I am very interested in purchasing the Outlaw Audio 950 & 7100 combo. I was looking at the rear of the 7100 and there is no input or output for a non-powered sub. Does this mean only a powered sub would be suitable for this combo (9500 & 7100)? Thanks for any help in this matter.
John118

It depends on a couple of things...

First, do you have 7 channels of speakers? If you do, then you will be using all 7 channels of the 7100 for speaker duty (left front, right front, center, right surround, left surround, rear left surround, rear right surround). If this is the case, then you will need another external amplifier to power your sub.

If you don't have seven channels of speakers, you can always feed a channel of the 7100 with the subwoofer output from the 950. Remember, the 7100 is basically just 7 channels of amplification in one box. The channel input labels on the back are just a helpful guide put there by Outlaw. Those channels will only amplify what you tell them to!

Most people will tell you to get more than 100 watts for a subwoofer, however. In this case, you have still have options. You can buy a M200 or similiar monoblock amp and use that to power your subwoofer. Parts Express sells monoblock subwoofer amps starting at around $80. What's nice about a seperate subwoofer amp like this is that most include some sort of phase switch and also their own built-in crossover which can be helpful in setting up your system. I personally use a PE subwoofer amp and it works just fine with my set-up.

So to answer your question; It depends on how you set it up but it is possible. Good luck!

You have to have somekind of amplification to power the passive sub. The LFE output of the 950 can be connected to whatever amp you are going to use to power your passive sub.

As Jason J pointed out, the 7100's channels can be used for anything -- the seven speakers that the channels are labeled for, or most any other combination you could think of. If you have all seven speakers (left and right, center, surrounds, and two surround backs) and a passive (unpowered) sub, you would use all of the 7100's channels and need something else to drive the sub. The 7100 is a good amp, but most subs do better with amps intended purely for subwoofer use. For example, SVS makes a number of passive subs, and they sell several different amps which they recommend be used with them. Outlaw's Model 200 would probably do a good job as well, but the amps sold by Parts Express or SVS (and others) are designed specifically for that purpose. Do you have an existing passive sub that you plan to use with a 950/7100 combo? We might be able to offer more specific ideas if we know what you plan to use.

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