How to Hook up an Amplifier (1 Viewer)

[Jason Caudill]

I am looking at hooking up an amplifier to my reciever (which will then be my preamp). Yes I have all th econnections I need I was just wondering what characteristics to look for in a cable to connect the two. Are the any p[articular cable you have used and liked? I know it has to have RCA connectors but after that I have no idea. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jason

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Jason,
There is nothing special needed to connect an amp to a pre-amp or receiver. Just use the same cables that you are using for the rest of your interconnects.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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[Bob McElfresh]

If I might chime in with some extra advice about placing equipment in your rack (feel free to ignore it
I would put the Amp on the bottom of your rack with your receiver above it. Run the speaker wires out and away from all other interconnects or power wires.

• Big Hint #1: Go to Radio Shack and buy some of those MegaCable Dual-Banana plugs (the large ones with the black spacer bar and large holes in the sides). Trim your speaker wires short so you can insert the wire into these bananas, but not have copper poking out the other side. Use these to connect into the binding posts on the back of the amp. These things make it easy to do a neat job.

Run the various Interconnects from the DVD/VCR/DSS to the receiver down the middle of the rack. You can bundle them, but run them away from power cords.
Now measure the distance from the receiver to the inputs on the amp and buy interconnects roughtly this length (a bit longer is better).

• Big Hint #2: Make some labels for these Interconnects. I suggest using FL, FC, FR, RL, RC, RR. Put a label at EACH end of the interconnects. The wrap the label with scotch tape or clear packing tape (or the ink will smear as you play with the cables).

So your rack should now have speaker wires flowing out onto the floor away from other wires, the power cords should roughly go along one side of the rack, and all Interconnects loosly down the middle or bundled away from the power cords.
Which Interconnects to buy: This is a controversial question because different cables WILL sound a bit different. You are more likely to notice the difference with Music rather than HT, and having accurate speakers will also make a difference.
My stock advice is to buy some basic cables first, and get used to the sound for several weeks. Then you can try more audiophile-grade cables and decide for yourself if the change is worth the $$$.
Starter Cables: Go to Radio Shack and buy 2 packages of their Left/Right/Video cable bundles. All 3 cables and connectors are identical except for the colored bands on the plugs. The bundles will dramatically reduce cable-clutter. Use these to go from your receiver to your amp. This should get you going for under $40.
Later, you can contact some of the various internet sites for some custom-length cables that will save you money over most of the store-bought brands. Some recommended sites are:
www.bettercables.com Link Removed www.wickedcables.com
Good Luck.

 

[Ted Lee]

nice post bob!

i agree completely!
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[Andrew Pratt]

totally agree with the post above esp the links to the custom lenght cable makers. I'm personally using the catcables ones since I wanted the loacking RCA's but having then made to the lenght I need really helps keep the rack nice and tidy and I don't have coils of extra cable back there which could cause problems.
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