To get it out of the way, this system was free so don’t bring the overpriced Bose hate into the thread.
My mom was given a Bose Lifestyle 30 Series II
Here is the product manual: http://products.bose.com/pdf/custome...rs/og_ls30.pdf
They have special connectors for the speakers and RCA connectors on that plug into the sub.
The system had the wires installed through the walls and they just cut the ends off and only provided the ends that attach to the speakers.
I hope making new wires is as simple as getting some RCA connectors and wire and making my own. But a couple questions came to mind.
First can I just chop up a decent gauge RCA or Component cable since I have a surplus of longer runs (after looking at the original wire with the connector it is obvious the gauge required is minimal)?
Second any way to determine pos/neg on the RCA cable I chop up or would I just try it both ways and see which sounds better?
Yeah just grab some fresh connectors from Radio Shack, some wire, and a soldering iron and roll your own. You can chop up whatever wire you have. I’d try to avoid splicing so that you don’t wind up with too many solder joints, but even then you’d be hard pressed to hear a difference. Speaker wire is speaker wire. As far as I know the only way to figure out polarity is just try it. Twist all the wires together and see what works and what doesn’t. Once it all works start soldering.
Unless its a coax, polarity wont matter. The shield on the coax is generally used for ground/negative.
Honestly, you could make the wire out of metal laced dog shit and it would sound the same on this system. Use anything you have, it really wont matter.
Well chopping up wires will be a lot cheaper. I have plently of 10+ ft runs (currently only planning on setting up the front speakers and 10 ft will be enough) of white component wires that would look/work nicely that will never be used again since everything I had was switched to HDMI.
So unless there is a reason against it, it will save me time and money to go that route.
Do you have a cable you just want to cut the head off off and use or are you gonna get a bunch of these and solder them together in strings? Thicker cables require more power to drive the speaker. Its a decent system for sound you got for free. Why not just spend the $20 on a soldering iron, electronic solder, wire ends, and some speaker wire and do it right?
I have the iron and solder and plan on soldering the connections.
I just don’t have the RCA connectors handy and have plently of component cords or RCA cords I have no use for. Plus I thought the white component cables would have a clean look (since I am not only using the head but also the 10 feet of white cord).
Sent you a PM.
In the spirit of all your DYI threads I figured I would at least give it a shot on my own before paying what people were asking for these on ebay, but I have no issue with the bought rather than built mentality especially when I am far from an expert.
Understood, I was less worried about myself and more about frying the unit somehow. Granted I have zapped myself pretty bad before. Including wiring a remote starter on an old Caddy and rewiring a living room for remote lighting.
