ok, so here is my prob. I inherited a home theater setup that uses a passive sub. I think, "ok, i will just buy a separate amp to power the sub and use the sub pre out from the receiver"
So i have my pioneer receiver, with the sub pre-out going to the input on the stereo power amp (bridged mono) which is then hooked up to the sub.
I turn it on and no sound, if i plug the music inputs direct into the amp for the sub it works (although sounds crappy, i assume because no xover?)
So i know the amp works. I am a home theater newb so bear with me. I assume i am doing something fundamentally wrong here? is a subwoofer pre-out not the proper input for the second amp?
Sounds like a setup problem in the HT receiver. Some configurations may not use the sub. Try stuff like setting the front speakers to 'small'.....that sort of thing.
Check the set up menu on the Pioneer. This is the receiver you inherited, right? You will need to switch the receiver to "sub on" or some similar configuration. You will probably access this set up menu through the on screen display. If you don't know how to find any of this, obtain the owner's manual for your receiver either on line or from the person who gave you the receiver.
It's possible you'll also need to do the same sort of set up with any source players you have. Typically, the receiver will process whatever signal it is fed into the appropriate segments and divert low frequency signals to the sub. However, any player with discrete analog outputs for 5.1 channels will also need to be set up to output LFE information. This would usually only apply to SACD's or universal players.