Rca plug on speaker wire?

 

in order to operate, does an rca plug need both a positive and a negative signal? im trying to figure out how to get speaker wire and and rca cable connected, and i think that my best option is to solder an rca plug on the end of a length of speaker wire. will this work?
 

Unregistered guest
Did you ever get an answer to this question?
I am trying to do the same thing
 

Silver Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 255
Registered: 12-2003
yes you do. The outside part of the RCA is usually positive (+) and the prong is negative (-). You need these 2 signals to properly work the speakers.
Are you trying to use rca plugs to connect your speakers to the receiver?
 

Unregistered guest
Im trying to hook my tv up to a speaker with a subwoofer in the box. I dont know what the name of the speaker is..All i know is that i need the normal plug looking wire and then the wire that you can strip to go into a stereo. How do I do this and what kind of wire do I need?
 

matty matt
Unregistered guest
Similar to you all, I am trying to connect speaker wire into a std RCA male connection to hook up some low watt speakers directly to my car cd player (aftermarket Kenwood KDC-2019) without an amp. Do you think this will work? What are the risks besides a blown fuse? thanks
 

Fred
Unregistered guest
I found a speaker wire to RCA plug adapter at I.E.C. in Commerce City, CO. Try www.connectworld.net or (800) 765-4432.
 

Warren
Unregistered guest
Radio Shack seems to have what you want.
 

bill
Unregistered guest
i am trying to hook up my home reciver to my sub which is a single rca input and i have no sub output on that reciver what can i use
 

New member
Username: Goldenarrow

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jun-04
Bill,
Assuming you have a stereo receiver, not a Home Theater (A/V receiver), you are right, there would not usually be a sub-woofer output jack. Is this true of your setup? If so, do you know if the sub-woofer has its own amplifier? The answer makes a big difference what you have to do.
 

Silver Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 727
Registered: Dec-03
the single rca input (although not always the case) is usually a giveaway that it is a powered sub. High level or speaker inputs are usually 1-2 pairs and another set of speaker outputs to connect to mid-hi frequency drivers.
You can use the left channel of the stereo receiver line output to connect to the powered sub.
 

jenny t.
Unregistered guest
hey guys,
having a bit of a problem hooking up an amplifier to my car stereo. have had to put RCA plugs on the end of the speaker wires coming from the back of the stereo to hook into the amplifier. problem is, stereo works when only the inside prong of the RCA plug (positive, i hope!) is inserted and the outside part of the RCA is not allowed to touch the amp plug in. as soon as the plug is pushed all the way in, the speaker stops. any suggestions?
 

jenny t.
Unregistered guest
whoops, meant the prong is negative!
 

Unregistered guest
what I'm trying to figure out is, the amp has a red and a white rca input? 4 2negative, two positive? how would you go about hooking this up to a single pos/neg wire?
 

Unregistered guest
I REALLY NEED HELP IF ANYONE CAN HELP ME. I just bought a 2005 Scion tC and it's great and all, but when I tried to install my two bazooka subs (powered by a viper amp) to my stock stereo, I realized the stereo has no place to hook RCA cables...I have no clue how to make them work without them. Any help would save me a lot of headache. Thanks!
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 1372
Registered: Dec-03
your viper should have speaker level inputs. You can just splice into the speaker outputs of the stock head unit and you'll be in business.
 

Unregistered guest
im trying to hook this speaker system up in my car. my cd player does not have rca plugs so would i be able to use one of the speakers wire to hook to the rca adapter that goes with the speakers. thanks for any help
 

iambman
Unregistered guest
I have the above. What I want to do is this:
My rear RCA outputs on my car stereo do not work. But, the rear speaker wires do. Can I take the Right rear + wire and the Right Rear - wire and attach them to these rca connectors above? Same for the Left speaker.
If so, which wire goes where? + on the inner - outer or vica versa... Obviously, I need these connections for my Amp and other equipment to work. Any help would be greatly appreciated
 

Monkey C3
Unregistered guest
I just bought a new Yamaha Home Receiver and need to modify my old speakers to work with it (a temporary solution until I can afford better speakers). The problem is that the old speakers end in bare wire (that plug into the holes in the back of the old all-in-one I replaced), and I purchased some RCAs to splice in place. My question is, if each speaker ends in 2 wires (split at the ends to striped and non-striped), do I have to use 4 RCAs or can I splice one RCA cap encasing both for a total of 2 channels???
 

New member
Username: Hobbitfeet

Post Number: 7
Registered: Nov-04
Monkey,

Your receiver should have binding posts for the speaker cables. While hi-fi purists may prefer cables that have been properly terminated with banana plugs or spades, you should have no problem wiring the bare wires onto the speaker binding posts on the receiver.
Unscrew the relevant binding post (speaker output) on the amp, pop the bare part of the wire into the hole on the post (if there's no hole, just wrap it around) then screw the post back down, making sure that no wire is poking out of the connection.
Repeat for each connection.

Any RCA outputs on the receiver are probably for connecting to an equaliser or pre-amp.

No splicing should be necessary.
 

Unregistered guest
do not connect a red or white rca jack to a speaker!

the red and white jacks are meant to be connected to a TV or amplifier. connecting a speaker will overload these connections and perhaps destroy them.

the center of audio RCA jacks are signal, they are positive. the outside are connected to the ground (negitive) rail (fixed at 0 volts).
 

Unregistered guest
if i'm not mistken, i think this is all you would need to use regular binding post style speakers with rca plug style systems:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102959

i think it's better than the other one because it's longer, and has it pre-wired... albeit it costs a bit more.
 

New member
Username: Killa

Post Number: 5
Registered: Dec-04
there are way to many posts on here so if anyone wants help e-mail me and you should never hook rca's up to any speaker's in or out
 

Vinny
Unregistered guest
Hey i have a similar problem... I want to hook up a pair of phillips speakers to my PC... They have the black/red wires but my comp has a headphone-like jack. Is there some kind of adapter out there?
Unless... It isn't possible to hook up stereo speakers to a pc... that is...
 

Syrus
Unregistered guest
Can you take an RCA wire.. Cut it and plug the rca plug into an amp and then wire the other cut side into a speaker wire? (+ and -)

and if so, how do you tell what one is positive and what one negative?
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 2062
Registered: Dec-03
the outside part of the plug is - and the center is +
 

New member
Username: Killa

Post Number: 7
Registered: Dec-04
well its prety useless to hook speakers directly up to a pc with out some sort of amplifier because it wont be very loud. but either way you would be better off ripping a cheap pair of pc speakers apart and connecting the pc wire to your speakers
 

the dirt
Unregistered guest
I would like to add a inwall subwoofer to my system. I have run standard speaker wire through the wall to the site of the subwoofer. Now I want to connect the subwooder using a dedicated sub output, which used a rca type connection. My question is..can i use the existing speaker wire and attach rca plugs to each end or do i need to run a seperate rca wire?
please advise (it would be a pain at this point to run the rca wire)..
 

Bronze Member
Username: Hobbitfeet

ManchesterUK

Post Number: 36
Registered: Nov-04
The dirt,

What is the wire attached to on the sub? Is the sub active or passive?

IIRC you shouldn't run a line level connector (RCA) to a high level (speaker terminal) connector on a sub - not sure why though - maybe it's the other way around?

If the sub is passive (unamplified) then attaching it to the sub connector is pointless as it's not going to get any amplification at all.

HTH :-)
 

the dirt
Unregistered guest
c,
thanks for the response. i do not yet have the sub. i am planning the wiring for 'future' use. i ran speaker wire assuming that the cross over would be on the sub, however, i may upgrade the amp to one that has a sub out (the receiver i have now does not have sub out). so, my question is should i run an additional wire for the dedicated sub (rca type), or can i use the existing speaker wire and attach rca plugs to each?
 

Unregistered guest
Craig and Dirt,

I have basically the same question. I just built a house and without knowing it at the time ran speaker wire in the wall for my sub. The output on the receiver is an rca jack and the input on the sub is an rca jack. The sub is powered. So basically the speaker wire is the middle man to the same connections on each end. Can I hook this up as is and have it work or do I need to start fishing wire?
 

the dirt
Unregistered guest
g,

so far i figure that i can use the speaker wire, just attach rca's to each end...

thats what i plan to do when the time comes.

let me know if that works out for you..

d.

 

Unregistered guest
Hey, I just received an old turntable as a hand me down but the speakers I already own have wire ends and the system requires plug in speakers. I am speaker illiterate and I was wondering if there is a solution to the problem. And if there is not, do you happen to know where I can find old speakers like the ones needed? I've tried ebay and thrift stores but I've had no luck.
 

Unregistered guest
i wanna hook up my house sub to my car its only 8 inches and i dont have an amp....how would i do this?
 

Unregistered guest
i got a big problem my power line came off my batery, so i took the amp out thinking it was at fault. came back around adn found the wire that came off so when i came to put the amp back on it lit up the offset led. it only does so when i plug in the l channel RCA and i have no resistance at all between the center and the middle of that RCA jack so as far as it goes i can still listen to one sub, but it's just not the same.... anyone have any answers
 

New member
Username: Orion11j

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-05
Has anyone tried or talked to a company to see if these speaker wire to rca adapters workd for the subwoofer, i'm trying not to have to buy another one ...thanks alot...
 

Unregistered guest
this ones a bit different. trying to make a set of earphones for work disguised as earmuffs. got an good set of good earphones but will have to cut the cable and reconnect it. will this work??? how do i do it? there are 2 wires going soldered to back of speakers.
 

Unregistered guest
I want to connect normal speaker wire to an rca plug. Looking at the other posts, I now know what I want but can't seem to find a site selling it that will ship to England. Can someone help please?
 

Unregistered guest
ok i have a rca stearo that is 270 watts and i have a jensin 450 watt sub i have the + end to the woffer input on the stearo and the - end to the intena input and works good but it seems i am not useing all the watts from my sub do i need a amp or have it hooked up rong
 

Anonymous
 
On car speakers there is a wide piece of metal, and a thinner one. Which one is the negative and which one is the positive

Also, there are contradictary posts about which part of an RCA jack is positive and which side is negative, can you clarify
 

Geo;rge Beggs
Unregistered guest
Can one attach stereo earphone to the speaker output terminals of a an amplifier?
 

Slaphappy
Unregistered guest
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102959

I have some wires similar to this, my problem is, i don't know which wire is positive, and which is negative. The RCA plug can't be take off, not without ruining the casing on it at least, so i can't see which wire is attached to the prong, and which to the outside. But, one of the wires does have a white line that runs along the side of it, would this mean the wire is positive, or negative? Thanks
 

Gold Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 3968
Registered: May-04


Either way as long as you are consistent in using the stripe as the indicator at all connections.
 

Slaphappy
Unregistered guest
the thing is, it is already attached to the rca plug, and i can't take the plug off without destroying it, so i can't see if the wire with the stripe is attached to the prong, or the outside of the rca plug.
 

Gold Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 3980
Registered: May-04


Slappy - It doesn't matter as long as you are consistent in your use of the stripe as the identifier. Make it the positive leg and connect it like that at all other connections.
 

Slaphappy
Unregistered guest
Alrighty, just wanted to be positive so I don't risk blowing out a speaker. Thanks!
 

45632
Unregistered guest
PLEASE HELP, HOW DO YOU WIRE UP YOUR T.V TO TOUR AMPLIFIER IN YOUR HOUSE AND WHAT CABLES ARE NEEDED.
 

Unregistered guest
i just bought a sony xplode im trying to hook my sub up to it .the stereo already has a sub out but i need to hook up rca plugs for the sub-woofer(its a 300 watt thunder 10 inch)im at a lose as how to set rca to sub
 

Unregistered guest
Simple question but no goddamn answer anywhere on the web!

HOW TO CONNECT CORDED HEADPHONES TO TV?

(all audio sockets on TV are rca type, while all corded headphones come with 3.5mm or 6.5mm plugs)
 

Unregistered guest
I have speaker wires that are not color coded.
How does one know which is positve and which is negative.
 

Silver Member
Username: 1st61

Post Number: 103
Registered: Oct-04
There should be small "+" and "-" signs on the wraping. It highly unlikely the two strands look exactly the same.
 

Unregistered guest
How can I hook up an earphone set to a car stereo/cd player?
 

Alexf1224
Unregistered guest
Hey, I have an RCA stereo with fairly good speakers that I want to hook up to my computer. The RCA has negative/positive wire system, does anyone know of an adapter that can be used to plug it into my computer?
 

Unregistered guest
Okay, I'd like to use the stereo speakers in my TV as my center channel for my home theater. The TV has an audio-in jack (red and white RCA jacks) and I'd like to run the center channel from my receiver into that input. Is that possible? The center channel speaker I am currently using just has L and R inputs.
 

Unregistered guest
Hey guys,
I have a Sony STR-DB930 Home Cinema Amp/Receiver & Paramount Pictures branded Subwoofer. My prob is this; The Amp is designed for a passive sub, but my sub does not have a RCA plug only has +/-speaker connections. Would it still be possible to use this Sub if I make up a suitable cable?
 

Unregistered guest
Update: Sorry my Amp is designed for an Active Sub.
 

Anonymous
 
question. can you plug headphones into car stereo rca out and have them work? Or better yet is there a car/marine in dash system that has an audio OUT jack for headphones. If no, then how can i install a headphone jack to the car stereo.
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 3666
Registered: Dec-03
no.
go to radio shack or some other electronics store and they will have a solution for you.
But basing on your line of questioning, I am inclined to think that you are not electronically adept? You'd better leave it to the pros, or get a unit with headphone outputs.:-)
 

Unregistered guest
someone posted a question earlier in this thread but it wasn't answered so i feel inclined to ask again:

i'm trying to find an adapter to put between my stock car stereo speaker wiring and my amp RCA input. apparently the signal needs to be leveled or balanced (and converted to RCA but that's easy to do) before the amp is happy with what it gets.

anyone know what this adapter is called?
 

Anonymous
 
very, very new to this stuff. Just built a house and ran speaker wire, 14 gauge stranded red and black with a white covering throughout house. Now that I've moved in, I installed 2 Niles speakers in bedroom wall to these wires. On other end, my contractor left the wires free flying from the little blue electrical box. OK, so you can probably tell I'm a woman but I am determined. I bought an RCA wall plate with 1 red and 1 black jack. On the back of each jack there are two pins, one in the center and one on the side. The pins have tiny little holes in them that are too small to thread the 14g wire through so I'm assuming I have to solder the wire to the pins?? I've sweat plumbing before, so I think I can do it. But which wires go to which pins? I have a red and black wire from each of 2 speakers. Do the black wires from both sp1 and sp2 go to the black RCA jack, one on the middle pin and one on the side pin? Or do I connect the red and black from sp1 to the red jack and the wires from the other speaker to the black jack? Also I want to hook up to a laptop that has all my music. I have found a nice piece of wire with a headphone pin to dual stereo RCA jacks made by THX. So I can plug my laptop directly to the wall jack. Do I need an amplifier in there too?
 

REGGAEBOY
Unregistered guest
MY STEREO BLEW AND ALL I HAVE LEFT IS THE SPEAKERS AND I WANT TO WIRE THE SPEAKERS IN WITH THE ONES FOR MY COMPUTER, BUT THE PROBLEM IS THE SPEAKER WIRES JUST END IN BARE WIRE AND I DONT KNOW WHAT TO CONNECT IT TO THE REST OF THEM.
 

Anonymous
 
I have a similar question to the previous Niles speaker to RCA jacks question.

Just finished a new addition to the house and ran coax, speaker wires and Cat5e all over the place with home runs back to a wiring closet.

Now that I'm starting to connect all the various house speakers to the "whole house audio distribution", I realized that I needed to place a separate amp for the audio in the wiring closet which is not in the same location as my receivers, etc.

I was thinking that I could use some of the spare speaker wires in the walls to connect the receiver to the amps via RCA connector walljacks. I read recently that you shouldn't connect speaker wire to RCA plugs but couldn't get an answer why not.

Is it merely a problem of making sure you have the same polarity on both ends of the speaker wire, i.e., postive to positive / negative to negative?

Just making sure that I'm not violating some audio law.
 

Q
Unregistered guest
How do I get rid of this hum. I took an sterio 8thquarter male =-<--->--= and spliced it to extend it with speaker wire so it would reach to my soundboard. (PC to Soundboard) It worked but I am getting a hum in my floor speaker. I think it's because of the grounds. Can you help me pleeeessse?
 

Unregistered guest
I have a microphone for a PA system that has a 3 prong mail plug....I need to rewire it to a RCA plug but the problem is 3 wires into 2...any ideas?
 

jwlchr
Unregistered guest
Pardon my lameness...
I want to connect two stereo speakers to my home theater's headphone jack; is this possible? Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you in advance!
 

New member
Username: Olk

Post Number: 1
Registered: Dec-05
I received a pair of Bose Cinemate speakers as a gift. They have RCA cables to hook up to a TV. Can I use a set of the RCA to tinned cables and run the speakers off of my stereo amplifier so that I can hear everything through the speakers?
 

Anonymous
 
I came to this board with some questions, and I saw that others were struggleing with the same stuff. i did some research, and here's what I found:

RCA is two conductor, and speaker wire is two conductor, so soldering or crimping RCA connectors onto speaker wire is ok . . . BUT . . .

Keep in mind that RCA jacks on a receiver or sub usually mean "line level" output (very low power). Binding posts are the more traditional connector for driving "speaker level" output (high power).

Also, the sub needs good, clean signal in the low frequencies. RCA cables wrap the positive wire in the ground conductor, which shields the signal. Regular speaker wire runs the neg/ground conductor along side the pos. Therefore, the pos is much more suseptable to interference. If you have dimmers, fridge, AC power, ceiling fans, or any other motors nearby, consider getting real shielded cable.
 

Unregistered guest
hey.. well for starters all these radioshack links just lead to the homepage. anyways, i have a 1985 chevrolet c-10 pickup with the stock radio. i have an amplifier and a subwoofer. the amplifier works, and it is installed. since there are no RCA outputs on the stock radio, i need to know how to use the speaker wires to get a signal to my sub amp. i tried simply splicing the stereo wires to an RCA plug and then into the input of the amp, with no sound coming out of the speaker. how do i wire this?
 

New member
Username: Gyuchacha

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-06
I have a question. I wanted to play downloaded movies on my TV so I got the S-video cable, but totally forgot about to audio. What do I need to play audio from my comp to my TV?
 

Silver Member
Username: 420pimp2

Post Number: 550
Registered: Jan-06
Quote by riley

(in order to operate, does an rca plug need both a positive and a negative signal? im trying to figure out how to get speaker wire and and rca cable connected, and i think that my best option is to solder an rca plug on the end of a length of speaker wire. will this work?)



No because rca cables send digital signals and you need a converter to make it send a normal signal to straight wire. Don't bother at radio shack they don't sell them. You have to go to an audio store or i think best buy sells them. This may only apply to the output rca to a sub from an h.u..
 

New member
Username: Doc_watson

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-06
I have to extend the lines to my speakers and can not rewire as they were put inplace during the building of the house. While splicing is far from ideal at this point it is my only option.

Is there a "best way" of doing this?
 

New member
Username: Rajroma

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-06
I had come to this post with the same questions about which part of the RCA socket is positive and which is negative and found there has been no conclusive answer. I subsequently did some research and found out that the inside part or the prong is positive and the outer layer which wraps the center prong is negative, which is also called the ground.
Hope this helps!
 

New member
Username: Kimos

Nipomo, CA USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-06
Yes, The Neg wires have to be grounded for your system to work properly.
Raj is correct. The inner wire is the ground/neg. wire and the outer strands are the positive wire.

I am installing an OmniFi system into my Miata 2000LS. I opted to yank the cassette deck and use the cass. input pins for the OmniFi. I gutted the cassette casing and used it for the housing of the OmniFi face plate. Later I will take my roto tool to the old cassette faceplate to make the trim ring.

Cheers, KIMO...Hawaiian for JIM
 

New member
Username: Coryk

Gibson, Bc Canada

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jun-06
Is it possible to connect speaker wires to 1/4" jacks. Just moved into a new place that has 1/4" jacks in all the rooms for speakers and a panel of 1/4" jacks to connect from amp. My amp only has screw type connectors for speaker wire.
 

New member
Username: Aicpjim

Post Number: 1
Registered: Aug-06
hey guys. anyone make an adapter that will allow me to hook up a male RCA plug to the speaker terminals on the back of my home theater receiver? I bought a pair of 900mhz wireless speakers, hoping to use them as my rear surrounds on my receiver. The wireless speakers have a transmitter. The plug coming out of the transmitter is a single 3.5mm male mini plug. The set came with an adapter that splits the 3.5mm plug into a left/right RCA male plug. That's not what I want! I want the transmitter to be hooked up to my rear surround speaker terminals of my receiver, so I need some kind of adapter that will take each of the two RCA plugs and convert them into speaker wires that will be hooked up to the speaker terminals of my receiver. HELP!
 

New member
Username: Aicpjim

Post Number: 2
Registered: Aug-06
Never mind... just found the solution. 18 AWG Speaker wire with RCA Female adapter, from www.connectworld.net
 

New member
Username: Board_lord12

Canada

Post Number: 1
Registered: Aug-06
I recently bought a surround receiver and am not sure how to connect my subwoofer. It is a passive subwoofer (it was connected with speaker wire to my old receiver), but the sub output from the new receiver is an rca jack. Is it possible to simply solder a male rca plug onto the end of the speaker wire from the sub or will this not work?
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 9279
Registered: Dec-03
Yes it is possible...but it will not work. You need an active subwoofer to connect to that sub output.
 

New member
Username: Board_lord12

Canada

Post Number: 2
Registered: Aug-06
Are you sure this will not work? Is my passive sub 100% useless with my new receiver?!! Is there anyway I can get some low frequency signal into my sub?
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 9285
Registered: Dec-03
Try it and find out. The equipment is there so you might as well see if it works, that way you know for sure.

You can also connect your passive sub on one of the speaker terminals.

What receiver is it?
 

New member
Username: Board_lord12

Canada

Post Number: 3
Registered: Aug-06
It is a Sony 6.1 channel home theatre receiver (STRDG500S)

Could connecting the sub with the rca plug potentially damage the receiver of subwoofer?
 

Gold Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 9286
Registered: Dec-03
No.
 

New member
Username: Madbrad1

Lehi, UT USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Aug-06
How can I tell the +/- on my clear speaker wire. Is the one with the writing on it the +?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 10055
Registered: Dec-03
You can designated it as such. As long as your source and the speakers match polarity you'll be fine.
 

New member
Username: Frogus69

New Milford, NJ USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Sep-06
I want to connect a DVD player's 5.1 speaker output connections (not RCA) to my new receiver's inputs (RCA). Got the plugs and speaker wire, but not sure I understand how to fit the wire in the plug...what goes to the center (+) and what goes to the (-). Should I just close the (-) grips on the plastic outer shell of the wire and the wire be soldered to the center? Upload
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 11160
Registered: Dec-03
What kind of output jacks does your DVD player have? If it is not the RCA type, what is it?

What kind of DVD player is it?
 

New member
Username: Frogus69

New Milford, NJ USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: Sep-06
The DVD (KLH-5.1) has generic wire outputs, while the receiver (Pioneer-7.1) has RCA inputs (see picture). I'm using speaker wire from the DVD and adding new RCA plugs to the end to get to the receiver. I'm not sure however how to secure the wire to the RCA plugs (see previous post)Upload
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 11171
Registered: Dec-03
You want to connect speaker level outpus in to the Pioneer's line level inputs???

I wouldn't do that!
 

Silver Member
Username: Mike3

Lewisville, Tx USA

Post Number: 197
Registered: May-06
Cyrille, That is a receiver's speaker level outputs, which are high powered outputs. I thought the KLH 5.1 is a surround receiver not a DVD player. What is more important is that the RCA inputs of the Pioneer are looking for Line Level (low voltage) signals not Speaker Level (high voltage) signals. Berny is suggesting that you do not foul up your Pioneer by doing what you suggest.

Do you have a DVD player running RCAs into the KLH? If you do, unplug it from the KLH and plug it into the Pioneer.

Do you have "Line Out" on the KLH? If you do connect RCAs from there to the Pioneer and set the selector of the KLH to DVD.

Perhaps you should go out and buy a $40 DVD player and hook it up to the Pioneer.

Mike
 

New member
Username: Frogus69

New Milford, NJ USA

Post Number: 3
Registered: Sep-06
Mike,

Thanks for the voltage insight. Guess I left poor Berny speachless on that one!! (Glad I dropped by this forum, for sure!!). At any rate, the KLH is a DVD player with 5.1 surround speaker output (and regular left/right RCA output)...I'll follow your advice and seek another DVD...unless my receiver can enhance this left/right signal into something close to surround..thanks again.
 

New member
Username: Desiinc

Post Number: 1
Registered: Oct-06
Hi, i just brought my new car and i want to run my amp which is 1500w but my standard cd headunit + 5 cd changer and mp3/ipod conneceter that comes with it does not have any rca outs.. bt the way the std unit is nice and chromed :P

how can i make a RCA out from the standard car speaker wire to the amps rca input?
 

Gold Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 4389
Registered: Dec-04
Des, any car audio shop will sell you the little box to do that job.Walmart will have one too.
You will end up with a mixed mono signal at the back, but the arrangement works fine.
 

New member
Username: Desiinc

Post Number: 2
Registered: Oct-06
thanks for your help :P
 

New member
Username: Franksplace2

Post Number: 1
Registered: Oct-06
Here is the definition of RCA jack: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rca_jack

Wikipedia sugggests the pin carries the signal and the ring is ground. That seems reasonable since your fingers are more likely to touch the outer ring.

Typically these are used on interconnecting cable ("hi voltage") like VCR to TV (red white yellow) or DVD to sound system (red white). These have RCA jacks at both ends.

My Bose system uses RCA jacks on one end and bare wire on the other end for five small speakers. Using a voltmeter for continuity, I found the pin is red and the ring is black

I have found the RCA speaker wire at Radio Shack:
42-2449 (12 ft, tiny wire) and 42-2457

I also found it here: http://www.smcelectronics.com/audcable.htm

Speaker Cable. RCA Phono Plug on each end. 18 gauge wire. Unshielded. 15 feet long.
(Stock #: SPW-12)
$4.00 Each

and here:

http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=MCMProducts&product%5Fid=28%2D580

8FT SPEAKER CABLE 24AWG ONE END TERMINATED - RCA PLUG MCM Part #: 28-580

Availability: 1961
Pricing 1+ $1.19

Frank
 

New member
Username: Jmsosa63

Gilroy, CA USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Nov-06
I have a unique problem. I have a home theater receiver and need to connect it to a powered subwoofer. The wiring runs through the walls and is standard pair of monster cable speaker wires (4 wires total 2-left and 2-right). I have a single RCA output plug on the back of the amp for the powered sub, and on the back of the sub there are 2 RCA jacks. If I put RCA connectors on the speaker wires, how do I go from one connector on the back of the amp to 2 on the back of the sub?
 

New member
Username: Board_lord12

Canada

Post Number: 4
Registered: Aug-06
To Jeff Sosa:

Your sub probably has a left/right rca input(2 as you described) so it can output to other speakers (many subs have this). If you are simply connecting your sub to your receiver you only need 1 rca connector (the white one which is a mono signal). Fortunately, subwoofer signals are not stereo encoded so you are not losing any signal.

Basically, all you need to do, is have an rca connector on both ends of 1 cable - 1 end plugged into the sub output from the receiver, and 1 end plugged into the WHITE input on your sub!

Note that if your speaker wire is higher than 16 guage you may not get the most amazing signal in the world, but realistically it is highly unlikely that any human ear could tell the difference.

-board_lord12
 

New member
Username: Rjgx

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-07
Thanks Frank for the clearest answers yet!
#POST910495

My question now is: Connecting the RCA cable stripped ends to the speaker wire stripped ends; must I connect the outside heavier guage wire on the RCA (ring, ground, neg., shield) to the neg. speaker wire? Or can I instead use the lighter guage inner wire (prong, signal, poz.) on that RCA wire to connect as the neg./ground and use the heavier outside wire as the poz, signal wire? I'm thinking this will carry a stronger signal? I know this will make the ring the poz and the prong the neg, but will there be hum, or interference or what?
Appreciate your advice.
Rob
 

New member
Username: Focus1063

Philadelphia, Pa USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-07
I'm trying to use the television speakers as the center speaker for 5.1 surround sound.

The problem is that the TV uses RCA inputs and my surround sound has a center channel speaker wire.

Is there anything to convert the speaker wire to RCA plug without loosing sound quality.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 12403
Registered: Dec-03
You can convert the speaker wire.

"without loosing sound quality" - no offense, but you are using the TV speakers...the sound quality there is no slice of heaven, and the qulaity loss is not relevant nor noticeable.
 

Silver Member
Username: Tadon

Dover, NJ Usa

Post Number: 132
Registered: May-06
"...
I'm trying to use the television speakers as the center speaker for 5.1 surround sound. ..."

You mean that you connect TV speaker to output of audio signal from your receiver (assume all
signal out from receiver) . So your TV speaker is
not work along with TV any more . So the answer is YES .

"....
The problem is that the TV uses RCA inputs and my surround sound has a center channel speaker wire. ..."

Signal in/out RCA plug is diferrent with a
signal out to wire speaker . Luckyly you are
notburn your system !

Think this way, you buy a fish from market,
but you can not eat a fish before cooking or
do want you want ...

- Signal in/out from RCA like a fish you buy
from market .
- Signal out to speaker wire is a fish after
you cook or do what ever you want ...
 

New member
Username: Jazzylay

Ilion, NY US

Post Number: 1
Registered: Apr-07
Hi, i just bought a sony explode cd player and i want to run my amp which is 400w with a 800w pioneer sub, but my cd headunit w/ front aux does not have any rca outs. Is there something or a way that i can install a rca output to the exsisting wiring to hook up the amp and sub?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 13893
Registered: Dec-03
Go to CAR AUDIO. Plenty of good tips and help in there.
 

New member
Username: Lwfjester

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-07
Hey all...

I'm afraid I'm trying to do the same thing..only I'm looking for a converter. I'm using a JVC receiver that I would like to plug into a Yamaha AMP. The amp only has a single low level RCA input. My receiver does have a Tape Monitor output, but the volume control on the receiver does not control the recording output level.

I have no way of controling the output level, unless I connect the speaker output to the line in on the AMP. The problem with that (as I'm sure you've all figured out by now) is that the speaker cables coming out of the receiver are high level, and the input is low level.

My brother in law told me he bought a high level to low level converter at radioshack once, but I had no luck. I've been online, and have found multiple converters, but they all seem to be for car audio applications. I'm hesitant to purchase one of these, since my understanding is that most car-fi applications use 4-ohm resistance, as opposed to the usual 8-ohm resistance found in home audio apps.

Has anyone had any luck finding a hi to low converter for home applications?
 

New member
Username: Ramz001

Lake Jackson, TX USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jul-07
I have been trying to connect my TV (has a coax connection in back and 3 rca jack connections in front- audio left, audio right,& video)to my stereo in my RV camper which has ceiling mounted speakers(4). I have a DVD connected to the TV. The stereo doesn't have any rear jacks just speaker wires and only has an earphone jack in the front. How can I make the connection from the stereo to the TV or the DVD? Whenever we watch a DVD we have turn the volume to the max because of the high noise on the AC. The RV speakers are of better quality and you can hear them above the AC noise rather nicely.

Thanks any suggestions would be helpful.
Carlos
 

New member
Username: Cvsoldiers2

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jul-07
does anyone know what will happen is i hook up my 800watt car subwoofer to the positive and negative terminals to my 1000watt 5disk dvd home theater system??
 

New member
Username: Cvsoldiers2

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jul-07
i am not going to play it loud and im not going to be using an amp..so am i still going to blow the sub?
 

New member
Username: Swin21

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-08
The wires coming from my speakers are loose but split into two. I am trying to hook up to an old Denon receiver that has rca jacks. There is just a left and a right jack (total of 2). Do both speaker wires go into an rca jack, or do half of each speaker wire go into the jacks? Thanks for any help. This is an old Denon from the late 70's.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 14718
Registered: Dec-03
Ensure first that the RCA jacks coming out of your old Denon receiver are for speakers and not for a power amp.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 14719
Registered: Dec-03
Kelvin,
You are not going to blow anything. I doubt your home theater system is really 1000 watts.
 

New member
Username: Swin21

Post Number: 2
Registered: Feb-08
It is clearly marked speaker L & R. There is no power amp plug. Only other jacks are phono in, and tape in and out. Also a screw for FM antenna. Thats it.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 14754
Registered: Dec-03
You can get an adapter for those. The outside part of the jack is (-) and the inside is (+), and you can connect those to your speakers.
 

New member
Username: Swin21

Post Number: 3
Registered: Feb-08
Thanks.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 14758
Registered: Dec-03
No worries, mate!
 

New member
Username: Jamino

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-08
Hey everybody, Loads of similar issues in here. I'm trying to connect RCA to speaker wire also, to hook car audio sub. I gather that the outer ring is ground, and inner prong is signal. Therefore the connection should end up being prong>speaker; outer ring>ground such as truck's body...? The connection has not yielded any sound yet, although it is a passive sub. Any suggestions /corrections are appreciated.
cheers
 

New member
Username: Mikevictor

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-08
I have a vintage Sansui reciever (8700DB) and Bose 601 series I speakers (1979 era) that I would like to hook up to my soon to arrive Samsung LN-T3253H TV. The TV has RCA Phono audio outputs and digital outputs.
The speakers have a pos and a neg binding post style connectors.

I am curious if I can hook the speakers directly up to the TV with some sort of speaker wire adaptor or if I must hook the TV up to the Reciever first.

Any advice on how to pull this off would be appreciated.

the old gear is near and dear to my heart, would like to keep it and it sounds great, with refurbished woofers.

Mike
 

New member
Username: Reo

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-08
Can I connect FROM a tv coaxial or digital output port THRU a digital-to-analog converter TO analog audio input rca jacks of a boom box to get the sound from the tv to come out of the boom box speakers?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 15374
Registered: Dec-03
Start new threads please so we can address each issue properly.
 

New member
Username: Rogy33

Toronto, On Canada

Post Number: 1
Registered: Sep-08
i would like to attach some small speakers for surround purposes to me t.v. Is it safe to attach the open speaker wire to rca plugs and plug it into the tv audio outputs? thx
 

New member
Username: Misser

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-10
Hi i have a problem My sony A/V Receiver only have a RCA output for sub, and my sub have "speaker cabel" (Red and Wihte) input, i have bought Rca to speaker wire, but the sub dont work ? What can the problem be, and are the other options ?
 

New member
Username: Guile42

Manila, Main Philippines

Post Number: 4
Registered: Jan-10
guys, to limit the mess on your cables, you can get an adaptor for both jacks, there's many types of converters around electronic shops its very cheap from your speaker to pc which means 2 wires into 1 output/input. it will not destroy any of your audio its just the quality of stereo and mono.
 

New member
Username: Skwurlz

Manitowc, WI United States

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-10
Hey!!! ok i hooked up a Jensen uv10 dvd/audio deck in my car and it has speaker plugs like rca (females) and one says subwoofer i am putting in an amp and sub and i have it all hooked up but i dont know where to plug the RCAs into the radio, i have them in the amp right now and i am just consfused, there is only one sub plug for the rcas and there are other female speaker plugs but i dont think i need to touch them. and again there are the female left and right speaker plugs for the rear and front of the car and one sub plug i dont know where to plug the RCAS in........ PLZ
 

New member
Username: Djeuro

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-10
Hey guys similar problem here...ok im using a XMS 5.1 digital amplifier to run my little studio i have going at the moment "and what im trying to do is connect a Megavox subwoofer to the XMS amplifier" ok now here is the problem,the XMS amplifier has a single RCA jack for the subwoofer to connect to "but the megavox subwoofer has the red and white connecters where you put your wires into,ive tried to use a set of RCA audio leads and cutt one end of and using 1 end with exsposed wires and the other with a single RCA jack but cant get it too work

Hopefully someone can help me out with this issue

thank u for your time

regards

shane
 

New member
Username: Djeuro

Post Number: 2
Registered: Feb-10
Hey benny ok wat u need to do is buy a 2 into 1 rca adaptor meaning u can run 2 rca plus into 1 single plugg ,that will fix your issue mate GL
 

New member
Username: Camplejo

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-10
I have a Panasonic SA PM-53 shelf stereo. Basic system. The connections on the back of the stereo to the supplied speakers have 4 bare wires for each speaker. I would like to replace the supplied speakers and route the sound through the soundbar connected to my TV. The soundbar has RCA inputs. I've seen bare wire to rca plugs ( http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102955&CAWELAID=107592464 ) but I would need 4 wires for Left and 4 for Right. What am I missing. Any solutions to do this?
 

New member
Username: Iceken

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-10
I have a similar issue here.
My receiver only has bare wire outputs for connecting the speakers.
I would like to connect my soundbar (Samsung HT-WS1G) to the receiver. The soundbar has 2 rca connections (red,white°.
Can I just use something like http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102959 or http://www.connectworld.net/cgi-bin/hello-cables/L74234-01 or would I blow up my receiver/speakers/house?
 

New member
Username: Tribulus

Post Number: 1
Registered: Sep-10
http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=rca%20speaker%20wire&orig kw=rca%20speaker%20wire&sr=1

Speaker wire with RCA plug
 

New member
Username: Tribulus

Post Number: 2
Registered: Sep-10
Converting Speaker Wire to RCA Plugs Step by Stephttp://www.ehow.com/how_4885770_convert-speaker-wire-rca-plugs.html
 

New member
Username: Blister23

Leicester, Leicestershire GB

Post Number: 1
Registered: Dec-10
My dad has recently upgraded his Hifi system and gave all of his equipment to me, but the only problem is I recently bought a reasonable docking system that I don't want to go to waste, so I was wondering if there was any way I can connect the docking system to my amp.

Is there anyway I can output my docking station, a KitSound Boom Dock http://kitsound.co.uk/product/BOOMDOCK, which only has an audio input not an output to my NAD series 20 3020 stereo amplifier.
or

would it be easier to connect it to it through speaker wire and connect RCA plugs? the only problem being that I also have speakers connected to the amp which only has 2 speaker outputs.
 

New member
Username: Kamilucky

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-11
I try to hook my tv up to a speaker with a subwoofer in the box. I dont know what the name of the speaker is..All i know is that i need the normal plug looking wire and then the wire that you can strip to go into a stereo. How do I do this and what kind of wire do I need.anyone help me?
 

New member
Username: Nats27

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-11
I did have an amp in my car which i no longer have as it is broken, i want to run my speakers in back off my car of stereo instead to save me running new wires under carpet is there an adaptor or something i can buy to turn the wires that used to go into my amp so they can go straight into my speakers instead? Any help appreciated.

Thanks
 

New member
Username: Phantommarine

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jun-11
i have a tv with RCA inputs, RCA to speaker wire adapter, and a speaker. when i connected the wires and plugged everything in to the tv, no sound came from the extra speakers. is it possible i mixed up the positive and negative ends? do i not have enough power to work the speakers? i dont know what else to do. any help would be appreciated.
 

New member
Username: Cookiecruncher

Post Number: 1
Registered: Sep-11
I have a new LED tv and am trying to hook up some old JBL speakers to it, but they have the old WIRE hookups directly to the speaker wire. The TV has RCA jacks with audio inputs, and I tried cutting speaker wire that had RCA jacks on one end and putting the wires in the speakers but that did not work. The sound on these flat panels leave a lot to be desired. This is in my kitchen so I do not want to have to get stereo just for it. Any suggestions on how I can get these speakers to work without a special HDMI Speaker?
 

New member
Username: Jtwin

Post Number: 1
Registered: Nov-13
I have a new receiver for my home theater. The audio outputs are binding posts. My old speakers are an RCA plug. Can I snip off the RCA plug and split it, so I can plug into the Binding posts?
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