How do you wire a Hi-Fi?

Tommy B

Tommy B

Tommy B

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I recently accidenly pulled out the cable connecting my speakers to my AMP. On reconnecting them, I've found that the sound has lost almost all bass and it is honestly quite awful.

I thought that the BLACK terminal (Negative) connets to the BLACK terminal on the speaker. And same with the red. Both + and - have two wires each, they both twine togethor at the amp, but each speaker has 4 inputs (2 for positive and 2 for negative)

So

L :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X Black (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X Red (Speakers)

R :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X Black (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X Red (Speakers)

What have I done?
 
Sounds like you're bi-wiring? Are you using just one amplifier? Or do you have two? Is the speaker bridging piece in place or have you removed it? (do the latter)
Do the bass cones on both speakers work? Can you test the amplifier on another set of speakers?
 
The bass cones are working fine it's just they're quiet.

I have one amplifier with a + and a - terminal for each of L and R outputs. The speakers however have 2+ inputs and 2- inputs EACH. So I've got a 4-wire cable for each speaker, with 2 of the wires tied togethor at the amp end.
 
yes I know, that's why I said bi-wiring, as you have a total of 8 wires on the speaker side, and 4 or 8 on the amplifier side.

Check you haven't knocked the bass tone controls.
 
squiffy said:
yes I know, that's why I said bi-wiring, as you have a total of 8 wires on the speaker side, and 4 or 8 on the amplifier side.

Check you haven't knocked the bass tone controls.
Click to expand...

Tried that.

As I'm a bit of a Hi-Fi noob, do you mind explaning what happens if you get the connections the wrong way round?

Am I right in conneting Black to Black, Red to Red etc?

Many thanks
 
Doesn't matter about the colour of the wire, it's just covering. However make sure you get the phase correct, as in + to +, and - to -

It's possible when it pulled out it shorted, it depends on the amplifier as some will blow a fuse, others will be damaged.

Check the cable/terminations are undamaged and have good contact.

A "sounds funny" problem could be inverted phase on one speaker, so double check speaker cable.
 
Is there any other way to check whether the sound is inverted. I guess I could play a mono signal out of each and compare.
 
Play some pink noise, and sit smack in between the two, then move side to side, if one speaker sound disappears one is out of phase. One ear will feel funny, at least mine do, a bit like air pressure feeling in the ear except without the pop.

There's some info around about phase checks, I think Avia or Lexicon.

However if you've connected it up correctly, it should be fine...although some amplifiers do internally invert phase.
 
Are you sure RED is positive.

I wired it up so the RED terminals on the amp goto the BLACK terminals on the speakers, and now the bass is back just as it used to be.
 
bwire2.gif


Simple as that. If the speakers are out of phase you should get less bass not more. Make sure you follow each wire individually and check where it's going.

Also you could check speaker/amp manual just in case somehow the coloured nuts have been removed and put back on wrong. Unlikely I know.

Also as squiffy said remove the bridging plates if you're using them.
 
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Tommy B said:
Are you sure RED is positive.

I wired it up so the RED terminals on the amp goto the BLACK terminals on the speakers, and now the bass is back just as it used to be.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if you wire

L :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X RED (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X BLACK (Speakers)

R :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X RED (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X BLACK (Speakers)

or do it the way you said above. As long as they are the same for each speaker it really doesn't matter. You are simply changing the phase of both speakers, and it is entirely up to yourself which you prefer the sound of.

If you try having the following

L :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X BLACK (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X RED (Speakers)

R :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X RED (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X BLACK (Speakers)

you will notice a complete lack of bass, and find it very hard to pinpoint where the sound is. This is because the speakers are out of phase.



By phase, I mean the way the cone moves on the speaker. By swapping the red and black round, the cone will move inwards when it would previously have moved outwards (and vice versa). As long as both speakers are moving in the same direction then all is fine. Interestingly, I owned a Sony stereo all in one system (cost around £300), and the wiring was out of phase when connecting red to black for both speakers! I only found out years later once I actually got into hifi.


Edited: thanks to Tommy B, didn't notice that I had infact written the opposite to what I meant :)
 
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I'm really confused now.

When I had BLACK > BLACK and RED > RED for both L and R it sounded crap. However, when I switched the BLACK and RED terminal wires (on the amp) around for the L speaker it suddenly sounded a LOT better.
 
Abyss said:
If you try having the following

L :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X BLACK (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X RED (Speakers)

R :
Black (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X BLACK (Speakers)
Red (Amp) >>>>>>>>>>> 2 X RED (Speakers)

you will notice a complete lack of bass, and find it very hard to pinpoint where the sound is. This is because the speakers are out of phase.
Click to expand...

I thought that was what you were MEANT to do...

bwire2.gif
 
FFS this is annoying.

I think it might be the X-fi that is messing everything up. It has some "Polarity" option. On one setting the bass is crap, but if I change it the bass suddenly BOOMS into place. What's that about?
 
Ah, then the reason it sounds right when it's wired wrong is probably because the x-fi polarity is wrong. Wire it up black-to-2Xblack, red-to-2Xred (as you described in your first post) and then change the x-fi polarity for each speaker until you get proper bass from both.

Btw that diagram I posted is showing identical wiring to your first post. I wasn't posting it to suggest your wiring was wrong, rather because it's easier to follow in a diagram. Sorry if I confused you.
 
That's what I've done and it's great now.

Why didn't the Hi-Fi people make it impossible to connect the speakers incorrectly in the first place?

That was confusing and I thought I knew a fair bit about Hi-Fis.
 
squiffy wrote:

There's some info around about phase checks, I think Avia or Lexicon.
Click to expand...

Are these audio files, and if so where could I get them from, preferably downloaded?

Have had a "google" but didn't turn up where I could get them. :)
 
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