How to connect to existing speakers in walls

[JoeC]

I've had my house for a while and it came with four speakers in the wall and a nice plug plate (see attached). I've got Sirius radio I listen to on my laptop and i-pad but have no clue how to get the music from Sirius to the existing wall speakers. If possible I'd like to just plug into the wall plugs already there, but I don't know what kind of plugs they are, and I'm not even sure what I need to receive the signal from Sirius and allow it to be converted to a signal where I could get wires to plug into the wall.

You said this sight is for beginners, and I'm about as much of a novice as they come!!!! Any insights would be very appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[lovinthehd]

A clearer picture may help, may not. Hard to tell what type of connector those are but likely the speakers are passive (i.e. they need an external amp, active speakers, like many computer speaker setups, have their own amp) so likely you'll need a receiver/integrated amp to try them out. I'd pull off the plates and show us pictures that way, too. You sure the speakers are still in the walls? Did you inspect the speakers themselves?

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Those appear to be standard banana plug connections on the panel. Speakers require amplifiers; you can’t just plug them into your laptop. If you want to run all four speakers you’ll need two stereo amplifiers or a 4-channel amplifier.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[everettT]

What does the second wall plate go to? Do you have a budget? Are you wanting to use your computer as the source are a media streamer?

 

[BMXTRIX]

If that's a standard banana plug wall plate, then you need something like this:
An amplifier... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sonance-Sonamp-260-MKII-Tested-625W-Amplifier-Made-In-Taiwan-140/372197183228?hash=item56a8ae4efc:g:dW0AAOSwNmVaXuLp

A speaker selector (with volume control as you may need that!)...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NILES-SSVC-2-2-PAIR-SPEAKER-SELECTOR-WITH-VOLUME-CONTROL-2-ZONE/173041604755?epid=1603931183&hash=item284a155893:g:jZEAAOSwBRFaOacn

Then a bit of speaker wire:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-14-Gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B01D5H8XOY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1516214234&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=speaker+wire+14+gauge&psc=1

Finally, a few banana plugs:
https://www.amazon.com/Efreecity®-Nakamichi-Speaker-Banana-Connector/dp/B00WJJPUJQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1516214340&sr=1-4&keywords=nakamichi+banana+plugs

For your audio source, you will want to answer the question previously asked about what you want to listen to and how you want to get it to the location where that wall plate is. A typical connection would be to use RCA cables (red/white audio connections) plugged directly into a source like a CD player, or a MP3 player. But, you do have some wireless options available that you can use such as Bluetooth receivers, Airplay, and Chromecast products.

All in, you could get a Sonos player, but those have a price tag associated with them that's a bit more spendy.

 

[JoeC]

Wow, I really appreciate all of the responses! I got some extra pics that lovinthehd asked for. One of the previous owners of my house owned an A/V store and I think he installed all this stuff. The one speaker says QUARTL on the front, I didn't pull it out of the wall to get more specs on it or pop the covers off the other ones.

The speakers are paired, two in my family room, and two in the dining room. There is a volume control knob in the dining room so I believe I can turn them off when we are listening in the family room.

I haven't really thought of a budget since I didn't have a clue what needed to be done. From the looks of what BMX Trix gave in links, it looks like I may need to spend $100-$200, which I'm OK with.

BMX Trix, if I'm following you. My source (could it by my i-pad?) would connect into the amplifier (through the head-set jack?) and the amplifier would connect to the speaker selector, with speaker wire going from that into a banana plug, which plugs into the wall. Did I come close?

Again, thanks a lot for the help.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yep looks like banana plugs would work in those...

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Get a Sono system, it's just going to work out better for you.

 

[highfigh]

I've had my house for a while and it came with four speakers in the wall and a nice plug plate (see attached). I've got Sirius radio I listen to on my laptop and i-pad but have no clue how to get the music from Sirius to the existing wall speakers. If possible I'd like to just plug into the wall plugs already there, but I don't know what kind of plugs they are, and I'm not even sure what I need to receive the signal from Sirius and allow it to be converted to a signal where I could get wires to plug into the wall.

You said this sight is for beginners, and I'm about as much of a novice as they come!!!! Any insights would be very appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe
View attachment 23354

Do you have, or do you plan to have any level of AV system in the room where this wall plate is located? If so, an AV receiver that has HEOS or MusicCast would be easy to integrate. If you don't have or plan to have this, you could use one of the stand-alone streaming devices with some kind of amplification. Denon HEOS, Yamaha's MusicCast and Sonos are three of the main brands making a box with amplification for this ability- the HEOS and MusicCast pieces have other feathers and input/output jacks that are very useful. Sonos must have decided for everyone that they weren't needed but I strongly disagree- this stuff is VERY useful.

 

[BMXTRIX]

BMX Trix, if I'm following you. My source (could it by my i-pad?) would connect into the amplifier (through the head-set jack?) and the amplifier would connect to the speaker selector, with speaker wire going from that into a banana plug, which plugs into the wall. Did I come close?

That is exactly right! That's a great mind you have there if you haven't done it before as I often have to get into more detail.

Other people are making some solid recommendations for whole home streaming solutions which also work out pretty well. This includes Sonos and Denon Heos as well as Yamaha's MusicCast systems.

These allow for a more wireless integration solution so instead of plugging in your iPad, you 'cast' (wirelessly stream) to the system. There are a ton of products of this nature on the market and some have amplifiers built into them.

If you have a volume control already for one location, I would still probably get the speaker selector with volume control built in as it does allow for you to turn on/off the individual rooms as well as have a bit greater tweaking of audio in the family room/dining room as you choose.

But, you could get a Sonos CONNECT:AMP
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sonos-Connect-Amp-ZonePlayer-ZP120/253374146441?hash=item3afe46a789:g:ERcAAOSwkvFaXoqR
About $300 for a used one on eBay.

Then run that into the speaker selector and then to the wall plate.

Then, it connects to your home wired or wireless network. Any Android or Apple device can then send music to the Sonos wirelessly.

Both Yamaha and Denon offer similar products as listed above, but Sonos is really leading the game.

http://www.sonos.com

 

[JoeC]

All of you ROCK! Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I know what I need to do, so I’ll be off to buy some things and see if I can get some music through those old speakers. I’ll let you all know how it works out.

 

[BMXTRIX]

It should work out very well. If the speakers are so old or abused that they are blown, it is actually relatively inexpensive to get some replacement speakers these days (thanks Internet!) to replace them.

The speaker wires themselves should never actually go bad. It doesn't look like they are actually in-wall rated speaker wires, but that shouldn't impact them working. Speaker wires generally last as long as a house does unless they are exposed to the elements... Even then, they should last a very long time.

 

[JoeC]

Hello Audioholics!!!!! We did it - THANK YOU. I told my friend about this site and what I was trying to do and he said he could help me. So he brought over his receiver to test out my speakers. I got the banana plugs and speaker cable and connected it up to his receiver and SUCCESS, beautiful music out of all four speakers. I bought a receive and just connected it up last night. I got one with Bluetooth and am now enjoying my Sirius radio in STYLE!!! Working on connecting my TV to the receiver next. I really appreciate all of your help, and for not making me feel like the audiophyte that I am. All the best