QuestionHi Kevin,
Thanks again, see at the end... I had to delete the middle...
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Followup To
Question -
Hi,
I have a Nakamichi AV500 receiver/home theater setup with all kinds of things already hooked up to it. ... I wanted to replace my huge old (but still good) Advent speakers with something more compact, and also allow for hooking up my 30 GIG IPod since I have a lot of music.... set of speakers and a subwoofer with an IPod docking station, by Klipisch (200w) at Costco. Now, I am not sure if this system will work for me, or how to use it with the receiver. ...
Thanks, I hope this all makes sense!
Warmly,
Pam
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Hi Kevin,
First, Thank you for your quick reply. I am delighted to locate an "audiohead"!
The Klipsch system is all one system. It is called the "IFI". It is the docking station, subwoofer, and 2 speakers. This is all I could find in terms of a name/model. I hope this will help. I do know it is 200W. As I said, the input jack on the subwoofer (which seems to act as a receiver in this system) looks like a computer speaker/mic type input. It is freen. I noticed my headphone jack on my desktop is also green, I am guessing that is some kind of standard. The output on the Nakamichi, if either of those output ports will work, seems to be the same size as a regular audio cable going to other equipment.
Thanks again. I totally appreciate it.
Warmly,
Pam
Answer -
Dear Pam,
Well, I can see what you want to do. Not a bad idea. I would have done it differently, but let's deal with what you have--and have spent money on.
The jacks on the rear of both the docking station and the subwoofer are line level inputs. They can accomodate any audio compoent signal, say an external CD player, except a phonograph (PHONO inputs are electrically unique for a lot of reasons). From what I can read in the manual (p. 3), they're designed to accept the OUTPUT from your PC. I'd guess this is because the sub/satellite combo was probably derived from Klipsch's line of PC speakers and subwoofers.
To do what you want, you can try this. No guarantee that it will work. If your Nakamichi receiver has a PREAMP OUT or MAIN OUT jack on the rear panel, you can try and connect it to the LINE INPUT on either the docking station or the subwoofer. The output jack on the Nakamichi will be a basic RCA connector, so you'll need an RCA-to-PC minijack converter. You can get one of these at Radio Shack. Since RCA outputs are in stereo pairs, the jack will be RCA stereo-to-minijack stereo, the latter being a single pin connector.
Once you've made the connection, disconnect the Advents completely. Turn everything on. Make sure your iPod isn't playing. If I'm right, you should hear whatever sound source you've chosen from the Nakamichi through the iFI's speakers. Mission accomplished.
If there is no PREAMP OUT or MAIN OUT on the rear panel of the Nakamichi, I'm afraid what you want to do won't work. If that's the case, write back and we'll figure out Plan B.
Hope you kept your Costco receipt.
Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
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Kevin,
Thanks again for your reply. Really, all I wanted was a docking station and new speakers that weren't so large!
OK, I checked the back of the Nakamichi, and it doesn't have the outputs you have listed. Yes, I have my Costco reciept, I can still take it back. They do have another brand and the subwoofer has more inputs. I noticed it after I bought this one, but I liked the look of the Klipsch better, and the system has gotten good reviews supposedly. But, not for this use I guess. Will I be able to output this particular reciever to anything without those two outputs you listed?
Or, here is another option I thought of. And, I have no idea if this would work at all--so feel free to say so if not.
1- Hook up the subwoofer to the Nakamichi using the cable you suggested. (Except it is two plugs, one "monitor" and one "subwoofer"... not a R/L. But, they are together... so it may be an either/or monitor or subwoofer? I don't even know if this part would work.)
2- Keep the current speaker wires for the Advents hooked up ot the receiver, but disconnect the Advents and hook up to the Klipsch pair.
3- Then, also hook up the same speakers using a new set of speaker wires to the subwoofer. So, each speaker would have 2 wires coming into it, but only one would ever be active at a time--either the Ipod docking station via the subwoofer, or anything hooked up via the Nakamichi.
This was just a thought I have, I have not tried it. I don't know how hooking up 2 sets of wires may or may not impact anything.
Otherwise, I would love to hear how you would do this right.
Thanks again.
Warmly,
Pam
AnswerDear Pam,
It is a very bad idea to connect two sets of speakers to one speaker output. The combined impedances of the two speakers would likely be too much for the Nakamichi's amplifier, and you'd end up damaging it. Not a good outcome.
Try the MONITOR output and hope it's stereo, which it likely is. The SUBWOOFER output is designed principally to transmit low frequency (LF) signals, so there's no guarantee that it would transmit signals above its preset frequency cut off. Probably not.
What I would do is purchase the iPod docking station and new speakers separately. That way you don't have to go through extraordinary gyrations just to get some decent sound, like you're doing with the Klipsch system.
iPod docking stations designed to connect an iPod to a conventional stereo system--and there are a ton of them--that are not part of an enclosed system, like the Klipsches, will have a line level output that you can connect to any spare line level input on the Nakamichi (AUX, TUNER, TAPE IN, etc. *except* PHONO). Line level inputs are all electronically equivalent, so it doesn't matter which one, so long as you remember it.
I love the old Advent speakers: big boxes that captured an awful lot of frequency response so they could function without a subwoofer. But they're awfully heavy and sound a bit tubby in the bass. Speaker design and execution has come a very long way in the last 30 or so years since Advent's heyday. I'd suggest some mid-sized two-way speakers that have enough bass response that you're not left short in the LF end of the spectrum, but you have lots of high frequency (HF) and midrange response.
The best I've heard in this category are the PSB Image B25. They're a bit pricey (US$450/pair), but unless you have a deeply seated need for very low bass, they put out enough bass to obviate the need for a subwoofer. I've measured them down to 50Hz, which is indeed low. You can find a dealer at www.psbspeakers.com. To be sure there are other speakers around (Polk Audio, Celestion, B&W, JB Labs, Paradigm all make fine models in varying arrays and price points). Take some time and shop. Get something that's musically satisfying, fits in the space you have, and you can afford.
I know that this isn't as easy as picking up a box at Costco, but if you take the time, I think you'll end up with something that you'll be able to live with for a long time. And if after you've shopped around for speakers, you want some feedback on different makes and models, give me a holler. That's what I'm here for.
Kindest regards,
Kevin
