Bare speaker wire to 3.5mm plug
I'm trying to connect an old receiver to a new sound bar. The receiver has old-style spring-clip terminals, two pairs. It takes bare speaker wire to the old speakers, one pair to each. The sound bar has a 3.5mm mini-jack input. So what I want to do is convert from two pairs of bare speaker wire to a single mini-plug, which I can plug into the sound bar. I've searched extensively, and I'm pretty sure there's no commercial product for this conversion. So I'm wondering if I can wire up something myself. I have two questions: 1. Do I risk blowing out my new soundbar by feeding it from the receiver? 2. I have a cable that has two spade connectors on one end, and a 3.5mm mini-plug on the other. Here's what it looks like: 12-Ft. 24-Gauge Speaker Cable with 1/8 Plug - RadioShack.com Can I cut off the spades and connect one pair of speaker wire to each strand, and then plug it into the 3.5mm jack on the sound bar? (Of course I know I CAN do it -- the question is would it function, and/or might it harm the sound bar?) The reason I want to do this is so I can use the functionality of my receiver -- AM/FM tuner, CD player, tape deck -- without having to keep my old very large speakers. The sound bar has an optical input from the TV, and the currently empty 3.5mm jack that I want to use for the receiver output. Thanks for any advice. If you want stereo input to the sound bar, you cannot do as you described. You need to get a 3.5mm stereo plug and then tie the speaker grounds from your receiver together and attach the other end to the ground of the plug. The remaining wire from each speaker is attached so that one wire feeds the tip of the plug and the other feeds the ring above the tip. Stereo isn't really necessary because the sound bar is only 3ft long and 12ft from where I sit, so I wouldn't get much L/R separation anyway. Nothing like my old speakers which were on opposite sides of the room. I'm willing to accept a less full sound in order to eliminate the speakers and wiring to them. It's really a matter of a decent feed to the sound bar. Do not connect the speaker outputs to the 3.5mm input. You could damage the input. Instead, use an RCA to 3.5 mm cable. Plug the RCAs into the Tape Out or Record Out of the receiver. Volume will be controlled by the sound bar. You can get them at Radio Shack. Photo courtesy monoprice.com. Originally Posted by Rick Johnston Do not connect the speaker outputs to the 3.5mm input. You could damage the input. Thanks for the warning. I wondered if that might be a problem, which is why I asked here instead of just trying it. Instead, use an RCA to 3.5 mm cable. Plug the RCAs into the Tape Out or Record Out of the receiver. Volume will be controlled by the sound bar. I actually tried that. The sound came through fine but the receiver's EQ adjustments didn't have any affect. The sound bar has limited EQ control, but it has a pass-through mode that sends the sound through unadjusted. I had hoped to be able to use the receiver's EQ because it has far more control. Since the receiver's EQ had no impact using the Rec Out, I thought I'd try the speaker outputs, which I know use the receiver's EQ settings. BTW, I tested the Rec Out connection from the receiver to a boom box, and the receiver's EQ had no effect there either. I guess it only works on the speaker output. The Tape (Record) Out is not part of the EQ because you wouldn't want a recording to be pre-emphasized. You'd have too much EQ on playback. You could try an outboard EQ inserted between the Tape Out and sound bar input. Also, a little digging brought up this: http://www.xantech.com/files/manuals/253_i_sllc1.pdf Around $25 street price. It will definitely work with your receiver. Just keep the receiver's volume very low. As long as you don't blast more than 25 watts into the device it should work forever. Connecting the receiver speaker terminals to the sound bar, turning the volume up more than about 1/4 can blow the sound bar. While keeping the volume lower, there may be audible hiss or hum in the sound as you finally hear it. Adding bass by adjusting the receiver's EQ controls increases the chance of blowing out the sound bar when you connect up the speaker terminals. Do not connect both speaker output channels to the same two spade lugs or wire ends going into the sound bar. This will blow the amp. Meanwhile if you connect just one output channel, the song can sound quite empty or lacking when you listen to just the left channel or just the right channel, depends on how the record producer mixed the audio.
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