Wiring Question on Older Speakers

Drummer4Life05

Drummer4Life05

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My friend has a pair or old Sony monitors he's going to give to me for free. The only problem is that they have wire connectors on the ends. There's two (2) wires which need to be inserted for each speaker. I've seen this before with my home entertainment system speakers, and I've seen it on older speakers, such as these.
Is there any way I could make the ends a 1/4" plug so I can plug them into my Delta 44?
Would a connector on this page work?

Thanks in advance.

-Justin :cool:
 
The ends of speaker wires can be different, as long as you are using unshielded wire of sufficient gauge. I buy Belden cable at the local music store, and add 1/4" jacks or pins or whatever I need for an interface at the source and just use the bare wire at the speaker...we ARE talking passive here, right? The only thing to be careful of other than gauge (14 is about as small as I like) is polarity. Make sure all +s and all -s go to the proper terminals. Just separate the wires and strip enough insulation off the ends to insert into the connection. There's not much to be gained from adding a jack + plug combo to unpowered speakers. That just gives you another set of plugs to stick in the wrong hole, and mechanically 1/4" is not as robust or resistant to pulling out as a bare wire in a binding post.
 
If these are passives, then the output signal of the Delta won't be strong enough to drive them. You'll need an amplifier between the soundcard and the speakers.
 
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. DUH!
Yeah, as far as I know they are passives -- I don't see any place for a power supply or a power cord.

Now, I'm unfamiliar with power amps...what kind of connection is it between the speakers and the amp?

Thanks to you both! :)
 
Drummer4Life05 said:
Now, I'm unfamiliar with power amps...what kind of connection is it between the speakers and the amp?
:)
Click to expand...

It depends on the amp. some are 1/4 inch, some are binding posts (banana plugs) and some are other things entirely. You will have to get the amp and look on the back.
 
Thanks Farview.
Please excuse my ignorance here! Until now I had no idea how these power amps worked!
So now I would like reccomendations on power amps. I found some Crown XLS series on ebay for ~$200. Is this a good starting point?
It looks like the amp also accepts the straight-up wire from the monitor, which will save me the trouble of trying to solder a 1/4" or XLR connector.

Thanks again!
 
Crown is a good amp company. I love my Haflers. Crest is also good. Stay away from Nady, Stewart and any other amp maker that doesn't make big amps for concert sound. If they don't make the big stuff, the suck at the small stuff.
 
Awesome.
I found a Hafler TA1600 on eBay for $124. The guys over at recordingproject say it's a good deal.
Is it a good start for me at least?
 
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