JPW Speakers for surround - passive sub only?

[admin_exported]

As a first foray into surround sound, I'm looking to put the speakers together on the cheap with a bit of investment in the receiver with a view to upgrading the speakers at a later date.

Caveated with the 'I'm completely new to all of this'...I've looked at matching some existing JPW speakers I have with whatever I can find second hand (so...ebay then). The fronts, rears and centre are easy to source but I'm not sure what to do about a sub.

Bearing in mind the general advice given about keeping speakers all 'in the family', I have seen a JPW sub, but it is passive and I _guess_ I need an active sub?

That said....I haven't yet purchased a receiver and I may buy this item new, say the Onkyo 606 or the new Sony 820 (once back on the market). My understanding is that these receivers will connect only to an active sub.

So, a couple of questions....are there receivers around that can feed a passive sub? Or does madness this way lie and I should only look at active subs?

If I do need an active sub, I haven't seen a JPW model so would need something else, is there a well regarded active sub that would blend well with most systems?

So, in summary:

1 - Can I use a passive sub,?

2- What receivers will drive a passive sub, or how would I otherwise provide amplification to it?

3- Please recommend a budget sub that isn't too picky about what it's matched with!

Rogue

 

[Big Chris]

You can use a passive sub in theory. But, you may have to look further at the connections it has. It's possible that it has speaker level inputs & outputs, so you'd run speaker wire from your surround amp L & R channels to the sub, then from the sub's high-level outputs to your front speakers.

I don't know of any surround amps that have an actual powered speaker output for subs. You could connect your sub output on your amp, to a dedicated power amp, and run speaker wire from the power amp to the sub, but it's a lot of bother and expense IMO.

You could look at the Wharfedale range of active subs. I don't remember the model number, but they had a 5* budget sub that would fit the bill.

A sub is probably the only speaker in a 5.1 set-up where using a different brand/model is perfectly acceptable.

 

[Anonymous]

Big Chris: It's possible that it has speaker level inputs & outputs, so you'd run speaker wire from your surround amp L & R channels to the sub, then from the sub's high-level outputs to your front speakers.

Interesting...and poses a supplementary question, if I may.

The JPW Sub I'm looking at DOES have dual input and output and would seem to support this configuration - does this still provide true 5.1 ?

Big Chris: A sub is probably the only speaker in a 5.1 set-up where using a different brand/model is perfectly acceptable.

Ah well that's quite encouraging then, thanks for that and the Wharfedale recommendation.

 

[Big Chris]

rogueelement: does this still provide true 5.1 ?

It wouldn't be 100% pure 5.1, because you're sharing the bass information that's sent to the front speakers, not using the dedicated .1 bass channel.

But I wouldn't have thought you'd notice a hell of a lot of difference. Only real difference would come from the actual quality of the component. There must be a reason passive subs aren't catered for on the whole.

FWIW, If it were my money. I'd try and source a cheap active sub. eBay is always worth a look. Check out Richer Sounds website too.

I just found this.........

And even cheaper is this

 

[Anonymous]

Cool. Thanks again. I'm watching a few things on ebay

 

[Andrew Everard]

Big Chris:I just found this.........

And even cheaper is this

I'd go for the second of those thisses for use with the JPWs.