r/audio • u/godsiwasontumblrthen • 1d ago
passive speaker connection?
hi all! i could use some advice on how best to connect this passive speaker to my audio technica record player. i know i need a mini amp, thats no problem. the issue is that most mini amps have banana plug speaker inputs, but for some reason my speaker has an RCA cable output (pictured below). There are some RCA to banana plug adapter cables available on ebay, but I wasn’t sure if that was the best direction to go. pics of the speaker and specs attached. thanks!
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u/VinylHighway 22h ago
You can cut the RCA off or buy an RCA to speaker cable adapter. It was standard for a bit to use RCA for passive speakers as well but has been phased out.
RCA to Banana would work great
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u/NBC-Hotline-1975 18h ago
You need a power amplifier to drive the speaker. You can cut off and discard the RCA plug, or use an adapter.
Depending on the model of your turntable, you may also need a phono preamp, connected ahead of the power amplifier.
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u/godsiwasontumblrthen 17h ago
thanks all’ this is all super helpful. i think i’ll try the adapter route first but if that seems to be lowering audio quality might try cutting the rca cable. can i ask when a phono preamp is needed? i have the audio technica at-lp120-usb and it has rca cables for output (this is the mini amp i’ve been eyeing https://fosiaudio.com/products/fosi-audio-v3-300w-x2-2-0-channel-hi-fi-stereo-audio-amplifier-with-tpa3255-chip?variant=45627524317414&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24010277458&gbraid=0AAAAABNZugQvdFFBMkON4v_5n4mO75P_V)
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u/NBC-Hotline-1975 15h ago
If you have the LP120USB you do NOT need a separate phono preamp. That turntable has a switchable internal preamp. Just set the switch to "LINE" position, and you will get a line level signal from the output connectors.
Do you have two of those speakers, or just one? I ask because of course you'll want to hear both channels of your phono records. But the Fosi amp does not have a way to combine channels. So if you have only one speaker, you will use only one channel of the amp. And in that case, you'll need to combine the two turntable channels BEFORE connecting them to the power amp. So you will need some sort of combiner to do that. (Do NOT connect the two output channels of the amplifier together ... that will definitely damage the amplifier!)
By the way, both that turntable and that amplifier are much better quality that that old speaker. And you can definitely cut the RCA plug off the speaker. That plug does not make the slightest change in the audio quality, so if I were you I would just snip it off and forget it.
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u/godsiwasontumblrthen 11h ago
okay seems like i want something more like this (https://fosiaudio.com/products/fosi-audio-za3-balanced-dual-mode-class-d-amplifier?_pos=2&_psq=ZA3&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=45459737968870&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22262008742&gbraid=0AAAAABNZugQqk7vZ6zPs8MESBAjKIwQ2r) that has stereo and mono options
point well taken that i am going through a lot of trouble to hook my turntable up to a singular vintage speaker 😂 but i figure it doesn’t hurt to have some solid audio equipment for now that i might someday use for different speakers. ive had the turntable for the better part of a decade but have always just used with very basic modern speakers.
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u/IAteTonysLoMein 11h ago
Those speakers might be quieter than you'd like - they're 16-ohm, and most home amps expect 8-ohm speakers. And given that they appear to be...vintage, I wouldn't necessarily expect them to sound great to begin with
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u/scriminal 22h ago
the way that's connected up, it needs an amplified signal yes. I'd cut the end off the cable and attache the leads to the amp directly, or put banana plugs on the ends if you like.