Name this proprietary subwoofer cable

[BarbaraA]

Unnamed built-in surround sound system has this connect plate that includes two different active subwoofers.

No one I find at AV places seems to know what they are or what cable I need to hook them up to my receiver (Yamaha RX-V677, 7.2 ch).

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Are there other plates in the room? I'd guess it's a distribution plate wired to another section of the room where the speakers etc are. Or the opposite, and that plate is connected through the walls to a closet where an equipment room is. I believe those are female speaking ends. Too bad nobody took the plate cover off when the room was painted. Lol.

 

[j_garcia]

Proprietary? The two in the center are RCA. The rest of them appear to be binding posts for banana jacks; two of the most common audio connections.

These should work for the binding posts:

https://www.amazon.com/Sewell-Silverback-Banana-Speaker-Connector/dp/B0072KOHQ4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491795021&sr=8-3&keywords=sewell+banana+plugs

And any RCA cable should work for the two powered subs outputs.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yep. What J said.

 

[BarbaraA]

An RCA cable end is too big. Got the others taken care of.

Radio Shack guy said they are an older "proprietary" thing but he does not know the name.

 

[j_garcia]

Hmm, hard to tell exactly from the pic, but those two looked like RCA for sure. Only other thought might be TRS / 1/4" which would require an adapter to RCA for most subs (only a few bucks). The panel looks old, but 2 subs would not have been a very common thing in years past. You may need to pop the panel off and see what is wired to the back of those two connectors for a clue as to what they are.

 

[slipperybidness]

An RCA cable end is too big. Got the others taken care of.

Radio Shack guy said they are an older "proprietary" thing but he does not know the name.

I agree with j_garcia. Probably need to get a look at the back. If the connector is really proprietary, then the easier option is likely to simply replace the connectors with RCAs.

Have you tried a couple different RCA cables to be sure you don't have cables that are bigger than normal?

 

[highfigh]

Unnamed built-in surround sound system has this connect plate that includes two different active subwoofers.

No one I find at AV places seems to know what they are or what cable I need to hook them up to my receiver (Yamaha RX-V677, 7.2 ch).

All of the speaker connections (including the passive sub) are binding posts and the Sub 1/Sub 2 are RCA jacks. Look at Parts Express- they should have something similar but it may not be a single plate like this- they may have Decora inserts that can be loaded with binding posts and RCA jacks. The Sub 1 and Sub 2 may/may not need to be wired differently since it's rare for two subs to be connected at the same wall plate- they're usually in different parts of the room.

A photo from greater distance and at an angle would make this easier to use as an example for the type of jacks.

 

[mtrycrafts]

May want to post another picture of that powered jack more from the side instead of straight on.
But if an RCA doesn't fit at all, best to unscrew the plate and see if you can replace them with modern RCA connector.
With all those wired in the back, be careful.

 

[lovinthehd]

Some sort of pin connector if RCA doesn't fit (we're still talking the active subwoofer jacks?). Agreed best is to take panel off and change out jacks to rca.

 

[BarbaraA]

So what I did was said foxtrot and shoved an RCA in - really hard. It took a lot of elbow grease. But the cable is in. And it for sure stays in.

And still, the subwoofers are not working. I am not sure where they are in the wall/ceiling if they are even really wired to anything. No additional plates, no secret compartment or room for more equipment than the five speakers mounted in ceiling. Have not taken off plate to look. I will just as soon break down and buy one to sit on the floor. And two back surrounds - it looks like my receiver can handle two more optional fronts also.

Thanks Audiophiles.

 

[Pogre]

So what I did was said foxtrot and shoved an RCA in - really hard. It took a lot of elbow grease. But the cable is in. And it for sure stays in.

And still, the subwoofers are not working. I am not sure where they are in the wall/ceiling if they are even really wired to anything. No additional plates, no secret compartment or room for more equipment than the five speakers mounted in ceiling. Have not taken off plate to look. I will just as soon break down and buy one to sit on the floor. And two back surrounds - it looks like my receiver can handle two more optional fronts also.

Thanks Audiophiles.

I'm thinking they're likely not rca. did you take the panel off and check the wiring? There were a couple of suggestions to swap out those pin receptors with rca's. I think that'd be the next step.

 

[pewternhrata]

It's an "undersized" rca connector. I know some sony products have used them, you can try 'crimping' the rca cable to get a snug fit (i wouldnt do it) or replace the terminal on the plate with a standard size.

 

[mtrycrafts]

So what I did was said foxtrot and shoved an RCA in - really hard. It took a lot of elbow grease. But the cable is in. And it for sure stays in.

And still, the subwoofers are not working. I am not sure where they are in the wall/ceiling if they are even really wired to anything. No additional plates, no secret compartment or room for more equipment than the five speakers mounted in ceiling. Have not taken off plate to look. I will just as soon break down and buy one to sit on the floor. And two back surrounds - it looks like my receiver can handle two more optional fronts also.

Thanks Audiophiles.

If you have an Ohm meter, measure the resistance of that connection.
A few Ohms and the speaker is someplace, if infinity, no speaker.