Subwoofer Wiring Issues

[ccmichaelson]

I'm such an idiot...  I just built my dream home and wired it myself...  Pulled about 30,000 linear feet for audio, security, video, etc. throughout the house.  However, I really screwed up when I pulled the subwoofer wire because I used 12 gauge, 2 speaker audio wire (versus shielded RG6).
 
When I attach a powered sub woofer to my sonos connect amp there's a hum.  My Sonos has a LTE sub out so I converted both ends from 2 wire to RCA but the hum is present.  
 
I believe my options are:
1)  Purchase passive sub's...  are these any good?  What powered amp would I purchase that sits near the Sonos Connect Amp?
2)  Use an existing RG6 (coax) wire I'm not planning to use and wirelessly transmit the sub audio from it to where the sub physically resides (which would be in the same room)....  anyone done this before?
3)  ???

 

[drvnbysound]

No possibility to run RG6 now? Even if you used the 12AWG as a pull cord?

 

[ccmichaelson]

No possibility to run RG6 now? Even if you used the 12AWG as a pull cord?

 
Nope - most of my sub locations are on an exterior wall buried in spray foam insulation.  I do have an extra RG6 in every room of my house but it's where the TV will be mounted (up high on a wall not near the floor).  

 

[Neurorad]

For many retrofit installs, I've read of many pros using wireless for subs.

If there is RG6 nearby, that would work great for a line-level feed to the sub.

I have a hunch that spray foam won't prevent you from retrofitting a cable in the wall.

 

[drvnbysound]

Nope - most of my sub locations are on an exterior wall buried in spray foam insulation.  I do have an extra RG6 in every room of my house but it's where the TV will be mounted (up high on a wall not near the floor).  

 
Are these sub locations in the corner of a room? If so, those exterior walls have adjacent interior walls...
 
If it were my house, I'd do one of 2 things... find a way to run that coax, or run a passive sub with separate amplifier. I'm not a big proponent of adding wireless unless there really is no other way around it, simply because it's usually never as good as a wired connection.

 

[tadr]

is the powered sub grounded?  If so, try isolating the ground (e.g., by using a 2-prong to 3-prong adapter) and see if that gets rid of the hum.  If so, you just have a ground loop and this is easily resolved without re-wiring.
 
For troubleshooting, you should also try running an extension cord from the powered subwoofer back to where the sonos is plugged in and see if the hum goes away.

 

[BaduFamily]

Our two wireless subs in the kitchen are fine; the good one is a Definitive Tech and the ok one is a monoprice thing, which is stashed up in the soffett.
 
the geography is such that the Mono transmitter is in the mechanical room directly below the kitchen, attached to a HTD multichannel amp. The DT sub's transmitter is in one of their soundbars, attached to a monitor in the kitchen.
 
This means the broadcast distances aren't very far.
 
I am considering upgrading the monoprice one with a lower profile powered sub, connected via airplay & cat6, but only for audio quality and a more homogeneous environment.