Am I been soo picky with my bass sound?

[oavs]

I have purchased by new SVS SB-12 sub. A part from occasional times my level of satisfaction, I can hardly hear it at the lower end of the volume. Ok the answer is to increase the gain on the sub. Right?

Well not so sure this is the problem. Firstly let me explain how it is connected. I have an old by-amp Marantz. There is NO sub out. There is EQ out in the front and headphone out also in the front. I have connected to the stereo 6.33mm jack on amp end and split it into L/R/ RCA's at the sub end.

Even at higher gain/amp-vol, it sounds little muddled. Sounds like bass coming from the ground floor if you were to live upstairs or another example would it sounds like bass is coming through underwater. It is not clear and distinct enough.

My other option is to use my amp Speaker out System 2 connection using speaker cables and then do the same at the sub end connect trough the speaker ends. First of all since amp has stereo speaker outputs for both System 1 (connected to my front and only pair of KEF speakers) and System 2. I will need to purchase a speaker cable for L (+and -) and R (+and -) output resulting 4 individual strands. I don't mind buying it but my concerns are:

1. Is this the right way going about it. Since I do not know I could be wasting money on those monster cables and connectors to connect to amp to my sub.
2. Those who might know Marantz PM550 DC has front panel EQ out with a bypass switch. If I by pass the EQ sub sound almost negligible. On the other hand If I do not bypass then I am basically manipulating the bass output by changing EQ settings to suit. I want to hear it as it is recorded. I don't want to add or subtract frequencies which defeats having a sub. So is my current wiring is serving any purpose.
3. I have heard that for sub you do not need to connect both channels. Is this correct? How could it be? Some times you could have more bass on one channel then the other? So why only connect one channel?

So how am I going to solve this problem. Have I been too picky with the sub sound?

I mean unless I put really heavy bass stuff I don't hear it. Whole idea I thought was to hear the bass that your speakers won't able to produce or handle.

Need some advice please.

[tonyvdb]

Connecting to the headphone jack will usually color the sound of the audio and may have some sort of high pass filter on it so nothing below 30Hz will go to it. My suggestion is to try the high level speaker inputs on the back of the sub using your second option. By connecting the receivers speaker outputs to the sub and then the speakers to the output terminals of the sub you will then have much better control of how it sounds. You also must have the crossover set up properly on the sub, 80Hz is usually a safe bet.

[Jack Gilvey]

Hi oavs,

The suggestion to try the speaker-level connection (use both L and R) is a good one. No need to buy special name-brand cables for this, Home Depot 14 gauge works just as well. Bypass the EQ, filters, loudness, etc. on the Marantz. Start with an 80Hz crossover (you can go lower with larger mains) as suggested and use the sub's Gain control to balance the bass level with your mains.

[oavs]

Happy to report back that I am sooooo happy now .

I have set the gain on 2! and crossover at 80 and sounds just soo good.

A big thank you to all for giving the right advise. Sound soo much better. I can now even talk and hear at higher volume settings which was not possible before.