connecting sony speakers with weird connector for surround speakers?

[cidrac]

Hi everyone. So I just recently setup my first HT system, its just a 2.0 so far. I'm using 2 emotiva b1+ with a denon x1700h avr. I want to add surrounds but havent decided on which speakers to buy for them yet, but I have these old sony speakers that came with one of those cd player systems which I figured I can use for surround in meantime. Thing is it has some weird connector at the end so I wanted to know is there away for me to be able to hook them up to my avr? Is it possible to put regular banana plugs on the end somehow? this is the exact speakers https://www.crutchfield.com/S-wdebt8fn4Tu/p_158CMT99XM/Sony-CMT-HPR99XM.html
and this is what the connector piece looks is https://a.co/d/65Cbs7n.

Also would these speakers even be good to use as surround? or are they kind of old/bad, thanks in advance for anyone who responds.

 

[lovinthehd]

You could put a banana on the receiver end and not mess with the speaker's terminals, or just use the bare wires (there's no advantage to a banana except convenience otherwise). Those may be fine for surrounds until you save up for better; while the Sony wouldn't be a speaker I'd go out of my way for, but using something you have works....

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

You’ll have to clip that plug off the speaker wire and splice in the extra length you need to get from your rear speaker location to Denon AVR. You can find a guide to a number of splicing options in my signature. As @lovinthehd noted, you can connect to the AVR via bare wire or banana plugs.

This assumes of course you no longer have a need for the CD player system.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[lovinthehd]

You’ll have to clip that plug off the speaker wire and splice in the extra length you need to get from your rear speaker location to Denon AVR. You can find a guide to a number of splicing options in my signature. As @lovinthehd noted, you can connect to the AVR via bare wire or banana plugs.

This assumes of course you no longer have a need for the CD player system.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

I was thinking the other way around, that he needed the plug for the speakers, but if that plug is only for the old cd player/amp side yeah I'd just clip it.

ps on second thought, I'd just use regular speaker wire if the plug isn't needed on the speakers.....

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi everyone. So I just recently setup my first HT system, its just a 2.0 so far. I'm using 2 emotiva b1+ with a denon x1700h avr. I want to add surrounds but havent decided on which speakers to buy for them yet, but I have these old sony speakers that came with one of those cd player systems which I figured I can use for surround in meantime. Thing is it has some weird connector at the end so I wanted to know is there away for me to be able to hook them up to my avr? Is it possible to put regular banana plugs on the end somehow? this is the exact speakers https://www.crutchfield.com/S-wdebt8fn4Tu/p_158CMT99XM/Sony-CMT-HPR99XM.html
and this is what the connector piece looks is https://a.co/d/65Cbs7n.

Also would these speakers even be good to use as surround? or are they kind of old/bad, thanks in advance for anyone who responds.

The only thing you have to be aware of is that the impedance of those speakers is rated at 4 ohms nominal. If it is four ohms as long as you don't drive them hard you should be OK. However, HTIB speakers are renowned for low impedances for some reason. So a 4 ohm nominal rating means they could be lower than four ohms and put your receiver at risk.

 

[cidrac]

The only thing you have to be aware of is that the impedance of those speakers is rated at 4 ohms nominal. If it is four ohms as long as you don't drive them hard you should be OK. However, HTIB speakers are renowned for low impedances for some reason. So a 4 ohm nominal rating means they could be lower than four ohms and put your receiver at risk.

oh didn't even think of that, How much of a risk is that.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd say not too high a risk for surround content generally, but if you use the all ch stereo mode and blast it and are 15 feet from the speakers, who knows.

 

[cidrac]

You’ll have to clip that plug off the speaker wire and splice in the extra length you need to get from your rear speaker location to Denon AVR. You can find a guide to a number of splicing options in my signature. As @lovinthehd noted, you can connect to the AVR via bare wire or banana plugs.

This assumes of course you no longer have a need for the CD player system.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

I see, does splicing involve soldering etc. I don't know if I feel comfortable doing that, but if the wire is long enough I can just clip the connector piece off and just put on some bananas plug or bare wire straight in? or is it more complicated than that

 

[cidrac]

I'd say not too high a risk for surround content generally, but if you use the all ch stereo mode and blast it and are 15 feet from the speakers, who knows.

why does my distance matter

 

[cidrac]

so my avr says this specifically for surrounds
Surround:
80 W + 80 W (8 Ω/ohms, 20 Hz – 20 kHz with 0.08 % T.H.D.)
120 W + 120 W (6 Ω/ohms, 1 kHz with 0.7 % T.H.D.)
does that mean 6 ohms is the lowest the speaker should be? I'm not familiar with ohms power raltionshup between speakers and avr.

 

[lovinthehd]

why does my distance matter

Because it takes more power to bring the speaker to the same sound pressure level (spl) at your seat when further away than when you are closer; the demand increases with distance. Try using this spl calculator http://www.hometheaterengineering.com/splcalculator.html

 

[cidrac]

Because it takes more power to bring the speaker to the same sound pressure level (spl) at your seat when further away than when you are closer; the demand increases with distance. Try using this spl calculator http://www.hometheaterengineering.com/splcalculator.html

oh so you're saying simply because the further you are the louder you'll be making right? that's true

 

[lovinthehd]

so my avr says this specifically for surrounds
Surround:
80 W + 80 W (8 Ω/ohms, 20 Hz – 20 kHz with 0.08 % T.H.D.)
120 W + 120 W (6 Ω/ohms, 1 kHz with 0.7 % T.H.D.)
does that mean 6 ohms is the lowest the speaker should be? I'm not familiar with ohms power raltionshup between speakers and avr.

Possibly, but almost no receivers are rated by the manufacturer for 4 ohms. They use 6 ohm ratings to make it appear a bit more powerful (in that it would be a lower rating at 8 ohm). Generally we try and compare at same impedance for amp ratings. Speakers vary a lot in impedance, so to know the true demands you'd need to see measurements, not likely you'll find any for the Sony speakers you have, though. Try this article among others here https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/truth-about-matching-amplifier-power

 

[lovinthehd]

oh so you're saying simply because the further you are the louder you'll be making right? that's true

Almost, more that in order to make it "x" loudness at your seat at 15 feet, it takes more power than at 3 feet.

Most speaker sensitivity ratings are geared to 2.83V at one meter, 2.83V at 8 ohm is 1 watt, at 4 ohms it's 2 watts. Play around with the calculator to see how power needs change by keeping spl same at different distances.

 

[cidrac]

Possibly, but almost no receivers are rated by the manufacturer for 4 ohms. They use 6 ohm ratings to make it appear a bit more powerful (in that it would be a lower rating at 8 ohm). Generally we try and compare at same impedance for amp ratings. Speakers vary a lot in impedance, so to know the true demands you'd need to see measurements, not likely you'll find any for the Sony speakers you have, though. Try this article among others here https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/truth-about-matching-amplifier-power
[/QUOTE
well the receiver pulls more power the lower the speaker ohm, is that correct? also when you have a HT setup are all the speakers suppose to be the same ohms, or does it not matter as long as the receiver can handle it.

 

[cidrac]

Almost, more that in order to make it "x" loudness at your seat at 15 feet, it takes more power than at 3 feet.

Most speaker sensitivity ratings are geared to 2.83V at one meter, 2.83V at 8 ohm is 1 watt, at 4 ohms it's 2 watts. Play around with the calculator to see how power needs change by keeping spl same at different distances.

I see, thanks

 

[lovinthehd]

well the receiver pulls more power the lower the speaker ohm, is that correct? also when you have a HT setup are all the speakers suppose to be the same ohms, or does it not matter as long as the receiver can handle it.

Yes, and generates more heat too. The speakers need not be matched by their nominal impedance rating necessarily but I wouldn't drive a 2 ohm nominally rated speaker with a receiver generally, would rather have a more capable power amp myself. To an extent it's how loud you play lower impedance loads, at low volumes it shouldn't be a particular problem but as you ramp up the spl then some caution should be used.

 

[cidrac]

Yes, and generates more heat too. The speakers need not be matched by their nominal impedance rating necessarily but I wouldn't drive a 2 ohm nominally rated speaker with a receiver generally, would rather have a more capable power amp myself. To an extent it's how loud you play lower impedance loads, at low volumes it shouldn't be a particular problem but as you ramp up the spl then some caution should be used.

Hmm, are amps more powerful than receivers generally? an avr is an amp as well yeah?
And I do listen to pretty loud at times but im never more than like 6 feet away, but if can be a possible risk I wont even bother and just buy surrounds already, I just don't know which to get for surrounds and if they need to be as "good" as front ones

 

[lovinthehd]

Hmm, are amps more powerful than receivers generally? an avr is an amp as well yeah?
And I do listen to pretty loud at times but im never more than like 6 feet away, but if can be a possible risk I wont even bother and just buy surrounds already, I just don't know which to get for surrounds and if they need to be as "good" as front ones

Some people call avrs "amps". A receiver is a combination of a pre-amp, amp and traditionally a radio tuner (now often just streaming capabilities). An integrated amp is minus the radio tuner generally, but often only analog, altho that's starting to change. At 6 feet away with reasonable use of the volume control I wouldn't worry too much and I'd use the Sonys until you get something different. While having the same speaker all around is nice, not particularly necessary for most surround content in tv/movies (altho can be nicer for multich music), as they just don't have the demands the front three have. The speakers are the most important component, tho.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I see, does splicing involve soldering etc. I don't know if I feel comfortable doing that, but if the wire is long enough I can just clip the connector piece off and just put on some bananas plug or bare wire straight in? or is it more complicated than that

Soldering is only one method for splicing, and the most difficult. For most people, other methods discussed in the article work fine, especially those using crimped connections. But of course, if your existing wire is long enough there’s no need to splice. I’m surprised to hear that a boombox system included 40-50 ft. of speaker wire for the detachable speakers.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt