Chapter 13. Active Multi-way Speakers
13.8 SUBWOOFER INTEGRATION FOR A THREE-WAY SPEAKER
The three-way speaker configurations described in this chapter use outputs L1 and R1
for the woofers. These outputs are therefore unavailable for a subwoofer or
subwoofers. One very effective method of adding subwoofers to a three-way speaker is
to chain a slave DEQX unit, as described in Chapter 14. Even without that, however,
subwoofers can still be integrated effectively, provided that the woofer can be driven
with a full-range signal at power (that is, without a high pass filter) and the subwoofer
has an inbuilt low pass filter.
1. Connect L1 and R1 to the line-level inputs of the subwoofer or subwoofers as well
as to the woofer amplifier inputs. Ideally, connect to both the unbalanced (RCA)
and balanced (XLR) outputs as shown below (adapters can be used). Or, use Y-
connectors.
a. For a mono subwoofer, connect L1 and R1 to the subwoofer’s left and right
inputs. (This assumes that the subwoofer has separate left and right line-level
inputs.)
b. For stereo subwoofers, connect L1 to the left subwoofer and R1 to the right
subwoofer.
2. In the configuration window, ensure that the high pass limit filter on the woofer is
turned off.
3. Adjust the low pass (may also be referred to as “high cut” or “crossover”) filter on
the subwoofer for the best audible result. You may also need to experiment with
subwoofer location.
4. Use room measurements and room EQ (Chapters 10 and 12) to adjust subwoofer
level and equalize the low-frequency response of the system. You may need to
change subwoofer location or adjust the subwoofer’s low pass filter when doing
this.
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