I am trying to put together a simple surround sound home theater in my family room. I've already purchased the in wall subwoofer (Audio Source AS8SW 100 watt Passive In-Wall 8")and receiver (Sony STR-DG810 6.1) but was told I need an additional amp since the sub is passive. Can somebody point me in the right direction of what I should be buying? I'm not looking to spend an arm and a leg to get the absolute best sound, just something to get sound to come out of my subwoofer. THANKS!
Jason, a built in sub is quite an undertaking to get it right.Ideally, there will be an open room behing it for an enclosure, then tune it. This sub is nothing to write home about. If, IF you have the space for a stand alone sub, then look into a small HSU unit, and place it where it sounds best. This saves the cost of an amp and adds tunability to the setup.
IF (big IF) the receiver has all the Bass management features required, you could buy the OutLaw 200watt monobloc. Inexpensive and could later stay in an upgraded system as a center channel amp or with another pair as the front 3 channels.
If NO bass management in the receiver, than by all means go with the HSU, and size according to the room size.