audio splinters

[vince2100]

i have a 5 speaker old altec lansing rig where the 4 speakers are plugged into the subwoffer. i decided to unplug 2 of the small included speakers and decided to plug in my stereo system. That worked perfectly. so now my stereo system is plugged into the subwoofer and the other 2 speakers are also plugged in. so my 2 "front speakers" are the 2 included altec lansing ones, while my 2 "rear speakers" are my stereo system. now i don't know what to do with the 2 small speakers i unplugged. now here's my question: are there audio splitters in existence that allows me to plug in those 2 small speakers, while also letting me plug in my stereo system? it's a bit confusing but i'm asking if i can make my audio system into a 7 speaker system so that my 2 "front speakers will be the 2 speakers i left plugged in while my 4 "rear speakers will be my stereo system and the included 2 small speakers. this rig also includes my subwoofer.
advice would be appreciated and if you're still confused please ask questions. :t

[crossedup]

are these rca jack plugs or headphone? yes you can split them and yes they do make splitters.

this is one of the few things i will recommend radio shack for, just figure out for sure which kind of plug it is then go ask for splitter, y cable i believe its called. they make em, darn near everything i own has these on em
:D

:t

[vince2100]

alright thx! :t

[stix_kua]

remember that with some splitter setups, each speakers performance is reduced because the power has to be shared...(speaking from experience)...;)

[FuzzBall]

Yes it can be done, albeit with a bit of work & testing.

I'm running a similar setup, with a set of Microlab 2.1 speakers as my main speakers, a Kenwood VCD stereo system with 4 speakers as rears, a center speaker & an additional 12" sub linked to a Creative Live! 5.1 DE soundcard.

For reference, you might want to know how I linked it all up.

The Creative Live! 5.1 DE has 3 analogue(stereo miniplug) outputs, being the Center/Sub, Front & Rear respectively. The center speaker is USB powered(you can use those amplified speakers that are commonly available to save $) & is connected to the Center/Sub output, the Microlab 2.1 is connected to the Front output together with the 12" sub using a 2(female)-into-1(male) stereo miniplug adapter. The 12" sub itself was created by wiring a normal home stereo speaker to an old computer sound system sub.

The old sub I cannibalised was from an Acer system. I simply took apart the thing, removed the original 4" woofer & wired the home stereo speaker to it. I also took apart the speaker & reverse mounted the 12" woofer so that it now throws the sound into the speaker cabinet for more resonance.

The Kenwood system got another 2 speakers wired to it to run a total of 4. The Kenwood system is then wired by connecting the soundcard to the AUX input channel of the Kenwood using a stereo miniplug(male)-2 RCA(male) cable.

The Kenwood is also linked to the soundcard's Line In channel via it's Audio Output to the soundcard's Line In jack, again, using a stereo miniplug(male)-2 RCA(male) cable. This enables me to use the full number of speakers(provided my computer is switched on) when I want to watch VCDs on my 29" TV, with the Kenwood system taking care of the playback. My graphics card does not have a TV output, so to save some cash, the above is a pretty good way.

With regards to wiring another set of smaller speakers to your stereo system, check to make sure that the impedance(ohm rating) of both sets of speakers are not too far apart. For example, your stereo's speakers' impedance will normally be about 6-8ohm. If your smaller speakers are running at 4ohms, with the stereo's speakers running at 8ohms for example, the volume you'll get from these 2 sets of speakers will be quite different.

The higher the ohm rating, the harder your stereo system will have to work to produce sufficient power for the sound signal to be heard through the speakers. In the long term, your stereo system might even be damaged. Some stereo systems have a impedance circuit-breaker. Once the stereo has to work too hard to power the incompatible speakers, it will automatically shut off to prevent damage being done. It will normally provide for a 2ohm allowance though, so if the difference is 2ohms, it will still work fine. :t

Forgot to mention, the easiest way to add the smaller speakers to your stereo is to cut off the ends of the smaller speakers' cables & strip the wire about half inch. You will then have 2 seperate wires that you can just connect to your stereo. If you don't want to cut the wires in case you will want to plug them into the sub again, buy a RCA extension cable(Altec Lansing normally uses RCA connections for their speaker setups, so I'm assuming yours are using RCA as well) & cut off the ends of the extension cable instead. This way you'll get to preserve your original cables & connectors. Anyway RCA extensions don't cost much.

[vince2100]

thx for the advice fuzzball and everyone else! :t

[vince2100]

1 more question..
will all these speakers affect my power supply? meaning, will my power supply short circuit or some bad thing like that?

[FuzzBall]

Not a chance.... unless you tried plugging a 240volt live wire into the soundcard jack. :p

All those speakers are powered by the respective systems that they are connected to. The Altec Lansing subwoofer is self-amplified, with it's own power source from the wall socket, as well as your stereo system. As such, the soundcard will only be providing the sound signals, not the power to push those speakers(although it does send out power signals as well for use on non-amplified speakers, but that is a very low voltage).

Don't worry, you're safe. Or at least, I still am... :D

[vince2100]

alright thx:t