How to Add an External Amplifier to Your AV Receiver

Why Add an External Amplifier?

Adding an external subwoofer to an AV receiver can provide many benefits depending on the setup and specific requirements. Here are two common scenarios where an external speaker can be useful

How to Add an External Amplifier to Your AV Receiver

Scenario 1: Play additional channels

If the AV receiver can process more channels than this, an external subwoofer can be used to run additional channels. For example, if your receiver can process 11 channels but only has power for 9 channels, you can use an external subwoofer to power the remaining two channels, such as the Dolby Atmos loudspeaker.

Scenario 2: Increasing Power for Front Channels

Even if your AV receiver can run all the channels you need, the power output may not be enough, especially for large, high-performance speakers. In this case, you can use a powerful external subwoofer to run the left, middle, and right front channels, which are most important for the home theater experience

Connecting an External Amplifier

Connecting an external subwoofer to an AV receiver is a relatively straightforward process. Here's what you need:
RCA cables to connect connections from input connections to external speakers to AV receivers.
The external speaker itself can be a dedicated power amplifier or built-in amplifier that includes both pre-subwoofer and power subwoofer parts.

The general steps are as follows:

1. Find presets on the back of your AV receiver. They are usually classified as Front L, Front R, Center, etc depending on how many channels the recipient can follow.

2. Connect connections to relevant input connections on an external speaker using RCA cables.

3. Connect the speaker wires to the output connection on the external speaker.

It is important to note that the specific location and marking of pre-emission communications may vary between different manufacturers of AV receivers. To help you determine the right connection, we've included examples of several popular brands

Denon

In The Danon AVR-X6300H, the pre-exit connections are located in the pre-exit section and are named Front L, Front R and Center.

Anthem

The Anthem MRX 720 has the pre-out connections labeled as Front L, Front R, and Center in the pre-out section.

Marantz

The Marantz SR 6012 has the pre-out connections labeled as Front L, Front R, and Center in the pre-out section

Onkyo

The Onkyo TX-RZ810 has the pre-out connections located in the pre-out section, with the labels Front L, Front R, and Center.

Pioneer

The Pioneer SC-LX801 has the pre-out connections labeled as Front L, Front R, and Center in the pre-out section.

Sony

The Sony STR-ZA3100ES has the pre-out connections labeled as Front L, Front R, and Center in the pre-out section.

Yamaha

The Yamaha RX-A870 has the pre-out connections labeled as Front L, Front R, and Center in the pre-out section.

Keep in mind that the exact position and designation of connections can vary between different AV receiver models, so it's important to refer to the recipient manual or documents to ensure that the external speaker is connected correctly.

Conclusion

Adding an external subwoofer to an AV receiver can be a great way to improve the power and performance of your home theater system, whether you need to play additional channels or provide more power to the front speaker. By understanding different scenarios and the process of connecting external speakers, you can take your home theater experience to the next level.