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Q. A
salesman in a big box store told me that a powered
subwoofer cannot be connected to a 2-channel stereo
receiver. Is he right?
—R.L.,
Minneapolis
A. Though
two-channel stereo receivers do not have an RCA
subwoofer output, you can still use a powered subwoofer.
Just buy a subwoofer that has speaker-level (high level)
inputs. Run speaker wires from the receiver to the
sub’s speaker wire inputs, and then run another set of
wires from the sub’s speaker wire outputs to the
speakers. Adjust the volume and crossover point on the
subwoofer’s control panel and it will reproduce the
low frequencies and send the midrange and treble to the
speakers. A lot of enthusiasts (and speaker companies)
think this actually produces better sound quality than
using an RCA subwoofer connection.
There are
some excellent and inexpensive powered subwoofers with
speaker-level inputs. The 10-inch 125-watt Dayton
SUB-100 has long been a favorite for only $120. The new
12-inch, 150-watt subwoofer from Monoprice.com is
receiving rave reviews from the media and end users, and
its $85 price tag belies belief. If you are building an
entire system, spending only $85 on the subwoofer frees
up funds for better main speakers, a better receiver or
a better television, all of which are likely to make you
happier than a pricier subwoofer.
———
Holiday
product highlight: Last week I discussed speakers
without mentioning a receiver to use with them. This
week’s holiday product highlight is an affordable
receiver that truly has it all.
Pioneer’s
VSX-1021-K is a 7.1-channel home theater receiver with
90 watts per channel and 5 HDMI inputs. What makes it
special is how easy it is to set up, how great it makes
your speakers sound, and the way it integrates with your
computer and wireless devices.
The ease
of setup and great sound can be credited to Pioneer’s
Advanced Auto MCACC system. With MCACC you set up your
speakers in the room, connect them to the receiver, then
plug a microphone into the front panel and place it in
the middle of the listening area. MCACC sends out a
series of test tones to not only set the type of
speakers and the balance for the entire system, but to
analyze the room’s acoustics and match each
speaker’s response to the room. Though many such
systems are available, MCACC is the only modestly priced
(under $1,000) system I have tested that has actually
improved sound quality, making the room come alive with
perfectly balanced sound. Every other system I have
tried makes the system sound worse!
AirPlay
allows you to wirelessly stream content from your
computer’s iTunes music collection and listen to
Internet radio. Just use the Ethernet port or attach the
optional AS-WL300 wireless adapter and select the
receiver on iTunes. The free Apple Remote app or
Pioneer’s free iControlAV2 app (iPad only) will
convert your iPod or iPad into a remote to control it.
all A Bluetooth adapter allows you to stream music
directly from your Bluetooth device.
At only
$549 retail and $399 street price, the VSX-1021 is the
impossible to beat. The sound quality and MCACC alone
are reasons to recommend it, but the connectivity knocks
it out of the park.
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