How To Connect Subwoofer To a Receiver Without Subwoofer Output

If your receiver has no subwoofer output and you want to connect the subwoofer with receiver, you can do it easily.

You may be wondering whether you need to buy a new receiver or subwoofer, you probably don’t need it as you have other options available.

2 Methods For Connecting Subwoofer To Receiver With No Subwoofer Output

Here are the two best ways you can use to connect your receiver with a subwoofer if subwoofer output is not available on the receiver.

#1 Method

Receivers that do not have subwoofer outputs mostly have preamp outputs that you can use to connect the sub with a receiver.

You can find the preamp output on the back of your receiver. Once found you can make a connection from the preamp output on the receiver to the subwoofer.

Almost all the subwoofers have RCA input that will be used in the case. If your sub has only one RCA input you can use “Y-Adapter” with one male on the first end and two females on the second end. In this way, one RCA input on your subwoofer will be converted into two.

You will plug the male end into the subwoofer input and two female ends with the male RCAs coming from the receiver.

You can also use a line out converter (LOC) to convert the output.

#2 Method

If your receiver does not have even preamp output, you can still connect the subwoofer. This method will work for almost all the receivers and subwoofers.

In this case, you will treat your subwoofer as a speaker and connect it with the amplifier.

Most of the subwoofers in the market today have speaker-level connections. If you are going to buy a new one, you can check it.

To make the connection, connect the front left and right terminals on receiver to the left and right terminals of subwoofer.

Both of these methods will work if you have a powered subwoofer. A powered subwoofer is one with a built-in amplifier. It is also known as an active subwoofer.

What if you have a passive (non-powered) subwoofer?

A receiver can provide signals and cannot deliver power to the subwoofer to function properly. passive subwoofers are not very common these days and most of them are powered subs.

If you have a passive sub, you will need an external amplifier to deliver the power. In this case, you will connect the receiver to an amplifier and then the subwoofer to the amplifier.

Must Read: Best 6.75″ Car Speakers For Bass

Final Thoughts

A powered subwoofer connected with the receiver using either of the ways works great. A subwoofer is one of the must-have items in your audio setup because it covers very small frequency sounds that the speaker cannot and provides you with very powerful bass and excellent sound quality.

You should check every possible solution and connect your subwoofer to the receiver even if the receiver does not have a subwoofer output. It will save your money that you will waste on buying a new receiver.