Speaker wire to RCA wire converter, exist?

[spoon805]

I posted earlier on this forum how my DAV-S300 reciever/dvd got robbed from me a few months ago. I got left with satelittes and a sub.

Right now, my goal is to just by components...seperate DVD, seperate receiver. However, I ran into a problem. After picking out my reciever and dvd player, I already hit my budget. I had planned to use my sony satelittes and the sub.

But here's the problem. The sub uses speaker wire, and not an rca cable. SO obiously I can't seamlessly hook it into the preout for sub on the reciever.

Is there a product out there that can convert this for me?
Is there a tutorial on how to perform this mod?

(the salesman said the only way would be to purchase an amp, but that's not an option right now.)

Thanks.

[Leon]

Your sub uses speaker wire? So is your sub passive?

[spoon805]

Leon,

I suppose it is a passive sub. I'm not a big home theater guy, so the vocab escapes me.

DarkFury,

Thanks for the advice and info,.... I suppose I'm SOL in trying to save money....

[spoon805]

Does your sub have a crossover and pass through links?

Nope,... it came off a home theater package. So the sub is very minimal in what defines a sub.

[InfiniteNothing]

While I might be completly wrong I have an idea. Someone can tell me if this would work or not. I've tried this before and it seemed to work.
1. Take a normal RCA cable, plug that into the "sub out" of your recieve
2. Cut the RCA plug off the other end.
3. Strip that end of the wire.
4. Put the wire in the clampy things of the subwoofer.
If I'm way off base don't make fun of me.

[i6s1]

I would almost work. There would be very little power in this case. If you used headphones and this method, it would work fine, but you couldn't adjust the volume. Since he's using a sub, it would probably be inaudible.

If you're short on cash, you can make your own amp.

[i6s1]

To elaborate a little on my last post...

Amplifiers are fairly simple things. The cost of parts is a fraction the cost of an amp. If you've got time and brains, you could make one of these.


http://www.aussieamplifiers.com/

here's a very suitable project.

http://sound.westhost.com/project3a.htm

[InfiniteNothing]

I just saw that this was answered.
--------
Adding in a amp would be really cool. How could you make it your self?

--------Heh, I sent this in one minute after your post.

[InfiniteNothing]

It's a cool idea; I'd try it just for fun. But try the splice (the one in my original post) and see what happens. You don't have much to lose. You might then try just playing around with your tuner

[spoon805]

Originally posted by DarkFury

Ok then... does your reciever have A and B channels? If so, then maybe you can connect the sub to the "B" channel?

BTW.. what replacement receiver did you buy? I now see what you meant by your sub... lookin' at this picture:

This is the reciever I was thinking about... STR-DE685

it says that it has "A or B Speaker Switch"... is this what you were talking about? What does that do specifically? [you can tell im a noob.]

[spoon805]

it has positive and negative...


Somehow... I get this feeling that the sub won't even sound as good as when it was connected to the DAV-S300 that it originally came with if I connect it in this fashion. Is this true?

[InfiniteNothing]

When you strip the RCA cable you should see two wires. I'm not sure if it will sound good but I think it's worth a try. I, personaly, don't mind a subtle bass. As for which wire is positive and which is negative....Guess. I don't think getting this wrong will physicaly or acousticly harm anything. I belive the inside wire (of the RCA plug) is positive. You could find out which wire is the one that leads to the inside by using a 9V lightbulb and a 9V battery.

[i6s1]

Originally posted by spoon805
it has positive and negative...


Somehow... I get this feeling that the sub won't even sound as good as when it was connected to the DAV-S300 that it originally came with if I connect it in this fashion. Is this true?

This is true.

You may hear something come out of it, but we're talking headphone-level power. If you do get sound, it will be overpowered by your right and left speakers.

[spoon805]

hey guys,

Thanks for the advice the past few days. I think you guys made me realize that what I was aiming for wasn't possbile to reach under such a meager budget.

Couple notes,

-This is for a home theater system.. so the sub is pretty essential, and so is surround sound.

-Stripping the RCA cable and doing all that seems like a cool idea, but might not be the solution I'm looking for.

Well,... I think I'm just going to settle with a DAV-C770. It meets my budget (around $600) to replace my system, and it comes with all the goods I need. Maybe next time I get robbed, I can set out a better budget. But for now, I think this sony package will satsify me. I loved my DAV-S300 a lot, even though it was a package system. Pretty satified with everything, minus the s-video. And with the C770, I will be upgrading in almost every aspect from my old system... I'll have GAINED Prologic II,300+ more watts, Component Video, 5-disc changer, CD-R/RW readability, and Digital input. And to be honest, I'm getting the C770 system for exactly what I paid for my old S300.

Again, thanks.