Switching between 2 sets of rear/surround speakers

[Kilroyquasar]

Hello everyone!

i now have 2 sets of rear speakers (one pair from another 5.1 system from the hall) for my PC's/consoles' 5.1 system (Edifier DA5000 Pro). now, the Edifier's own rear speakers are hung up on wall, whereas the additional pair of rear speakers are mounted on a floor-stand. what i wanted to do is:

1. get a pair of long speaker-wires for the additional pair of rears.
2. connect them to the 'rear channel' ports on the back of the subwoofer.
3. switch between Edifier's own rears & the additional rears whenever wanted.

So, does anyone have any idea of a provision/device like switch, etc./workaround/'jugaad' so that i can connect both rears simultaneously to the sub and switch between any one of them whenever i wish to?! this is just in order to avoid the effort of every time reaching out at the back of the sub to interchange the connections.

OR

4. connect the additional rears in series with the Edifier's rears to somehow make the system a 7.1 unit. but i believe that could be damaging to the speakers, so not too keen on this. however, if you think otherwise, then please do suggest

thanks!

 

[SoundsGreat]

Hi,

Now Am not sure as why do you want to do that and also if you remove the speakers from the other system what will you use for that ???

Anyways before I comment it'd be nice to know which are these speakers that you talk of ?? you have mentioned the Edifier but what bout the other ??

If you explain then it'll be easier for anyone to suggest a suitable option.

I personally wouldn't bother to or will suggest you to do it ! if you must then I can only comment once you reply to my quires above ! However I can off hand suggest you to make it a proper 7.1Ch which in some ways makes sense,how you do that ? Simple get a 2Ch (Stereo) Amp (make model etc will depend on how deep you pocket is),Then take the additional surround out from the PC and plug it to this Amp and eventually to the extra/additional Speakers ! This is the best solution for you.

Regards.

 

[Kilroyquasar]

Hi,

Now Am not sure as why do you want to do that and also if you remove the speakers from the other system what will you use for that ???

Anyways before I comment it'd be nice to know which are these speakers that you talk of ?? you have mentioned the Edifier but what bout the other ??

If you explain then it'll be easier for anyone to suggest a suitable option.

I personally wouldn't bother to or will suggest you to do it ! if you must then I can only comment once you reply to my quires above ! However I can off hand suggest you to make it a proper 7.1Ch which in some ways makes sense,how you do that ? Simple get a 2Ch (Stereo) Amp (make model etc will depend on how deep you pocket is),Then take the additional surround out from the PC and plug it to this Amp and eventually to the extra/additional Speakers ! This is the best solution for you.

Regards.

Hello!

thanks for your reply!

the additional rears are from this system.

i want to connect the additional rears to my DA5000 Pro occasionally, that's because the rears from the Edifier are hung on the wall quite above my sitting-position, and there's really no alternative for me to bring them a little down. because of this, many-a-times i miss out on the surround effects (an alternative to this could be a wall-mount that could enable the speakers to tilt to a downward angle & make them downfiring, like this one). now that i have installed Wharfedale's Diamond 10 DFS speakers in my hall for the surround-effects there, these 2 additional rears from F&D have been rendered without use. they pack a good punch, and hence i was thinking of using them in my PC room behind me.

so, those 2 additional rears are now waiting to be used meaningfully. i do have this stereo amp, but am using this to power my FS speakers in the hall. since you wrote it won't be a very good idea to interchange the rears time-and-again (and assuming i get those wall-mounts from tono systems for my Edifier rears), any other use i could put those additional rears to?

 

[luster]

you can use an AV selector switch.
3 Way Audio Video AV RCA Switch Switcher Selector Box Splitter for HDTV + Cable | eBay

 

[SoundsGreat]

Hi,

you can use an AV selector switch.
3 Way Audio Video AV RCA Switch Switcher Selector Box Splitter for HDTV + Cable | eBay

Luster please do some homework before posting such stuff,No offense and Am sorry to have to say this but what you posted is useless ! Reason this is a line level switcher where there no major Voltage or Current involved where as the OP wants to connects 2 set of speakers and the power out of an Amplifier contains Voltage and Current which the Switch you have mentioned cannot take and will be burnt if used not only may damage the speakers but also the Amp !

Besides how do you even connect speakers to this switcher ???

Hello!

thanks for your reply!

the additional rears are from this system.

Pleasure,Ok got it.

i want to connect the additional rears to my DA5000 Pro occasionally, that's because the rears from the Edifier are hung on the wall quite above my sitting-position, and there's really no alternative for me to bring them a little down. because of this, many-a-times i miss out on the surround effects (an alternative to this could be a wall-mount that could enable the speakers to tilt to a downward angle & make them downfiring, like this one)

Can understand the dilemma,And yes the wall-mount is the logical solution to this problem! But please make sure that it takes the weight of the speakers as they seems heavy and the wall mount is plastic !

now that i have installed Wharfedale's Diamond 10 DFS speakers in my hall for the surround-effects there

Please don't tell me that you have connected Diamonds to F&D :scared14: !

so, those 2 additional rears are now waiting to be used meaningfully. i do have this stereo amp, but am using this to power my FS speakers in the hall. since you wrote it won't be a very good idea to interchange the rears time-and-again (and assuming i get those wall-mounts from tono systems for my Edifier rears), any other use i could put those additional rears to?

Yes meaningful use that's the catch !! Please don't even think of using that Amp even if its free and not being used as its way to powerful for the tiny 3" speakers from F&D !!

You should go in for some small power Amps,Am not sure where you live but hit the local electronic market and get a basic Amp for say 500-1000Rs and follow what I initially posted,You should be good to go.

If you still need any help,well I Ain't going nowhere :lol: !!

Regards.

 

[Kilroyquasar]

you can use an AV selector switch.
3 Way Audio Video AV RCA Switch Switcher Selector Box Splitter for HDTV + Cable | eBay

thanks, but sorry luster! i have this already, but as SoundsGreat writes above, this isn't the solution to the current issue.

@ SoundsGreat - # yes the wall-mount can bear upto 3.5 kg of weight, & the Edifier satellites are not too heavy. so i'll purchase a pair of the mounts then

# about the D10 DFS connected to F&D's sub....hehe....i have just kept the speakers in the hall. tomorrow they'll be mounted on the wall, but this idea had crossed my mind
i know it would be seriously underpowering them, but does that mean that this method could also pose a damage to them? could you please provide one more workaround for this issue now :head2:? any way by which i could connect those dipoles to the DNM amp, and simultaneously enjoy the output from the fronts & center of the F&D system? i use HiMedia 900B media player for watching movies, and it has one optical out & 1 pair of RCA out. since the F&D system sadly doesn't have a digital-in (which didn't come to my mind while purchasing it :ashamed, i use the RCAs (RCA-out from player to AUX-in at the back of the sub) to connect both to each other (but the surround output is very impressive! the inbuilt DPL II decoder does a fine job ).

# A-777 connected to the F&D rears - got it! won't. otherwise would probably end up smoking them. i live at thane/mumbai. would be visiting lamington road in the coming week, so can search for an amp there. you've provided a great solution! i have a xonar DX. i hope that will do the job?!

one issue solved, now the other (thankfully) rose up

P.S. - If i remember it correct, the admin at HFV/HiFiMart owner had PMed me once that you try using the DFS with the F&D, though i myself am assuming that it would be under-powering them that way. should i try once?!

 

[luster]

Hi,

Luster please do some homework before posting such stuff,No offense and Am sorry to have to say this but what you posted is useless ! Reason this is a line level switcher where there no major Voltage or Current involved where as the OP wants to connects 2 set of speakers and the power out of an Amplifier contains Voltage and Current which the Switch you have mentioned cannot take and will be burnt if used not only may damage the speakers but also the Amp !

Besides how do you even connect speakers to this switcher ???

Regards.

I understood the scenario as described in the attached image.
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
here the av selector switch simple acts as a part of the speaker cable.
i am not sure how much current is supplied for the rear speakers.(6w rms output for rear of DA5000 as per spec )
is that high enough to burn the selector at any volume ?

 

[SoundsGreat]

Hi,

@ SoundsGreat - # yes the wall-mount can bear upto 3.5 kg of weight, & the Edifier satellites are not too heavy. so i'll purchase a pair of the mounts then

Great,Then go right ahead and do it.but if possible don't mount it beyond 7feet height,6 is ideal but if its not possible then 7 with the speakers tilted downwards.

about the D10 DFS connected to F&D's sub....hehe....i have just kept the speakers in the hall. tomorrow they'll be mounted on the wall, but this idea had crossed my mind

Thank god you have not,Same rules applies to DFS mounting,Not more then 7 but 6 is ideal.

i know it would be seriously underpowering them, but does that mean that this method could also pose a damage to them?

See for small amount time if you connect nothing much will happen but for some distorted output from the speakers as the will not be able to handle them,but long term a BIG NO as the Amp will get heated due to high power draw from the DFS and may eventually burnout,If that happens the Speakers themselves will have a problem too !!

could you please provide one more workaround for this issue now

? any way by which i could connect those dipoles to the DNM amp, and simultaneously enjoy the output from the fronts & center of the F&D system?

Hmm one more challenge :evilgrin39:, But unfortunately its not possible since your Hi-Media player doesn't have multichannel output,But if you use a PC,Then you can take front,center and sub out of the PC and give to F&D and take Surround and give it to the A-777's one of the inputs and take the second output of the Amp (It has 2 set of output's A & B ) While A is connected to the FS ( By FS I mean Floor Standers or Tower Speakers,If not clarify what do you mean by FS in your post) the B will be connected to the DFS and when you want to use this select the appropriate input in the A-777 and select speaker B (while not forgetting to switch off speaker A).

But instead of all this circus,Why not get rid of the F&D and A-777 and buy a proper HTIB ?? if your funds doesn't permit then search for a used one like this one ! It will not only have digital inputs but also will decode proper 5.1 Sound like DTS and Dolby,Most important thing will be that it will sound way better (both in terms of sound quality and also in terms of proper 5.1 discrete surround sound) and will be able to take your FS and DFS without a hiccup !

Onkyo HTS





- - - Updated - - -

P.S. - If i remember it correct, the admin at HFV/HiFiMart owner had PMed me once that you try using the DFS with the F&D, though i myself am assuming that it would be under-powering them that way. should i try once?!

Dear God, I can only imagine how and why would any knowledgeable person would suggest that ! Have answered the trying part above.

here the av selector switch simple acts as a part of the speaker cable.
i am not sure how much current is supplied for the rear speakers.(6w rms output for rear of DA5000 as per spec )
is that high enough to burn the selector at any volume ?

Luster I cannot the see image properly as its of too low res,Anyways How is one supposed to connect the speaker cable (which is bare and doesn't have the required RCA plugs to connect to the AV Selector ) ??

Second,Yes 6W is too high and besides inside this AV Selector there are only 1/4W resistors which will burn if you supply it with 6W of power ! Also these resistors are used in a different way and their impedance will come into the picture,Its whole different technical thing which I will not go into ! But please understand these types of stuff can never be used for Speaker level applications !

Regards.

 

[luster]

Luster I cannot the see image properly as its of too low res,Anyways How is one supposed to connect the speaker cable (which is bare and doesn't have the required RCA plugs to connect to the AV Selector ) ??

Second,Yes 6W is too high and besides inside this AV Selector there are only 1/4W resistors which will burn if you supply it with 6W of power ! Also these resistors are used in a different way and their impedance will come into the picture,Its whole different technical thing which I will not go into ! But please understand these types of stuff can never be used for Speaker level applications !

Regards.

there is an imageshack link between text which has big image .
...did not think about RCA connector will be the main issue here.
i thought this switch is a passive device with not even any resistors which will only select multiple paths.
maybe the cheap switcher available as such cannot be used.

i believe the below DIY switches uses the same logic as the av selector
and the input is o/p of power amp/avr and not preamp as the speakers which are passive is directly connected to the switch.
correct me if i am wrong.
DIY: Hi-Quality Speaker Splitter (INR 720 )
Cheap DIY speaker switch

 

[Kilroyquasar]

@ SoundsGreat - alright. won't let the DFS see the F&D eye-to-eye! but now you've put me in fix. i understand that upgrading to an HTiB is the next sensible step, which i should've done long back, and so probably now i should move on to selling off the A-777. hmmm....got it! will start off now.

P.S. - and its not for nothing that building an HTPC is considered the best way!

 

[SoundsGreat]

Hi,

@ SoundsGreat - alright. won't let the DFS see the F&D eye-to-eye!

Glad to hear the decision and believe me its service to the Audio lovers that you do by not marrying Royal Bengal Tiger to the Hyena :yahoo:!!!

i understand that upgrading to an HTiB is the next sensible step, which i should've done long back,

As they its better late then never !

so probably now i should move on to selling off the A-777. hmmm....got it!

Now don't be hasty and rush into anything,just have a proper plan and only then start moving things.

P.S. - and its not for nothing that building an HTPC is considered the best way!

Couldn't agree more,I myself use a HTPC for the same purpose !!

Further if you need any advice or help,please feel free to PM or mail at soundsgreat@oneindia.in

Regards.

 

[Kilroyquasar]

thanks a lot for your concern, time & effort! won't rush into things. will 1st chalk out a plan and i will get in touch with you if & when i need to.

P.S. - by the 'sound' of it, i won't say F&D is a hyena, but more appropriately, a bull or bison, with a tone laced with bloated & unprecise bass