can you hook .....pos./neg. speaker wires to an rca jack.....if so how...solder or what....or does it just need pos. wire???????

 

what are you doing? It'll help if we know.

 

well, its for a home theater system a cheap one..anyways the sub had the front speakers running through it and i want to connect the sub to the subwwofer outlet on my reciever with an interconnect but im not sure how to switch the subs from regular speaker wire to an rca jack....i bought some last night and played around with it but couldnt figure it out

 

What type of inputs/outputs does your subwoofer have? Speaker-level in/out? Line-level in/out (RCA jacks). Can you bypass an internal crossover?

Does your subwoofer have a built-in amplifier (active) or is it passive (no built-in amplifier).

Could you send brand and model number for both your receiver and subwoofer?

Without knowing more initially it is difficult to guess what you are doing. However, a subwoofer RCA output from a home theater receiver is typically a line-level signal. It needs to be routed to an amplifier that then drives the subwoofer. The subwoofer amplifier can either be external or built-in.

 

well i guess thats my problem i was trying to figure out how to go from the subwoofer-out on the reciever straight to the speakers and the speakers dont have a built in amp....does anyone know where i could buy one of those built in amps....if not what is a good site to buy an external amp...a cheap one

 

So essentially you want to run the subwoofer output to a set of speakers? This would mean that you desire to use a set of speakers to reproduce the low frequency information instead of a dedicated subwoofer.

If you just need a 2-channel amplifier to run your "subwoofer speakers" try Ebay. You could use a 2-channel power amplifier, integrated amplifier or receiver.

 

whats the difference between the external amps and preamps...what does each do?....thanks for all your help.

 

A preamplifier is really just a selector switch. You connect all of your sources (CD, tuner, tape, etc.) and then you simply select which single source you want to listen to.

A source (CD, tuner, tape, etc.) outputs a low-level signal: voltage but hardly any current. A typical source output may be 2 V rms. The preamplifier will typically not provide any gain to the source signal, it will only attenuate. But the output from a preamplifier is still a low-level signal.

An amplifier amplifies a low-level signal and thus makes it a high-level or speaker-level signal (voltage but more importantly current). Current is actually the important part that your speakers use to produce sound. The alternating current runs through the voice coil creating a dynamic flux. Since the voice coil is located in a permanent magnetic field (created by the magnet), the dynamic flux in the voice coil creates a reaction force which then moves the diaphragm. The more current you feed to the voice coil the more the diaphragm moves.

A home theater receiver has the preamplifier and amplifier sections combined in one unit. The subwoofer output from a home theater receiver is a low-level signal and that is why it still needs to be amplified before it is routed to a speaker.

 

thanks man now all i have to do is find a really cheap home theater amp and there arent too many out there i have been searching but i think i found one or two for around 130 or so....does that sound about right

 

but i was still wondering about my first question how do you hook up an rca jack ill send a link of the ones i bought....does the rca jack require pos./neg. or what? basically just wondering if its possible to hook rca jack to speaker wire. or if something has to the speaker wire before it gets to the rca jack

rca-jack

 

An RCA jack is just an electrical connector so there is no reason why you can not physically connect speaker wire to it. Most RCA jacka are used for line-level signals but there are CHEAP amplifiers that use an RCA jack for speaker-level signals.

The center tap that sticks "out" of the picture is the (+) and the tab that sticks "down" should be the (-). I would solder the wire to the connector.

However, why do you want to connect speaker wire to an RCA jack? If you really need to connect the receiver's line-level subwoofer output to a subwoofer, why not just buy an interconnect cable that is already assembled?

If you are transimtting a low-level signal with speaker wire you may run into some noise issues since speaker wire is probably not shielded properly for such signals.

 

my sub isnt preamped....so i cant run the interconnect from the sub-out on the reciever..i have to get an amp in between there from what your saying but most of the amps for home theaters that i have been seeing have rca input and outputs...so my problem is how to get rca outputs to my subs that only have bare speaker wire right now and no terminals or jacks

 

You probably mean that your subwoofer is not amplified (or powered).


[QUOTE]
so i cant run the interconnect from the sub-out on the reciever..i have to get an amp in between there from what your saying but most of the amps for home theaters that i have been seeing have rca input and outputs...[QUOTE]

That is because most home theater receivers do not have a dedicated amplifier for a subwoofer channel. They only have a line-level output and they are assuming that you will provide your own amplifier for the subwoofer.


If your subwoofer is truly non-powered then you will need to place a separate amplifier in between the home theater receiver and the subwoofer.

Since the receiver's line-level subwoofer output is mono, you should buy a Y-connector such that you could run the same mono signal into both left and right channels of the amplifier. I will try to make a sketch for you and attach it some time today.

 

j_a_b,

see the attached file

 

yes thats what ive figured so far its just the problem of finding an amp with rca inputs and the speaker wire terminal outputs thanks for all your help....much appreciated!!

 

Most amplifiers fit this description (RCA input and speaker wire terminal outputs).

Look for a used 2-ch power amplifier or integrated amplifier. A power amplifier has no preamplifier section (source selctor or volume control) - it just powers the incoming signal. Therefore, only go this route if you can adjust the subwoofer output level within the home theater receiver. An integrated amplifier combines a preamplifier and a power amplifier - it integrates them into one unit.

 

thanks for all your help