Adding bass to a PA system?
Hi, this is my first post here. I’m using two old Behringer PA speakers with an old powered mixer to DJ with. They get the job done, but they don’t have any bass, which makes genres like dubstep pretty much impossible to do. Could I connect my home theatre mixer to the setup and just use the sub from it in addition to the PA speakers? Or am I going to have to buy a sub specific for PA setups?
Any help is appreciated!
I’m confused, are you going to be connecting the mixer to your home theater and then just using that? Or are you trying to use everything at once?
Regardless, it doesn’t sound like a good idea, and if you’re not sure of what you’re doing you can very easily fry something. Home theater equipment is generally not as durable and uses lower wattage than PA gear. If you were to somehow connect your sub from your home theater, I’d be very careful as well. Research the specs on the sub thoroughly before trying anything, because just plugging in cables can smoke something if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Personally, I’d invest in a powered subwoofer, as it will most likely sound a lot better and pose less potential danger to your wallet 
This.
Sorry, I didn’t explain it very well…my DJ controller has two audio outs built in. I was thinking I could run one audio out to a mixer which controls my two PA speakers, and the other audio out to a separate mixer that controls my home theatre, and only hook up the subwoofer. That way I wouldn’t have to buy anything more (I’m pretty short on money at the moment.)
If coughed up enough money for a powered sub, would it plug directly into my mixer just like the PA speakers? Or would I need to buy something extra?
So did you try it?
Yes your idea would work, connecting each audio out to a different receiver.
and to answer your second question it depends on the subwoofer, I know some subwoofer you plug into the mixer and then the speakers into the sub. you will just have to research before you buy it.
On mine I plug the main outputs from my mixer into the sub, and then from the Hi-Pass out on the sub into the power amplifier that runs the mains. Kind of a weird setup, but it works. See if you can find one that you can power your main speakers off of, it makes setup a lot easier.
are you handy with a soldering iron and a bench saw?
A bigger question… why not just run into your home theater system and skip the pa and use the component speakers? If it’s a smaller system, disregard that question and don’t use the sub from that. Go get a real sub to match the bigger PA.
Being the noob I am, I don’t know how to include multiple quotes in my post, so I’ll just reply by names:
Sir Real- Yes, I tried it today. It sounded decent at low volumes but the PA speakers overpowered the home theatre once I got into actual volumes that would be used live.
Sobi- The home theatre really doesn’t provide enough volume, and even if it did, it would probably mess it up running it at max volume for 4 hours. I messed with the EQ on my mixer and got a little more (albeit crunchy) bass out of my PA speakers. I might spring for a real sub if I can dig up some money or something.
Thanks for all of the help guys.
I wouldn’t bother with this idea until you can purchase a PA subwoofer. Your powered mixer probably does not have a sub out, though. So you will need to purchase a crossover to use in conjunction with the mixer’s line-through output.