Old system died. Want to repurpose.

[AudioHex]

This is going to make a lot of you vomit in your mouth a bit, but it's what I have to work with - just a heads up.

So, when I was in my teens, I thought I was awesome because I had a surround sound system with 5 disc changer in my room. I was proud of it because I purchased it with my own money that I made. It was an AudioPhase system that has little information on the internet today -- I was able to find out that it claims it's a 100 watt system (4 speakers, front and rear). When I went into the military, my step-brother decided he didn't like the system and got rid of it.. except for 3 of the 4 speakers. Today I have the front speakers only.

When I got to my first permanent duty station in the military, one of my colleagues offered to sell me a Pioneer system for a hundred bucks. It had what I call a center channel (4 speakers -- inside the HTV-C1) but the selling point, for me, was the 8" subwoofer (HTV-SW1) which was the only thing lacking, in my opinion, with my 5 disc changer. He had blown the stock sub, so I purchased a Cerwin-Vega to put in it. I've been unable to find any information about this driver today - the only information on the speaker is HED8DVC20010103 (the last digits are obviously a date of some kind -- I did purchase it in 2001, so perhaps that's the manufacture date). Googling that (without the date) only shows subs with a red logo and mine is purple so I'm not certain it's the same thing. The red one is also clearly labeled for car audio, and I don't recall the one I purchased being for car audio, but if the price was right I might have overlooked that. Another thing that I did was splice the wire for the speakers inside the center channel, and ran cables out to the front speakers mentioned previously. I did this for two reasons: 1) I was young and stupid. 2) the control center seemed pretty weak (possibly because it was shelved about 3 feet over my head), but with those front speakers attached it sounded great to me.

Over the years, this set up has worked perfectly for my needs. However, over the last year the 6 pin cable (which has 8 ports on the connectors) connecting the center to the sub has broken. I've tried to solder the wires back to the plug and it's worked alright until this last week. Apparently I got two of the wires too close, and I killed the system. The control center receives no power at all. When you plug the sub in, you can hear it click indicating that it's powered. However, I don't trust that amplifier because I don't know what, exactly, happened to kill the control center (perhaps the control center isn't dead.. perhaps the amp isn't sending power due to other faults -- for example). I did take the HTV-C1 apart to see if there was a fuse, or an obviously bad capacitor, but I found nothing. Because of that, I do not want to use that amplifier. I'm perfectly fine with removing it from the box, putting another amp on it and sealing up whatever hole may continue to exist.

I've been looking at 2.1 amplifiers on amazon, and the best one, in my subjective view, appears to do what I need to do to get these items working together but my lack of knowledge in this area has me wondering if I'll just be wasting money which I don't have a whole lot of. Another fear of mine is that the quality is going to be bad even for my low standards -- one review said the crossover was horrible and they ended up putting an inline low pass 80Hz on it to fix it. I'm not sure if I can link this object here, but it's a DAMGOO 50W+50W+100W 2.1amplifier -- Amazon's Choice, currently 284 ratings. Hopefully that should get you to the item I'm looking at. Another thing I've seen in a review is that there could be some kind of delay with this device. Given that this is being plugged into a computer which I'll be gaming on (and watching hockey games on and such), a delay is not exactly what I'd want.

So there's the wall of text. Here's a summary of all of the stuff I have for this:
- 1x Cerwin-Vega 8" dual voice coil, multimeter shows it being 8 ohms, in a ported Pioneer box
- 2x AudioPhase speakers, sticker shows them being 3.2 ohms.
- 4x small speakers inside the HTV-C1. It's not important to get these on the system, but if I can attach a few wires to make a center channel for extremely cheap, why not?


How can I get these items working together so I have decent audio for not a whole lot of money? For input, I prefer 3.5mm or RCA (I already have a 3.5mm to RCA cable). If there is any other information I could provide, please let me know.

 

[Eppie]

I managed to find some pictures of that Pioneer system. The 8-pin cable to the SW1 sub is not shielded. That implies that it is not a line-level signal put taken from an amplifier inside the C1. If you shorted the cable pins, then you likely fried an amp in the C1. Also, if you connected the extra external speakers in parallel to the C1 internal speakers, you lowered the combined speaker impedance below what the amp was designed for, further increasing the likelihood that the amp is toast. (Two 8 ohm speakers in parallel drops the impedance in half to 4 ohms. If the C1 speakers are 8 ohm, with the 3.2 ohm AudioPhase you're dropping that down to 2.3 ohms!). Shorting the input to the sub should not have damaged it, so it is likely that the sub still works.

I also found the service manual and schematics on-line. Replacing the amp alone is not possible. This is an integrated system with amp and pre-amp and built in protection circuitry. You can't just replace the amp section. If you are hell bent on keeping the system, have a repair shop do a repair estimate. It's possible the protection circuitry kicked in and just burned out a resister on the output stage but you need proper equipment to test it. It looks like the amp for the sub inside the C1 is separate from the amp driving the C1 speakers. If the C1 sub amp was damaged, I would expect the other speakers to still work with the sub disconnected unless something short-circuited and is shutting down all amps or is causing the protection circuitry to keep the amps off.

Question is, are you better off repairing it or just going to a thrift store or Craigs List or Facebook Marketplace and buying a used integrated amp or receiver. There is loads of used gear out there and older amps and receivers can be had pretty cheaply if it's not some "vintage" piece collectors are after. Should be able to find a receiver for $100 or less. I've even seen complete mini-systems with speakers for $100. Your AudioPhase speakers may be an issue though. Any amp or receiver needs to be able to handle 4 ohm speakers. Most are designed for 8 ohms but can handle 4 ohms if you don't push the amps too hard.

Using the sub would take some detective work. It needs to have a high impedance input so that it can be connected to the output of the receiver, and you need to figure out which wires are right and left and common for the sub input. Get the wiring wrong and you could fry the new receiver as well. Other issue is that there are no controls on the sub. It was designed to work only with the C1, so you can not turn down the sub volume if it's too loud compared to the main speakers.

Even if you're on a tight budget, I think you should look at the used market and start from scratch. There are occasional gems to be found at the thrift store if you're patient, including speakers. If you're using a portable device as a music source, the 3.5mm to RCA is all you need. Any line level input should work, like CD, Tape, Aux (just don't try it on a phono input).

 

[AudioHex]

Sorry for the delay.

What would be the issue with getting something like this and replacing the amp on the sub with it? The amp for the sub completely external, with just a couple wires poking through the wood. Taking it off and putting one of those on shouldn't be too difficult. It sounds like this will do everything I need. Also, I checked the speakers with the multimeter and the 3.2 ohm resistance is DCV so they're 4 ohm impedance. I have not checked the speakers in the C1, but I don't really need those anyway. I understand it won't sound the best - that's how it's always been. I understand it won't be great for parties - I'm not the partying type. These USB PC speakers are killing me though.

 

[Eppie]

Sorry for the delay.

What would be the issue with getting something like this and replacing the amp on the sub with it? The amp for the sub completely external, with just a couple wires poking through the wood. Taking it off and putting one of those on shouldn't be too difficult. It sounds like this will do everything I need. Also, I checked the speakers with the multimeter and the 3.2 ohm resistance is DCV so they're 4 ohm impedance. I have not checked the speakers in the C1, but I don't really need those anyway. I understand it won't sound the best - that's how it's always been. I understand it won't be great for parties - I'm not the partying type. These USB PC speakers are killing me though.

That would give you the same power as what the Pioneer HTV-1 had. If the plate amp is as big or bigger than the current back plate on the sub, you can cut the sub to fit the new amp for a nice clean install and no chance of breaking wires. Check inside first for any bracing or obstructions. The blue connector on the plate amp connects to the sub. Then just run speaker cables to the two Audiophase from the speaker terminals and 1/8" plug to RCA adapter to the Line In. Specs say the plate amp is rated down to 4 ohms.

I don't see a power adapter included in that link. They have the same amp with 15V 4 amp power supply as well. Even better is a 19V 5 amp supply. Comments show other people using 19V 5 amp laptop power supplies which would work well. The higher amperage is better. (2.1mm x 5mm plug) Might find one at a thrift shop or used computer dealer for less money.

If that works out well, then you can visit thrift shops and maybe upgrade the speakers at a later date. Stick to just two speakers with that small amp.

 

[AudioHex]

That would give you the same power as what the Pioneer HTV-1 had. If the plate amp is as big or bigger than the current back plate on the sub, you can cut the sub to fit the new amp for a nice clean install and no chance of breaking wires. Check inside first for any bracing or obstructions. The blue connector on the plate amp connects to the sub.

Only thing inside the box are the two wires going to the driver. The amp is 100% attached externally, with only the two wires going through. No need to cut the wood or anything like that.

I don't see a power adapter included in that link. They have the same amp with 15V 4 amp power supply as well.

Yeah, the odd part about the one with the amp on PE is that when you add it to your cart, the cart shows it as being out of stock. I've already got this plate amp (from PE's amazon store) and a 19v power supply in the cart on amazon waiting for your response here. The power supply I found was used by an audio youtuber (Joe N Tell - don't know who he is, found him by searching for videos with that plate amp) who used two of these plates to create bookshelf speakers - he linked it in the video description. Video is here.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Eppie]

Well, my personal preference is to have the amp inside some sort of enclosure. It's small enough that you could cut out the sub where the cables run in and it would look stock. Nothing stopping you from running two wires to the amp externally but I hope you don't have any pets. If the 19v power supply is 4 amps or greater you should be good to go.

 

[AudioHex]

Just an update. The plate amp arrived today. I got it hooked up and it sounds just as good as what I had. The sub sounds a bit weak, but I'm not done fiddling with the knobs yet - I'm sure it'll be great when I get it all worked out. Thanks for the help, Eppie.