Unfamiliar speaker wire

[myles99]

I moved to a home that was built in 1999 and has speaker wire pre-wired. The wires are labeled and match rooms where there are existing speakers.

I don't understand the type of receiver necessary to use it though. I've asked several friends and they don't understand it either. I tried searching images on google for a match too and couldn't find it.

Any idea of the type of receiver I need to use this existing wiring?

Thank you for considering. I'm new to this.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I assume you are asking about the black connectors, not the wire specifically. They appear to be Phoenix connectors, often found on multichannel amplifiers used for whole-house audio. You can simply disconnect the wire from the connector via the set screws, and then connect the wires to your new amplifier.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[mazersteven]

Whole House audio connectors.

 

[BMXTRIX]

@WaynePflughaupt is correct.

I'm not sure what you have wired in all of the rooms, but it appears that you have both speaker wiring as well as cat-5e network cabling.

It is good that they are labeled for the room that they go to. Many homes do NOT have that convenience of knowing where all the wiring goes and you are stuck figuring it out on your own.

It would be good to know exactly how each room is wired. If there are stereo speakers in each room, or a single speaker in some room, or what.

AV receivers are sometimes designed to handle a second zone of audio, but whole house audio is NOT handled, typically, by an A/V receiver. Instead, a multi-channel amplifier or a whole house distributed audio SYSTEM is used. Knowing it is a 'system' instead of just a basic product is good. The whole house systems typically allow you to hook up multiple sources. So, a couple of Sonos Port units, or a cable box, or a CD player, or all four of those things can be hooked up at the same time (depending on what you buy) and then you select what you want to listen to in each room and at what volume. These units are not inexpensive, but they aren't nearly as outrageous as they used to be.

Home Theater Direct is a good place to look at a packaged system which is available with and without in-room keypads. They offer support through a phone-based app which can control the different rooms, select a source, and adjust volume.

MCA-66 Set (No Keypads)

Whole-house audio systems you can install yourself and control with smart phones and tablets. All HTD systems include a 30-day guarantee and 5-year warranty.

www.htd.com

They have all sorts of options with integrated as well as external amplification as well as in-room keypads. I'm a huge fan of in-room keypads as they allow anyone, at anytime, to adjust volume or pick a source for each room.

It is ideal for you to put together a list of what each room has in terms of audio connectivity, and what goals you may have.

There are also CHEAP ways to do audio to all the rooms, but you lose a lot of functionality and 'per room' source selection.

 

[BMXTRIX]

On a side note: The people who took their whole-house audio system with them screwed you over as well as themselves. The connectors they left behind are typically quite difficult to find. Those connectors came with their amplifier, and they just LEFT THEM! How stupid?!? Did you buy a 'model' home or something? I would consider asking the previous owners, if you can, what system they had installed, because that may allow you to get the exact same thing which may make things easier... maybe not. But, it would be a huge courtesy for you to send the old owners the connectors after you get a new system up and running. If you decided you wanted to be that nice.

Those connectors, specifically, are called screw terminal plugs. They aren't exactly the same as the brand name Phoenix Connectors, but are very similar. Phoenix connectors are available in a wide variety of sizes and groupings of connectors on a single terminal plug. Because of the wide variety of sizes, and number of connections, this is why I say it is tough to track down exactly what you may need should you lose it (like the previous home owners have!).

 

[myles99]

Wow. Thank you so much for the prompt and detailed responses. I'm new here. Is there a way that I can show appreciation? (e.g. gift card).

Here are answers to the questions.
The large family that lived here before downsized as kids became adults. They lived here for 20 years. I asked them once for some guidance on the cabling/receiver and they weren't helpful.

7 rooms have speakers (JBL or AR (they look like outdoor speakers to me)). Each room has at least 2 speakers. 1 room has 4 speakers. For the room that has 4 speakers, the labeled wiring is still just 4 wires into the connector, just like the other rooms. It doesn't make much sense to me.

5 of the rooms have an audio volume source and an old-school source selection (tape, cd, dvd, aux) on the wall.

We need to drywall/paint and need to make a decision soon on whether it makes sense to start over (sonos) or make the existing wiring work. Controlling the music by phone seems pretty important to me at this point and we wouldn't want a single source of music given the quantity of speakers.

At this point, should I try to hire one of those home audio companies? I'm just worried they will be focused on replacing everything ($$$) instead of leveraging whatever is already in place. We are in the Washington DC area. This is all new to me. I am fine spending some money, but just didn't want to overspend because we aren't going to be playing music every day.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

If all the speaker wiring is labeled, as you indicated, then it won’t be difficult to implement some new equipment. The HTD company BMX linked seems to be a good source for this equipment. Hopefully the Cat5 wiring is merely for the on-wall source selectors – if so it can all be abandoned.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Ponzio]

Well the wiring is in place and that's a good start. Do all the wires go back to a central location (basement, living room for example)?

 

[BMXTRIX]

Please pull one of those wall connections off and take a photo. Upload a 'large' one if you can so we can see details.

The key here: If they ran cat-5e and a speaker wire to EACH ROOM, then you are in a lot of luck.

My standard wiring, as a custom installer, TODAY, is a cat-6 wire to each wall plate location and a 4 conductor 14-gauge speaker cable to the ceiling speakers.

Which appears to be EXACTLY what you have.

No way would I do a ton of Sonos units. But, you could. You would need a Sonos Amp for each room. That's $650 for EACH ROOM.

Or, you get one Sonos Port, and a HTD Whole House system for $1,500 with built in phone control. The HTD system allows you to swap the existing keypads as long as there is a cat cable run to them, which it looks like there is.

You can certainly hire a company. If you're in the Washington DC area, give me a call... (shameless plug for me), or you can call a local company that does this work. But, sites like you are at will help out. I do this for a living and do offer advice for those who are willing to get their hands dirty and buy a few tools and spend some time watching YouTube videos. It is a new skill for many. But, there are also guys out there who will just take care of this for you.

Trust me, they will use your existing infrastructure. On the other hand, a proper installer will go through and certify that each cable is good and that it is in the proper location and labeled accurately before they hook up brand new gear. I literally just finished a home. The final bill was about $8,000 for a 16-zone system. All cabling has been fully tested and a brand new equipment rack has been installed with shelving, Sonos, amplification, and distribution with phone control. So, not a inexpensive system and about half (well, less actually) of that $8,000 is labor. About 60 hours of work went into making sure everything was perfect.

 

[myles99]

full picture...

 

[BMXTRIX]

Thanks for the photo. Interesting the my shameless self-promotion ends up putting you half an hour from where I live. Small world sometimes.

With the wiring directly to the keypad, it is likely that the speaker wire is run directly to the in-ceiling speakers. A solution like the 6-zone package may be ideal for your final setup. I haven't used a HTD product before, but I have used similar. We will discuss in-person this weekend!

 

[Mark E. Long]

This right up here is whats great about this community always helpful folks .

 

[mtrycrafts]

Welcome to AH.

We don't take gift cards

Is there a central place in the house with an empty hole in the wall that may have been an intecom unit?
Your picture in the first post is a loose bunch of connectors or comes out of the wall? Perhaps that is where an intercom was?

If you are in communications with the previous owner ask if they had some equipment plugged into those wires and what it was, brand, etc.
From that one comment, source selector image it sure looks like an interconnect.
When I built my house, I installed an Nutone interconnect that had similar controls and more. This seems newer.
Is there a brand name on that unit in your 2nd picture?
Oh, the speakers, are they in the ceiling?

Sure looks like they indeed took it with them or one of the kids.