to plug them it

[Guest chargerboy]

Hello, I am very amature when it comes to speakers. I have two 12 inch Realistic speakers which are in quite fine condition. Before I conduct a lot of research and make boxes for them I would like to test if they actually work. Is it safe for both a stereo and these speakers to simply connect the two wires to the terminals on the back of a stereo for testing? And also, if the wires aren't labled, is there a way to test which one is negative (-) and which one is positive (+)? And lastly, if the stereo which I am plugging them into is 80 watts, for instance, and the speakers, which have -very-large magnets by the way, are of a very much greater power, could i risk breaking either? Thanks for your help!

Regards,

Michael

[Guest rickcee]

Hi yep, pretty safe simple job. make sure there are no loose itty bitty wires touching something. other than that. . . the pos and neg. locations are just locations. doesn't matter, as far as the speakers working. if hooking up a pair, both speakers should be connected the same - pos to pos, etc. that's for acoustic phase reasons, not electrical. keep vol. down for initial testing.

for the most part 16 gauge common 'lampcord' wire is fine, for less than 20 ft. or so runs.check the polarity markings on wire - little ribs molded on one side, or other markings. enjoy.

[soundminded]

Here is a method which will minimize risk to both your amplifier and the speakers.

First turn your amplifier or receiver on and play a radio station, tape, record, cd or whatever you have to be certain it is working. Turn the volume control until the music is low but still audible. Turn the balance control to one extreme, whichever speaker is easier to disconnect the wires from. Now turn the amplifier off. Disconnect the wire from your normal speaker and connect it to one of the speakers you want to test. Use small jumpers with either bare ends or alligator clips if that is convenient. Be sure that the two wires are not short circuited. Solid state amplifiers are usually more at risk with short circuits and at no risk with open circuits. Tube amplifiers are often at risk working into open circuits and at some risk with short circuits. When you have the connections made, turn the amplifier back on. Be prepared to turn it off in a hurry if anything unexpected happens. In all likelihood it won't. When you are satisfied it works, turn the amplifier off and repeat the process with the other speaker. Now turn your amplifier off and reconnect your main speakers as they were before. Never connect or disconnect anything to your amplifier with the power turned on, especially if the volume control is not very low or you risk damage.

Most loudspeakers usually have some indication at the positive terminal. It is important to know which is which for several reasons. Sometimes it is marked with a + or a dot. If not, connect the speaker to a 1 1/2 volt battery momentarily (disconnect it after a second or two.) Watch the speaker cone move. It should move in one direction and then back. If it first moves forward, (away from the magnet structure) the + side of the battery is connected to the + side of the speaker. If it first moves backwards towards the magnet, the minus side of the battery is connected to the + side of the speaker. Make a mark on the woofer frame or apply a piece of tape nearest the + wire for future reference. This should present no risk to any woofer.

Good luck.