subwoofer-FAQs

How should a subwoofer be connected?
The RCA (Phono) “sub” or “woofer” line out found on home theatre receivers and pre-amps is the best connection for a typical powered subwoofer. For use with a receiver or pre-amp without a sub RCA connection, some subwoofers provide “High Level inputs” (speaker wire connectors).

Can a subwoofer operate without an amp?
The answer is yes almost always. You’ll need to locate an amplifier that will power your sub unless your vehicle or boat already has a system that does so. A low-power signal (RCA output) from your head unit is often available for use with an amplifier to drive your subwoofer.

Speaker cable may be used to connect a subwoofer, right?
Subwoofers can function with speaker wire even if they are intended to be used with their own unique wires.

How can I connect my RCA cable to a subwoofer?
The Subwoofer Output on the back of your receiver will receive the other end of the subwoofer/RCA wire. The label for this output jack may read SUB, SUB OUT, SUB PREOUT, etc. The L/LFE (white) RCA jack on the rear of your subwoofer will receive the cable’s opposite end.

Where do I connect my receiver to my subwoofer?
The best way to connect a subwoofer is through the receiver’s subwoofer output, which is usually designated SUB OUT or SUBWOOFER, using an LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) connection. This kind of subwoofer output is available on almost all home theatre receivers, processors, and certain stereo receivers.

Can you connect subwoofers to a standard radio?
A great way to improve your sound while keeping your factory settings is to add a subwoofer to a factory system. Low-frequency sounds can be produced by clever equipment, including bass and sub-bass. Fortunately, wiring one into an existing car sound system is not too difficult.

How are a subwoofer and amplifier connected to the factory radio?
Installing a 4-channel amplifier with speaker-level inputs is the norm. The amp’s input signal should be connected to the stereo’s speaker outputs if you want to connect it to a factory system. Send the amp’s outputs back to the stereo’s harness, and from there, use the original wire to connect them to the speakers.

How can I connect my back speakers to my subs?
You can simply connect a powered subwoofer to the rear speaker wires because some (many) of them have high-level inputs. Use the speaker cable from the factory-installed sub if your car has one. You can use a straight line-out converter that connects to the speaker wires and transforms them into an RCA output if it lacks high-level inputs.

Can you use a subwoofer as a speaker?
Even if the subwoofer had clearly defined output and input capabilities, using it as a speaker would only result in a minimal amount of audio emission. Although it is technically feasible to use it in this manner, it is not advised due to the risk of your sound equipment being harmed.

What cables will my subwoofer require?
Nick, We recommend utilizing 12- to 16-gauge cables when wiring subwoofers.

How to Hookup a Subwoofer-Conclusion

By following the steps given above you can easily connect your subwoofer with safety measures and perfect fitting. We hope this procedure will help you how to hook up your subwoofer on your own.
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