My sub gave out and I need to buy another one. I would like to have it before Xmas so I ordered a POLK from Amazon. I paid close attention to the pics and noticed theres NO hook up for a monster cable (LFE I believe is the term). Im now scrambling looking for a different sub that I can order instead, However Im not finding shit, nothing seems to have the connection type and reviews arent mentioning anything. How in the world would I hook up a sub without a monster cable?

Can anyone reccomend anything? It needs to be hooked up with LFE and be no more than $200. Yea Im on a budget. Thanks

Around here you probably going to get the answer,

1st choice? SVS or HSU
2nd choice? Everything else

And I tend to agree...

I have a Def Tech supercube and it does a great job in my 14 x 20 family room

Wow your options are going to be very little since you want it by Xmas and for $200. $200 is not gonna get you a good sub. In that price range i'll agree with Sdallnct but I doubt you can get it by Xmas. I suggest to be patient and save your money till you get in the $700 range and then you'll get a good sub.

I've heard good things. For the price.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-635

Well, I have no idea what SVS or HSU is!

I ordered the "Sony SA-W3000 Performance Line 12" 180-Watt Subwoofer" from Amazon Prime. I d/led the manual and it appears to be able to hook up with monster cable. I still dont see how I would hook it up any other way. Whats the point of the red/black (+/-) speaker connections? Not to mention the RCA connections...

My sub actually went out in October. I have a tight budget so its only now that I was able to get this cause Im sick of not being able to see anything. Itll be a long ass time before I buy a sub for $700.

Damn... Im really in the dark with sub tech.

i would cancel the sony sub order and get the dayton sub from parts-express. from what ive heard you cant really get any better than that for under $200.

Ravenous well the LFE just makes one input for the sub with the "red & white" inputs you only need to use one. You have to remember the sub signal is a mono one so you can just use one or the other(red or white) and its pretty much the same thing. If your not happy with the you can use a Y splicer to connect the two to one.
i would agree with chino77 and cancel that order and go with dayton sub or here are the options and website for HSU and SVS:

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html
If you could save up for the VTF1 would be great.

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-10nsd.cfm
The cheapest option with SVS is $449

Here is Dayton's option:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-635

I think I would go with the HSU over Dayton but but you can't go wrong with either one. Either of these would be substantial better than the Sony.

Listen to the posters in this thread. Cancel your Sony order from Amazon. be patient or be stuck with a terrible terrible sub.

if your budget is tight, the Dayton sub is a very good buy. it's ugly as sin but a good buy none the less. it will eat the pants off the Sony you bought (or the Polk you almost did).

if there is some room, just find the model closest to your budget from SVS or HSU. I am partial to HSU though.

Don;t be stuck with a sub because you want it by Christmas.

Another vote for Def Tech, but it'll be out of your price range.

I agree with the sentiment to wait until you can bump your budget. You'll be happier in the long run.

I'll put in a vote for the PSB SubSeries 5i Subwoofer. I've had mine for a few years and absolutely love it. It can be had for between $500 and $600.

I actually bought a Sony 12" 120watt sub 6-7 years ago as part of a starter home theater system for about $150. Since then I have upgraded every speaker to Def Tech as well as every other component... but I still use this sub. I am completely happy with it. I don't know why you keep referring to the single RCA type cable as "Monster" though. The red/white connections on the sub are there in case you want to connect speakers to it (i think), or to connect the sub with speaker cable (not really sure being that I never used them).

JZ if your listening pleasure is mostly HT,YOU NEED to really to consider upgrading that sub. Sounds like you upgraded all your speakers but left out one of the most important one.Thee two most important speakers for HT are the center and sub. What ever you hear that you like about that Sony sub,you will multiply that ten-fold with a better sub(depending on which one).
I would read up on ID subs at AVS and start saving......It will be a night and day difference.

I would bet JZs sub was the WMA 120 or something like that. I remember back then when people were swearing by the sub. My buddy ended up buying one to get him started and it actually wasn't that bad for HT. It went pretty low for the price he paid ($90).

But...you basically now have Rudy playing for Notre Dame. He makes a play onne in a while but really shouldn't be on the team.

Ravenous,

Your red & black speaker terminals on the back of your sub woofer are used as an "in-between" for your receiver and your speakers. The sub has a crossover that detects the appropriate signal (measured in khz) and filters the low sounds to the sub while the rest of the signal is sent to the remaining (front) speakers. The difficulty with this is that you have to set the low pass frequency on the sub so it knows what signals to grab. If you have an inexpensive sub, odds are it has a limited range and can't grab the truly low signals. This results in a lot of distortion from your front speakers. Also, your inexpensive sub may not have a large power rating. Do you know how many watts it produces? Chances are not much. The RCA plugs on the back of the sub can also be used in lieu of the LFE connection but they don't deliver the best sound. In most cases, these RCA connections are used for an amp / pre-amp. But honestly, if you can afford an amp for your self-powered sub, you're better off buying the RIGHT sub the first time. It makes all the difference. If you have the low pass set incorrectly and your front speakers are trying to reproduce a sound that occurs at a level they just can't get to, you end up with terrible distortion and possibly, blown speakers.

The best solution for inexpensive front speakers is an expensive sub. And if you have a bad sub, you can't hide it anywhere. The only other trick to getting decent effects from an underpowered, inexpensive sub is to place it next to a wall and let the sound reverberate through the house. Also, ceramic tile floors help.

FYI, your Monster cable is probably a digital coax cable. Monster makes all kinds of cables. It may help you in the future if you knew the different types and their purpose.

Good luck

Thats it...WM-40

There have been some odd answers so far, didn't completely understand them, so...

Monster Cable is a brand name. Any RCA cable is fine for a sub. Although some fancier ones can give some benefits, generally paying more for cables does not add a lot, if anything, to the sound. With a small budget, get budget cables, not Monster. Expensive cables are the last thing to spend money on.

The RCA connections on the sub are the typical way to hook it up. It has its own amp, so you connect one line from the LFE/Sub output on your receiver to either of the RCA inputs.

The red/black speaker connections are an alternate way to hook it up. It is a little different than other speakers since it has its own amp, which is still used even though the signal comes from an amp in the receiver. That may seem odd, but it's how subs work. I think Bleeding Blue was getting at this, because it would mean you hook both the sub and your front speakers to the same connections on the receiver. This would likely stress the receiver and the speakers. No point to that since the RCA is the best way to connect it.