How to connect this lot?

[Alec]

Well, i say lot, just the Audioengine A5s and the Q Acoustics 100i Series sub...? Is it do-able?

This is one of those "for a friend" things, so i may be a little patchy on some details but we shall see.

It is for 2.1 music listening so thought itd be ok here.

 

[John Duncan]

Unlikely, because of the A5's powered nature. WIll investigate their connectivity...

 

[Alec]

Thanks John.

 

[Alec]

How about this?

 

[John Duncan]

That was my first thought after looking at the sockets round the back of the A5 - take the stereo line out from there into the mono (presumably) in on the sub. No warranty given...

 

[Alec]

I have recieved the following from the chap im trying to help. what do you think? If you could use baby language id be grateful.

"the dual RCA to single RCA is what is needed I think as I have a dual RCA sub out on my speakers and the sub has a single RCA line in, correct?

So I plug that adapter into the back of the sub, then use individual RCA leads from each of the outs on my speakers to that adapter. - the link would go something like this, dual RCA leads from my speakers into the adapter, then the single RCA male into the sub.

Also I have a 3.5mm to dual RCA adapter, so that can come out of my sound card and the dual RCA leads from the aforementioned adapter go into the adapter connected to the sub. - the link would be, 3.5mm out of the sound card to dual RCA leads, those leads would plug into the next adapter, then the male RCA of that adapter goes into the sub."

 

[Alec]

anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[Alec]

OK, if no one replies, ill give it a rest but it is quite urgent so if anyone at all has any opinion on if the suggestion in my last but one post would work id really be very grateful.

 

[John Duncan]

His description sounds wrong, can't figure out what he's doing with the 3.5 jack to twin RCA...I think the way to do it would be 3.5mm jack from laptop to 3.5mm jack in on the A5s, then use the line out from the A5s (I'm assuming - cf guessing - that the line out will feed the full-range signal without cutting out the speakers), via short phono leads to the stereo-to-mono adapter, then use single long sub lead to the sub...

 

[Alec]

Damn.

Thanks John.

 

[Alec]

Now, I've been reading a couple of reviews of the A5s and doing some thinking. There is a double connection that functions as an rca sub out on the back of the speakers, right?

Then there is a single rca input to the speakers. So i think you could just use a double rca to single rca lead and the soundcard needn't come in to it...?

My logic is that the sound (including all the bass) goes into the left speaker which "serves" the right speaker. But, i think, it would send the correct bass frequencies not into the right speaker but into the sub if connected correctly?

One of the reviews even says any sub will do...

EDIT And yet i cant find a 2 male to 1 male rca lead. Damn!!!

 

[John Duncan]

The soundcard needs to come into it because it's what's putting the signal into the speakers in the first place (unless he goes wireless, but that's another thread).

So - the input from the laptop goes into the 3.5 jack on the A5s, for a 2.0 setup to start with. Then, because the A5s have a line out, use that to feed the sub using the stereo-into-mono connector mentioned above.

You can put the connector at either end, but personally I'd use a very short stereo pair at the Audioengine end and run a long subwoofer cable from the adapter to the sub - if only to avoid having to buy a long stereo pair to reach the sub when you want to turn it into mono anyway. The signal from the audioengines will be full-range, but the sub should filter the high freqs out at the crossover.

 

[chebby]

Audioengine do their own subwoofer (A8) to use with their powered speakers so this must be do-able.

Their A8 sub has RCA phono and 3.5mm minijack inputs

I will have a dig.

Quote from Audioengine's FAQ site...

"Can I use a subwoofer with Audioengine speakers?



Even though Audioengine speakers have huge low end which will easily
fill a room and rival floorstanding speakers many times their size, you
can also connect an external sub if you wish. We've recently added RCA
subwoofer outputs to the rear panel to make connecting a powered
subwoofer even easier. These are full-range outputs so the crossover
frequency and volume can be dialed in on the sub. You can even connect
an Airport Express to your sub and send a separate audio stream from
iTunes for a wireless subwoofer!"

 

[Tony_R]

al7478:How about this?

If you use an adaptor like the one in the link, and plug the left / right outputs in to it, it'll combine the l/r channels and make the signal mono.

I remember reading somewhere, that on vinyl, deep bass (below about 70hz or so I think) is mono - not sure if the same applies to CDs.

However, to make this work you would need to combine the left and right channels with a 47k resistor in each channel. This will avoid making the source mono.

47k

L --------////---------|

---------- mono (or stereo combined L/R signal if you prefer!)

R -------////---------|/

47k

Please pardon the crude diagram.

Tony.

 

[John Duncan]

Low-bass is non-directional (as opposed to true mono), and all subs are mono so only require a mono signal for LF.

 

[Alec]

Thanks for all the contributions folks! If anyone has any more dont be shy.

 

[Alec]

Just in case it is any help to anybody else, Audioengine sent me this:

The A5s have a set of L and R RCA outputs which can be used to connect a subwoofer. You can simply use a set of standard left and right male to male RCA cables to make this connection. It sounds like you are saying the SUBWOOFER has only (1) RCA style input? If this is the case you can run a SINGLE male to male RCA cables from the left side of the RCA outputs on the A5s to the input on the sub.