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    Sound setup help needed ->

    Not entirely computer game related,but allot of you probably have had to deal with this in the past so...

    I have just ordered some Hi-Fi seperates for the first time. Only ever having to deal with mini/midi ones,I am totally out of my depth when it comes to setting these things up,mainly with what cables do I need. If you would be so kind as to look at the links/descriptions provided and suggest what cables you think I need I would be eternally gratefull. I realise I may get more of a responce if I posted this on AV forums,but that place just scares me with their overwhelming techy knowledge. If you could tell thicko me what cables I will need.

    This is basically the CD player -



    This is the Amp,it just says it has 6 audio inputs and 2 outputs(What kind?am I being thick here?)



    Lastly the tuner,it has 2 Analogue outputs -



    The links provided aren't the most informative,but ANY help would be welcome. A Pre-emptive thankyou to you all.

    #2
    The amp will have 6 sets of 2Xphono inputs. This is so you can plug many things into it: CD, MD, Tape, Tuner, TV(if your TV has phono outputs) etc....
    If it has 2 sets of outputs, this means you can plug two sets of speakers into it, e.g. one in the lounge and then some long cables to a set in the kitchen.
    For cabling, you will need:
    some "interconnects"
    some "speaker cable"
    Interconnects are high quality phono cables (left channel and right channel) to connect the devices (tuner/CD) to the amp.
    Speaker cable surprisingly enough connect the amp to the speakers.

    Interconnects: Mine are ?50, although you can get some decent ones for around ?20 probably, so since you need 2 sets (one set for the cd and one set for the tuner) you might want to look at this end of the price range for now. Often the cables are directional, so check to see if they have arrows on them. This just means you have to plug them in in the direction the music is going i.e. from the CD to the amp. Make sure you plug the "left" outputs on the amp to the left speaker etc. (the pairs of interconnect cables themselves are identical so do not have a left or right)

    Speaker cable:
    Depends on your speakers. Some speakers are "bi-wireable". If your speakers have 4 posts on the back (posts are what you wrap the cable round on the back) then they are bi-wireable. We will come back to this in a second.
    However, if there are only 2 posts on the back of each speaker, then you need standard speaker cable. You need one strip of cable for each speaker and ensure they are the same length as each other and also long enough to reach down to the floor at the back of the amp, along the floor and then back up to the speaker posts. Don't want them dangling in the air! Use a tape measure before you go to the shops for cable! Adequate speaker cable can be had for ?1.50/metre, but this is more for saving money on lengthy cable to the surround speakers in an AV setup. You will be much better off buying something for around ?3/metre upwards. Each strip of cable has two wires in it. Make sure you connect the black post on the back of the amp to the black post on the back of the speaker. To help you, one bit of wire normally has a stripe down it to identify it easily without tracing right the way along the cable. Connect the red post to the red post. Connection is normally done by stripping back the plastic on the cable and wrapping the bare wires around the connection posts and then screwing on the tops tightly (or similar).
    This can get a little confusing if you have never come across it before, but if you can use "bi-wire" speaker cable (4 posts on the back of each speaker) all you need to do is buy more expensive bi-wire cable, which has 4 wires (2 for 2 black posts and 2 for 2 red posts). Since you amplifier has 2 outputs (remember I was saying about having 2 sets of speakers further up?) instead of having 2 sets of speakers, for each of 2 speakers, you can plug the 4 wires in the bi-wire cable to the 4 outputs on the amp (2 black, 2 red) into the 4 posts on the back of each speaker.
    Ta daaaa. It will make sense when you look.
    Hope this helps. Btw, black and red are +ve and -ve (positive and negative), so if you get things the wrong way round the sound will be all muffled.

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      #3
      Thanks for the quick reply. Like a complete muppet I have been trying to change my orders through mistakes I have made. The speakers (Gale 3020's) ARE bi-wireable but like the a-for-mentioned muppet I ordered the wrong type of cable,a phonecall later and this should be sorted now,except when the bloke rings back I'll have to ask him to add another set of plugs on there . As for the Amp,I'm trying to change that aswell but for less important reasons.

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