darylomer12 Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Hello. I am trying to hook up my three channel amp to my existing setup and it's kicking my arse. I have a Denon 3805. I am running rca cables from my preout on the Denon to the speaker input on my Amp.(Acurus 200x3) On the back of my Denon, my preout are listed "front, with a white and red slot and next to it is the center preout. On the back of my amp, it is listed as "channel 1, channel 2 and channel 3. I have double and triple checked my connection. Since this amp doesn't accept 12 guage speaker wire or banana plugs, I ran down to my local hardware store and purchased some good quality 16 quage speaker wire. I connected the speaker wire in the same order as the RCA cables. Channel 1 is my right front. Channel 2 is my left front and channel 3 is my center. My roon was prewired with 12 quage speaker wire in the walls and I am using a 7.1 wall plate where all the ends of the runs are connected. Could this be my problem? I am basicall going from 12 guage to 16 guage with the front three channels at the wall plate. When I turned everything on, all three speakers were making a loud buzzing noise. Also, I had to purchase a power cord for this amp. I got if from radio shack. It is just a cheap power cord. 18 guage 1250 watts 10 amp. Is my problem my power cord? Thanks in advance for your help. Daryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 I'm pretty certain you don't go RCA pre-out to SPEAKER inputs. I've never seen speaker inputs on a home theater amplifier. I'd start there. Also, is the power cord on your amp or Denon receiver? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylomer12 Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Thanks for your input. As far as RCA cables go, they are what I was told to use. They are Gold Series from Radio Shack. On the box they say PCM Digital Audio Cable. I bought three of them and used them from my Denon Pre-out to my amp's channel input. I am so lost because I can't seem to find a manual to download. I have googled my amp and have found nothing as far as hooking it up is concerned. The power cord, also purchased from Radio Shack, is for my amp. The gentleman that I purchased the amp from said the power cord he was using, was an aftermarker power cord and that he was going to keep it for another amp. It is grounded. Any input is really appreciated. Daryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 It is hard to tell what is going on from a distance. I will tell again of helping a buddy with his new Monster Wire RCA connections. The sleeve is so stiff that it is difficult to get them over the females on the amp. You meet resistance but they're not engaged. The RS may be the same. I dislike these pretty looking machined interconnects because of that. To make matters worse, once you force them into place, a great amount of force is necessary to get them off. It takes so much force that the females (oddly called "jacks") could be ripped off the chassis. I used some needle nose pliers to loosen up the sleeve. then they work better, just like the old sheet metal types. And of course this whole (hole?) issue is made more difficult because things are usually dark and close behind some installations. I'd suggest some simple trouble shooting. Now here I'm thinking my problem is the same as your problem and that might well not be the case. Still . . . 1) We pretty much know the connections to the speakers are okay; at least all three are buzzing. If the volume is kept down, that is is not going to hurt the speakers. 2) I would disconnect the RCA interconnects from your three-channel amp. See if things go silent. Do turn off the power before this so you're not getting that buzz- blap. You should power down for each change and power up with the volume control all the way down, then crack it open a bit. (Meaning just a little up from zero at first.) 3) Then I would first connect the interconnects to the three-channel amp. Again, a visual in good light for a secure connection. Then power up. Probably silence. If you put a finger to the RCA pin, you will probably get a little hum out of the repective speaker. 4) Then, again with power off, make the connection to the pre-out. Make a visual check. 5) If there is hum still, it could be a ground loop. Something is driving a chassis above ground. (A cable TV connection is often the cause. If you have that to the pre-amp, try disconnecting that.) 6) If it is not the cable TV, Most people use some scheme with cheaters. However, I would find a chassis ground point for the pre- and three channel and run a ground wire between them. Let us know. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylomer12 Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Here's a picture of the back of the amp. The other picture is the RCA cable I am using from my Denon preout to the input shown on the rear of the amp. Sorry, but I do not know how to resize pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylomer12 Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 the RCA cable.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 Daryl, We were typing at the same time. Gee, this certainly seems like a no-brainer. I doubt there is anything in the manual on this. And I doubt that there is anything you've missed on the theory of how to make the hook up. So don't take my comments as insults If you have any "known good" old RCA interconnects sitting around, I'd try those. I still use some left over from the '70s and they are just fine. If I were to visit your abode to trouble shoot, I'd probably stop at RS and buy the cheapest looking stuff as a control group. I'm an old time "wire is wire" guy. I don't see why anyone needs high-tech wire to get 1 volt transmitted three feet. But the stores sell the expensive stuff. All nonesense in my book. Let us know. Wm Gil McD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylomer12 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Thanks William!! I hope that's all it is. So I am using the wrong cable? I do have some old red and white cables around here somewhere. Is that what you are talking about? I apologize for my lack of understanding and really appreciate your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Looks like your are good. When you said you were hooking RCAs up to the SPEAKER inputs, I was confused. You are actually going into the line inputs (the only RCAs on the amp). Looks pretty straightforward. Like William said, time for troubleshooting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Yes, I'm talking about the run of the mill old RCA interconnects. For what is worth, people often use red for right (the mnemonic) and the white for left. There are also three wire varieties with the additional one being yellow, which is typically used for video. You see this used on VCRs and DVD players. Again, the color is simply for keeping connections identified. You see these colors used on newer receivers, etc, on the jacks. The color makes no difference electrically. I just point this out because they'd make a nice connection for three channel audio, as you have. You can use half of another red-white pair for the third, of course. I wouldn't say the stuff you bought is wrong. You've read my complaints about the stiff collar connection. I also note that these have a nice long handle to which is attached, probably, stiff wire. My gripe is that these create a long lever arm which can pry the jack sideways if care is not used. There is long standing debate on this board, and elsewhere, about the purported need for super wire or super interconnects. I believe there is no merit to it electrically. And like I have harped, it can cause mechanical difficulties. The prime one is getting the sleeve over the jack. It just looks impressive. At worst, start with something ordinary, and cheap, to get things going. Then if the bug bites, you can upgrade wire. I think you're better off upgrading other things, but it is up to your wallet. Just keep connections clean and snug. BTW, we call the RCA connections "pin" and "sleeve". These correspond to the inner wire and the shield. - - - - BTW. You can scale pictures on your computer using MS Paint, which is part of the Windows utilities (meaning you have it, and it is free). Just open the image in Paint. You'll probably find the image to be very large and going off screen. Go to Image and Stretch - Skew. Set the Stretch to 50% in both axis as a start. This cuts down on file size and makes things easier for dial-up people. The forum software will shrink images but it is just polite to keep things as small as needed. It is also fun to play with Paint to draw lines (arrows) and put in labels. I leave that to your experimentation. Best, Wm Gil McD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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