I've got an older stereo set with plain unmarked (no red or black) copper cables connecting the stereo to the speakers. The stereo and speakers are marked with a red and a black connection points, but the cables are not marked with a red or black side. How am I to know what is the red or black side of the cable to connect to stereo or speakers? I believe that it sounds better when they are connected correctly, but apart from that there is not much difference? I have two speakers each with cables about 4 metres long.
daryl14,
Aug 31, 7:53am
Should be a line printed on one side of the cable to help you get the polarity the same on each of the speakers. If not, run it through your hand to be sure.
macman26,
Aug 31, 7:55am
You will find either. 1, The cores. One will be tinned (silver looking) and one non tinned (copper looking).
2, One core on the outer insulation will either have a raised edge or writing on it.
Select one core for red, one for black.
chito,
Aug 31, 7:58am
Place the speakers facing each other and hard up against each other. change the connections going to ONE speaker. If the sound increases, that's the correct polarity. If the sound reduces and cancels out, reverse the connection.
vivac,
Aug 31, 10:06pm
It doesn't matter which way around you connect them, as long as both speakers are connected the same way. As above, if they are connected up differently they will cancel each other out at certain frequencies so will sound flat and quiet.
40wav,
Sep 2, 8:42am
Get new cable OR grab a multimeter and test the cables with that. Mark one end of one cable strand with some tape or vivid or whatever, use the multimeter to find the corresponding end and mark that too. Now you know which is which. If you dont have a multimeter, just use a battery and a small bulb or LED. Best to get them right. Good luck.
golfaholic2,
Sep 3, 6:27pm
The strand of cable with a line printed along it should be the black .
mm12345,
Sep 3, 9:45pm
See post #4 above, then figure out which might be the simplest method.
timberman,
Sep 14, 3:54am
Just use a torch battery 1.5V & hook it up to the speaker if the cone of the speaker moves out ,the way the speaker is hooked on to the battery is the polarity
rojill,
Sep 14, 6:17am
+5 !
tmenz,
Sep 14, 8:56pm
Switch the amplifier to MONO first so you have the same signal coming out of both speakers!
mm12345,
Sep 30, 8:01pm
Yes of course. Now where is this Mono fellow of which you speak? I think mine must have run away with his mates, Rumble and Hiss, sometime back in the '80s.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.