What kind of "plugs/jacks" are these?

[blacksaibot]

I just bought my first home that comes with a 5.1 surround sound hook up in the basement. The plugs in the wall are unfamiliar to me. There's an outside ring around these plugs that can come off which is weird to me.

My surround system I already own comes with just wires that go to the receiver and to the speakers themselves. No special plugs. Just the two black and red wires that you "screw down" to make the electrical connection.

What would I use to plug my sound in?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[j_garcia]

Standard banana. The top one will insert directly into that socket:

http://bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

You can also just unscrew the outer portion and wire directly to those, but that unfortunately is a pain in the you know what and runs the risk of stray wires touching each other.

 

[adk highlander]

Those are for your speaker wires. You should have another set of plates near where the speakers are located (unless they are inwalls and already connected). You can either unscrew the outer section for bare wire or spade connectors; or you can use banana plugs to push into the hole in the center.

 

[MDS]

They're called binding posts and most receivers have them too. You can use bare wire, spade lugs (on some of them), or banana plugs.

Banana plugs are convenient because you just push them in to the center hole the same way you insert an RCA plug into a receiver's jacks.

 

[blacksaibot]

Oh okay. Glad it's that simple

By the way, why would there be a plug for my sub woofer in the wall? Does that mean they have a built-in sub in the wall (sounds stupid to me)?

There are no additional plugs anywhere else (that I saw anyway) that would put my sub somewhere else. It also sounds dumb to have the sub separated from where my TV and receiver are located. I would think the sub would be in front of you (next to the receiver and TV) and not behind, right?

 

[j_garcia]

That's an RCA plug for the sub. Means there is another spot somewhere in the room where the sub used to be to plug the sub into. Wiring in the wall, not the sub.

 

[blacksaibot]

That's an RCA plug for the sub. Means there is another spot somewhere in the room where the sub used to be to plug the sub into. Wiring in the wall, not the sub.

Ah hah. Okay, thanks.

I guess I have to go back to the house and take another walk-through and closer inspection so I can plan this basement out all over again.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[j_garcia]

I used something very similar to that for my dad's house except I added a third plate for the HDMI connection.

 

[runswithscisors]

Oh okay. Glad it's that simple

By the way, why would there be a plug for my sub woofer in the wall? Does that mean they have a built-in sub in the wall (sounds stupid to me)?

It is possible, but not likely.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_700CSW100/Polk-Audio-CSW100.html

There are no additional plugs anywhere else (that I saw anyway) that would put my sub somewhere else.

Home Depot sells this exact plate. When my house was built it had the earlier version of this plate without the sub jack.

When I wired in the Atrium 5s on the back porch I picked up a stereo speaker plate at HD and noticed they switched over to this plate, with mine no longer available.

So, if you can't find another RCA jack somewhere in the room, it is possible that it isn't connected to anything at all, and they just used the plate they could get instead of ordering the plate without the sub jack.

It also sounds dumb to have the sub separated from where my TV and receiver are located. I would think the sub would be in front of you (next to the receiver and TV) and not behind, right?

Mine is in the back corner of the room next to the couch. Couldn't believe the difference it made back there.

 

[j_garcia]

When I wired in the Atrium 5s on the back porch I picked up a stereo speaker plate at HD and noticed they switched over to this plate, with mine no longer available.

They still sell basically the same thing at Parts Express.

So, if you can't find another RCA jack somewhere in the room, it is possible that it isn't connected to anything at all, and they just used the plate they could get instead of ordering the plate without the sub jack.

I did the same thing with my Dad's plates. A few spots are not used and even though you don't have to install everything on the plates, I didn't have anything to cover those holes up with so I just installed the jacks with no connections.