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Home audio & video: Connect old Mission 700 speakers to eMac?
Connect old Mission 700 speakers to eMac?
by cinde23 - 4/11/07 3:05 PMhi everyone
i have a pair of circa 1985 Mission 700 speakers (in great condition and barely used---ha! so sez my dad)
that i'd like to connect to an eMac 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 (os x 10.4.9)
i assume i need some sort of pre-amp (or amp too?) and cables.
(not too expensive tho)
any suggestions on what kind of equipment to get and how to do it?
thank you
cinde
Just a Receiver, and a 2.5mm to RCA jack cable.
by jcrobso - 4/12/07 9:56 AM In reply to: Connect old Mission 700 speakers to eMac? by cinde23And some speaker wire. Or an integrated amp instead of the receiver. You could do the whole thing for less than $100. John
thank u
by cinde23 - 4/12/07 1:23 PM In reply to: Just a Receiver, and a 2.5mm to RCA jack cable. by jcrobsothank u john!
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by ..ben - 4/12/07 10:28 AM In reply to: Connect old Mission 700 speakers to eMac? by cinde23I don't think those speakers are magnetically shielded, and if placed too close may cause visual interference (like color shifts), which over time will be permanent, so be careful.
Things you'll need:
- an a/v receiver a.k.a. integrated amp
- headphones/3.5mm-to-RCA cable
- speaker wire
Here's how to set it up, but be sure to read the paragraph which follows:
The Mission speakers are great, but they're "unpowered" (which is perfectly fine); most, if not all, of the people on this forum with a home theater use similarly unpowered speakers. Unpowered speakers need to be sent an amplified signal, hence the need for a receiver or pre-amp/amp combo (although that's probably the most expensive and confusing solution). The 3.5mm-to-RCA cable you can get at RadioShack. I'm sure you could also purchase one online. Plug the 3.5mm end into the headphones jack on the eMac, as if it were a giant iPod or walkman or whatever. The other end of that cable needs to be connected to your receiver at one of the audio inputs on the back, which will have color-coded inputs (white=left channel, red=right channel), as will your cable. Sometimes the cable will have red and black RCA ends instead of red and white; in that case, black=left and red (still)=right. Then you need to connect the speakers to the receiver with speaker wire (which you can also get at RadioShack or online). Speaker wire has a size called "gauge" which refers to the diameter of the wire. The lower the number, the thicker the wire. For speakers as good as yours, get at least 16-gauge wire. The speakers will have a red (positive) terminal and a black (negative) terminal, as will the receiver. Be sure that you connect positive-to-positive and negative-to-negative. Sometimes speaker wire has copper wire in one conductor and a silvery wire for the other. This makes keeping track of the terminal connections pretty easy, but some wires use copper for both, which makes things tricky. If by accident you switch one of the connections, the speakers won't be damaged, but they will be "out-of-phase"; the result: instead of the singer and instruments sounding like they're in front of you, it'll sound away from the "sound stage", hard to localize. It won't sound bad like fuzzy or distorted or like a crappy cell phone speaker, but the terminals are color-coded for a reason. so I would suggest you take advantage of that. 
That should do it. Now here's the tricky part. The speakers, even though they're old, are way fancier than speakers packed into computers, tvs, etc. Way way nicer. And so even though you're hoping to keep this on a tight budget, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you carefully consider the receiver purchase. DON'T SKIMP! A few extra bucks here will not only sound better, but also protect the speakers (as cheap receivers usually have wimpy power supplies which can cause damage to the speakers at high volumes). It might sound strange, but it's better to have the power rating on the amp be higher than the rating on the speakers. Not MUCH higher, but a little. Cheap receivers often also have deceptive power ratings listed to make them appear competitive with better brands. So, this isn't to scare you, I just want you to make an informed decision. There's no reason that those speakers won't last another 20 years with appropriate gear.
Personally, I would consider:
Onkyo TX-SR304, $165
Yamaha HTR-5930, $160
You probably won't find a receiver under $100 (new), and certainly not one that I would trust with nice speakers. Expect to pay at least $140, and then ask yourself why it's not worth paying an extra $20 for piece of mind.
Also, considering that the speakers may cause problems at close distance, you may want to connect the speakers to your tv/dvd player/etc. and use the speakers in a home theater application. If the computer is in the same room, or close by, you could buy some RCA cable extensions and have lots of things plugged into the receiver (that's what it's for). Just a thought. But if you were planning on having the speakers on either side of the eMac, all sitting on a desk or something, you may be out of luck.
Hope this helps. Sorry for the long post.
Best,
Ben
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