Rega Brio-R & Audioengine Subwoofer?

I have an Audioengine S8 Powered Subwoofer, which has a volume control.

I'd like to use it with a Rega Brio-R.

Would it be possible to use the "Record Output" on the Rega to connect to the sub?

According to the Rega manual, "the output is a ‘record signal’ as selected by the main input selector 1-4."

Any thoughts? Any other connection ideas?
Thanks!

 

Sure that would work, provided you're willing to adjust the level on the sub every time you adjust the volume on the amp. Seems like a gigantic PITA.

 

I use a REL T3 with my Brio R. It uses speaker level inputs. Speaker level is the way to go if you are adding a sub to your Brio R.

 

Good thought Ntotrar. IMO subwoofers purchased for music listening should say REL on them. Subwoofers for home theater explosions can be from any brand.

 

Used the Andrew Jones Pioneer cheapo sub with the Brio-R via speaker level for a bit. Worked fine I guess.

Don't see a good way to do it with that sub

 

While off the topic, I really like the way my REL wires to the speaker terminals directly as opposed to the other subs I have used. I have a little Velodyne on my Brio R and wire the amp speaker terminals into the Velo sub and back out to the speakers.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Conor Poull, Service Manager @ The Sound Organisation replied to my email about this:

"The Brio's Record out is a High Level output. While it is not in line with the volume control, it is going to be too high for your sub, with the same danger of damage. The Brio R is not designed to be used with a powered subwoofer. If you choose to use it with one anyways, your results may vary, and we advise against it."

Do you guys agree with his comment? Here's what the Brio manual says:
Record output level:
Record output level (with rated input levels) = 210mV.
Record output impedance = 470Ω

If I were to pick up a passive sub, how would that connect to the Brio?

Thank you for the assistance, I'm new to this level of gear.

 

Yes, he's absolutely correct. If the Brio had preamp outputs you'd be fine, but sending an unattenuated signal to a subwoofer is a terrible idea. My earlier comment about having to adjust the subwoofer knob every time you adjusted the volume was basically tongue in cheek - don't try it.

Buy a REL. Connect it to your speaker outputs as its designed.

 

Rolltide...I have a small room, so I'm hoping this might be enough sound and will work with the Brio? What do you think?
Rel T-Zero sub

 

That's what I use in my small room in fact. I think it's great, but I have it set very conservatively.

 

I'm sure I fully understand this, but here's another suggestion I received:

"What are you feeding into the amp? Are you using some sort of pre-processor? If so, many of those will have a sub/LFE out that you would send to the subwoofer."

Does this spark any ideas where the Audioengine sub could work? From a budgetary standpoint, I'd like to consider all options. Thanks guys.

 

Hi Rolltide, how are you connecting the T-Zero to your amplifier? I saw this cable, but its so expensive!

 

Here's another way you can get it done. You can use a converter to make a line level signal available from the speaker outputs on the Brio (which is essentially what the REL does internally). Then just connect the line out from the converter to your AudioEngine sub. Here's an example of a very inexpensive converter. http://www.amazon.com/PAC-SNI-35-Variable-Line-Converter/dp/B001EAWS3W/

 

Thanks atbolding. Would the Brio volume control then control both the speakers and the Audioengine sub? Am I understanding it correctly that the speakers AND the converter wires would be piggybacking on the Brio's speaker outputs? Is this where banana plug chaining would work? Or just do it with the bare converter wires?

 

They come with a cheaper version of that cable.

 

Yes, the Brio volume control would control the level for everything. The converter has an attenuator to ensure that it produces a reasonable input level for the sub.

You'd need to connect both the converter and your speakers to the Brio's speaker outputs. You could stack banana plugs if you like, though you'd have to get some to install on the input wires of the converter. Bare wire should be fine as well, though you probably don't want to try to stuff too much bare wire into the Brios's binding posts at the same time. Maybe the best thing would be to use bare wire for the converter and use the banana plugs for your regular speaker cables. Binding posts should be able to accommodate both simultaneously.

There are two caveats:
1. The converter will produce a slight load on the Brio's outputs in addition to your speakers. Usually these things have such high input impedance that the load will be undetectable, but do make sure you don't hear any adverse effects even with the sub turned off.

2. This method, like the REL method, doesn't put any sort of high pass filter on your main speakers. That may make dialing in the sub a little more difficult since there may be more frequency range overlap. Additionally, this doesn't relieve the Brio from the load of sending bass to the main speakers, even if they can't reproduce it.

 

Hey Rolltide, trying to make sure I understand this...
So you're going from one L/R speaker output on the Rega to the SpeakOn connector on the T-Zero?
And then you're going from both L/R speaker outputs on the Rega to your speakers?
Do the impedances match between the Rega, the T-Zero and your speakers? If not, I heard this could be trouble?

 

After all this, I'm wondering what the ideal situation is when you want to add a sub to the Rega Brio-R?

Would a sub with "Speaker Level In & Outs" be better?

 

Sub with a speaker level line in. Your main speakers directly from your amps speaker taps.

 

Yes, that's about it. It explains it more in the manual. It feels really weird as you're doing it, but it works well. The idea behind it is the REL sub presents something crazy like a 300,000 ohm load to the amp so it doesn't tax it at all, it just feels like you're wiring something in parallel.

 

Great, thanks. Did you do bare wires with the SpeakOn and banana clips for the speakers?

 

Yes. I have banana clips for the speaker wires going into the amp terminals, and just unscrew them enough to insert the bare wire into the port and tighten them again. Kind of cumbersome to explain, but it should make sense as you're doing it. It's a very tidy installation and not as hack-ish as it seems.

 

I understand and thank you so much for all your help!

 

Hope your quest for bass goes well!

 

I don't understand. If the sub has 4 terminals for SPEAKER IN, and 4 terminals for SPEAKERS OUT, then the sub designer is giving wrong instructions?
I never had a problem doing it this way with the Brio R or Onix OA21s for many years. It works fine. The volume of the sub is balanced to the amp volume once you set the sup up.