I'm trying to allow a client to hook some headphones (in this case a cheap, nasty, wireless set he bought) to a Bose Lifestyle setup. The problem I ran into was when I ran the RCA cables to the AUX out on the media center (or whatever the heck it's called) the speakers still fired. Needless to say this is a problem; my client likes listening to Wagner from his vinyl collection at extremely high volumes. It's too bad, then, that his wife isn't so keen on screaming Valkyries trying to take the walls down. I'm going to try to steer my client to a better set of headphones, but that's another subject. So, basically, I need an inexpensive, efficient way to hook headphones into the Bose system in such a way as to interrupt the audio stream heading to the speakers without having to unplug them from the rear of the unit if this is at all possible in this combination.
My questions are -- would it be acceptable to hook up a secondary (or primary, depending on how you look at it) receiver to push his turntable and cassette deck through and then run the output from that to the Bose media center? Would it be better to run RCA cables from the AUX/Tape out jacks than, say, run something from the speaker lugs to the Bose system? Is a phono-in jack mandatory or could I just pump the turntable to the AUX in (it doesn't have a ground wire)? Would I need one of the line levelers you see the automotive audio experts using, or could I use a pair of the RCA/speaker wire cables from Radio Shack if I have to use the speaker lugs? Also, and most importantly, would the headphone jack disconnect output from the AUX out as well as the speaker lugs? Finally, would the volume knob on the front affect volume along the AUX out?
I realize the latter two questions may only be answerable by way of the documentation included with the receiver (which, to date, I have had no luck finding anything about when I've looked), but a general answer would be appreciated. I'll be setting the system up myself, if possible, because whoever set up his Bose Lifestyle system didn't do it right. The manual for the current-generation Lifestyle systems told me that when I downloaded it today.
I have no experience with high-end (and yes, I know Bose is high-end only in price) acoustical systems, and barely any with audio-only systems. Mostly I work with computers, but since the digital changeover I've had almost as much work getting HD TVs and other A/V equipment to do what it's supposed to as I've had getting PCs to work right. I just want to give a workable, easy-to-use system to my client that isn't likely to somehow cause a catastrophic failure of his $2000+ audio system.
I'm also open to suggestions on what receiver would be a good buy if we go this way. My client has an older one that may be pressed into service (the only audio out method the entire thing has are speaker wire lugs and I don't think it has a headphone jack), but if we have to buy a new one it would be a lot easier for me to pitch it to him if it's (relatively) inexpensive. Cash-and-carry from a local store would be preferred over some mail-order exotic.
If I'm totally off-base, please let me know now so I can stop wasting my time in this direction. Any suggestions for what I could do instead?
Talking your client into a conventional AVR (with a headphone jack) would be the best way to go but a simple AB speaker selector with the B side connected to nothing could also do the trick. This may well speed up the need for a new AVR but it is simple and it would work! The problem would be the Bose speaker wiring but with some cutting and pasting (so to speak) it should be doable.