Help - Newbie with new speakers

Joh Doo New member Username: Johndoe28 Post Number: 1 Registered: Feb-08	Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 02:36 GMT Hey, So i kinda inherited this set of speakers, which basically has one subwoofer, and 5 satellites, the subwoofer, i THINK is passive, but i dont actually even know the difference between active and passive. And i dont own a manual for these speakers or know where i can get one :S The photo of the subwoofer and speakers, (taken from behind) is attached Its not clear due to resolution/size limits. The text on the back of the subwoofer reads: "MAGNAT" Art. Nr. 145824 Bandpass Subwoofer 80/140 W 4-8 Ohm 26-300 Hz Cabinet Surface - Silver The speakers say: front/back/center (depending on where they're for i guess) 2 way system 4-8 Ohm. It didnt make sense to take the photo from the front cause there was no information on the front of the speakers. Please let me know how i can use these speakers along with my laptop. Do i need an AMP? If so which one? Thanks for patience with all my questiosn!! Cheers, John
Tim Wilson New member Username: Hondafanatic17 Thompsontown, PA USA Post Number: 10 Registered: Dec-07	Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 02:48 GMT Um never heard of that brand but if you wanna hook it up to your computer the way i have mine hooked up(and im sure someone with more a little more knowledge on here knows a better way to do it but this works)is go to your local walmart and pick up one of them rca jack cords with the red and white audio on one end and the headphone jack on the other one. then pick up and amp there to they have them ranging from 190-350 bucks any amp will work as long as it meets the 80watt requirment on your speakers. or it your on a budget look around yardsales and flea markets for an amp. usually you can find a good one for under 50 bucks. then once ya got all that stuff hook up your speakers to the amp and plug the rca cord into the jacks and plug the headphone end into the headphone or external speakers jack on your laptop. Hope this helps, Tim
Frank Abela Gold Member Username: Frank_abela Berkshire UK Post Number: 2742 Registered: Sep-04	Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 13:11 GMT Magnat is a respected German brand of speaker. They're really rather good at making little speakers sound uncommonly good. John, an active sub is one which contains a built-in amplifier. It needs to be plugged into the wall in other words. It also needs to receive a signal (music or movies) from an amplifier. A passive sub is one which does not contain an amplifier so needs power from a suitable amplifier. Passive subs are generally reckoned as the lowest of the low. Passive subs tend to be used in systems where all the outputs from the amplifier (to front/centre/back) are fed through the sub and from there on to the satellite speakers. The odd thing is that it appears your sub has only 4 connections, not 5. You could contact Magnat (look at http://www.magnat.de and click on English to understand what's been written) for more/better info. Regards, Frank.
freddie Bronze Member Username: Boulderdashcci Canton, Mass USA Post Number: 17 Registered: Apr-07	Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 23:17 GMT "The odd thing is that it appears your sub has only 4 connections, not 5." I think four would be front left and right pass through (in and out). Setting the receiver to sub off would send the bass signal to front L/R, where that would pick it up.
Joh Doo New member Username: Johndoe28 Post Number: 2 Registered: Feb-08	Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 13:55 GMT hey Frank Freddie and Tim, So what i gathered so far is that I definitely need an AMP to run these with my laptop. As for the 4/5 speakers, there's 2 labelled front 2 labelled back and one labelled center, maybe that helps ? What i really would like to know though, is what specifications should the AMP i purchase have, i am totally new to the world of AMP's etc, so total newbie help would be highly appreciated. I dont have a big budget so ill probably try to find something off of ebay but there tend to be various ones there and i dont know which one would work for my speakrs, and which one would cause them to blow! Thanks for all the help!
Tim Wilson Bronze Member Username: Hondafanatic17 Thompsontown, PA USA Post Number: 16 Registered: Dec-07	Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 19:40 GMT Just look for a amp thats in your price range and make sure it have enough inputs for your speakers and has at least a 120 wattage so it will push your speakers but not blow them because there only supposed to go 140w. as for your 4/5 problem I have no clue about that, I would just hook all the mini speakers to the sub and then take another wire and run it into the amp.
freddie Bronze Member Username: Boulderdashcci Canton, Mass USA Post Number: 18 Registered: Apr-07	Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 20:40 GMT "So what i gathered so far is that I definitely need an AMP to run these with my laptop. As for the 4/5 speakers, there's 2 labelled front 2 labelled back and one labelled center, maybe that helps ?" This would be on the sub. The four connections would be two in and two out, and would be used for the front channels (you run two leads from the front L/R to the sub, then two more leads from the sub to the front L/R speakers). "Just look for a amp thats in your price range and make sure it have enough inputs for your speakers and has at least a 120 wattage so it will push your speakers but not blow them because there only supposed to go 140w. " Wattage doesn't mean anything. The only thing to be concerned about is finding an amp that can handle a 4 ohm load. I've read Harman/Kardon receivers usually do alright with a 4ohm load, but have never tried a setup like this myself. HK's site usually has good deals on refurbs (down to about $160), but it seems to be down right now. As for blowing your speakers, it won't happen. As long as you don't play them at distorted levels, you'll be fine. In this case you should actually pay more attention to the receiver you're using because of the 4 ohm load (they read 8/4, which means they probably only dip to 4, but still something to watch). Most receivers are rated at 8ohm, and a 4ohm will draw twice the load to get to the same volume. Though as long as the receiver is well vented and you don't play at distorted levels, you should be fine.
Tim Wilson Bronze Member Username: Hondafanatic17 Thompsontown, PA USA Post Number: 18 Registered: Dec-07	Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 23:07 GMT Um listen to what freddie just said what he said sound more complicated and will prolly work better.
Joh Doo New member Username: Johndoe28 Post Number: 3 Registered: Feb-08	Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 23:13 GMT hey! Thanks for the help so far . I have a further question though, cause some how all the descriptions of amplifiers i find online seem to have something or the other to confuse me. What i need to know is, how many "channels" should my amp have? I found some with 2 channels and some with 5, (the former obviously a lot cheaper)..so which one would work fine for me? Thanks in advance!
freddie Bronze Member Username: Boulderdashcci Canton, Mass USA Post Number: 19 Registered: Apr-07	Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 23:31 GMT Each speaker is a channel, so seeing as you have 5, I'd buy a 5 or 7 channel (room to add two extra surrounds later). If you register at www.shoponkyo.com you can get a TX-SR304 for $109 refurbished (and I believe registering gives you 10 "points" which can be used as a discount). This should drive your speakers fine, just keep it well vented as Onkyos run somewhat hot. http://shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=TX-SR304&modelid=48&group_id=1&detail= 1&ext_war=0 Good luck...

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