Do I need a receiver to power my subwoofer?

Subwoofer in home theater system won't power on after moving?

• So I have an RCA home theater system I pulled out of my own place and am now just using it as a stereo in my garage for my mp3 player. I have connected all of the wires but cannot get the subwoofer to power on. I connected the speaker wires from the sub to the correct terminals on the receiver but have 1 more wire, red and black (can be pulled apart) about 2 feet long hanging out of the back of the sub. There are no more terminals to connect them to but I am wondering, could it be possible my sub has to be powered and I ripped the plug out when moving? I don't see myself being that careless but what else could it be for? I didn't set it up the first time so I honestly don't know if it was ever plugged into the wall. It is not a high end system with a power hungry subwoofer, so would it need external power? What could be my problem?

• Answer:

  If there is a volume dial on the sub then most likely it needs it's own power. Most larger subs are powered. That is they do their own amplification. It's possible though that your system, a RCA HTIB I assume, does not have a powered sub. If the black and red wire are thick (like lamp cord) it could be power. Most likely they are not since power cords are usually just one color. The sub does need to be hooked into the receiver. You might want to hunt down the manual and make sure you have everything plugged in to where it's supposed to go.