A question about connecting speakers to a stereo - should be pretty simple!?!

[SwissTony]

A simple question: what are the dangers of connecting two speakers from an old stereo system to a new one?

A bit of background...30 years ago I had pretty darn good stereo system. But over the years, it started to show it's age...crackles, tape snarls etc. So, eventually, I got rid of it. Except for the speakers, which were fantastic. High notes, bass notes, everything in between...And volume?? I could share my music with my neighbours and my neighbours' neighbours...

Aside: I actually only did this one. I lived in Darwin in the Northern Territory in Australia. Darwin is a very hot city. Every day the maximum temperature is 30+ and that's C, not F. So, we used to keep our windows open. If there's a breeze, we want our share of it. One day, someone on the other side of the street put on some loud music. Another someone on that side of the street found this somewhat annoying and started up his/her loud music. SomeoneA cranked their music up. Then SomeoneB did the same. Oh, great. So, I put on a single by Yoko Ono called "Don't worry, Kyoko" (it's available on YouTube - do not deprive yourselves, good people!!) It was the B-side of Cold Turkey. After 45 seconds, I turned my music off. Complete silence from the other side of the street. My estimation of Yoko leaped a million points.

But back to my original question...I'm buying a much cheaper, simpler stereo system. Can I safely connect my old speakers to the new system. I know that "Line out" is not the same as "Speakers" and my old speakers should be able to handle anything the new system can throw at them. But are there caveats? No-can-do-s?

I'd hate to blow up my good (but old) speakers.

Many thanks.

[ramblin_dave]

1. Does the new system have external speaker connections?

If so, there must be documentation about the ohms and power output rating.

[SwissTony]

2. Wow, that was quick.

Yes, it does. It's simple plug in the bare wire.

I haven't actually got the system but can you point me to a website that can provide the info about ohms and output?

Of course, I don't have any info on the old system. That was 30+ years ago.

Thank you.

[ramblin_dave]

5. The old speakers should have a label on the back

that gives the ohm rating and the max power rating. If not, there may be a model number that can still be searched for to find that information.

As for the new system, the user manual should have that information about the speaker outputs. If you don't have the user manual then it can probably be found online with the model number of the new system.

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Simple answer, yes.

Would want to know some specifics to make that a certainty.

Edited to add: For EVERYTHING you ever need to know about audio and video, go here:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/index.php

It is THE go to place for info.

[SwissTony]

6. That's my feeling too.

My old system was a 1000 times (give or take) more powerful than the new.

I don't have data for the old system. I don't have the new system, but it should arrive in a week or so.

Thank you for your response.

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. I love this stuff...are you willing to share what

receiver you are getting? I love Denon, but I know there are other good companies to purchase from.

[SwissTony]

13. Wow. Missed your edit.

Yeah, looks like these know what they're about...as do a few DUers.

Many thanks.

[Major Nikon]

4. There's probably more risk to the amplifier

If you have an amplifier that’s rated at 8 ohms and you connect 4 ohm speakers to it, the amplifier is going to have to work a lot harder and you’ll probably get distortion due to the impedance mismatch. So for best results you should match the impedance of the amplifier and speakers.

The problem with old speakers is the fiberous parts will eventually degrade and start to come apart.

[SwissTony]

8. Interesting.

Anyway I can determine my "ohmage"? - I know that's not a word.

[SonofDonald]

14. Take a multi meter switch it to ohms

And touch the positive and negative leads to the speaker terminals on the back of the speaker but make sure the speaker isn't hooked to an amp first.

The meter will display around 6+ ohms for an 8 ohm speaker, around 3+ for a 4 ohm speaker.

If you don't get a reading then the speaker has something blown in it normally.

If it's around 15 ohms then it's an old tube amp type and will be harder to drive for a newer amp not built for those impedances.

You should just be able to hook it up and play but there's one more thing...

DO NOT have any amp turned on when hooking up speakers, if you touch both terminals in the amp with one of the wires it will instantly kill that channel in the amp.

Always hook up speakers with everything off, old tube amps could survive an oops but not solid state.

Listen for distortion and turn it down a bit if needed.

[Major Nikon]

19. Look on the speaker

There’s usually a label either near where the terminals connect or somewhere else.

If you can’t find a label you can measure with a multi-meter across the terminals. This will give you the DC resistance which will be lower than the impedance by an ohm or two. Speakers are usually either 4 or 8 ohms.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

7. Plug it in and you are golden

Most home speaker systems are 8ohm, so you shouldn’t have any impedence worries. So long as you’re not over or underpowering them, they’ll be fine.

[SwissTony]

10. Yeah, I've done that with other, cheaper, more modern speakers.

These are much older, still sound great. I might just have to ultimately take a gamble.

Thanks for your reply.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

11. How old is old?

I’ve used gear made in the 50’s-current production in all sorts of configurations. You’re unlikely to have an issue.

[SwissTony]

12. About 30 years.

Given the responses, I feel a lot more confident. It's just an area in which I have no expertise.

So, thank you Dr H and other respondents.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

15. Yeah, that's not very old.

The speakers in the recording studio I work at afe older than that, and they’re hooked up to a brand new amp. Not much has changed in passive loudspeaker design (as far as how it all hooks up and operates).

[PJMcK]

16. Who made your speakers?

There must be a brand name on them somewhere. Do a Google search and you'll find all of your answers.

I had a pair of Ohm three-way speakers that I bought in the late 1970s that I gave to my son. He used them for about a year when the rubber around the woofers started to deteriorate. Remarkably, Ohm is still in business and they service all of their products in their Legacy line. The replacement woofers cost $49 apiece. Pretty good deal and they were very easy to install.

Recently, I bought a Polk Audio subwoofer to use with a pair of JBL monitors powered by a Sony receiver (75 watts per channel). I'm thrilled with the sound!

A couple of other points: It's not really valid to compare the wattage of older systems with modern ones because the cleaner power in newer equipment is better overall than the same power in older systems. Don't ask me why! It just is, (I'm sure someone will explain).

"Line Out" is usually to feed the audio to another device: If you're playing a CD, Line Out could feed a recorder. It can also be used to feed a stage monitor.

Lastly, what system are you looking to buy? If the dealer is reputable, they can advise you on your speakers.

[SwissTony]

18. The original system was Grundig if I remember correctly.

I had a bias towards Grundig going back 40+ years - I had a Grundig tape recorder!!

The system I'm buying is very much a home stereo system. It's in the low wattage range. I'm more concerned with old speakers. I ran the old system about 5 years ago and the speakers were great. The problems related to the other components. Crackling...loss of volume at certain levels.

I'd love to use the speakers but don't want to damage them.

The system I'm buying is cheap. 200 bucks. That's it.

[Turbineguy]

17. You should be fine.

I've run speakers with impedance down to 2 Ohms. Make sure the polarities on the cable hookups are correct.

Getting the polarity wrong won't hurt anything, just make the music sound weird until you fix it.