How do you connect speakers to your receiver?
What do you need?
The setup takes about 30 minutes. This is what you'll need:
- Speaker cable
- Wire stripper
- Speakers
- Subwoofer
- Subwoofer cable
Strip the speaker cable
Before you start connecting your speakers, it's important to strip your speaker cables first. You can do this with a wire stripper.
Connect the speaker cable
There are 2 important things you have to keep in mind when connecting your cables:
- A speaker cable has a left and a right side. Both sides consists of 2 separate wires. These wires are black and red.
- The inputs on the back of your receiver are also red and black. Always put the red wire of the speaker cable into the red input on your speaker. Connect the other side of the speaker cable's red wire to your receiver. Doe do the same for the black wires and inputs.
Connect the front speakers
In this article, we distinguish between 3 different types of speakers: front speakers, surround speakers, and subwoofers.
- Step 1: make sure you have 2 speaker cables.
- Step 2: put the loose wires of the speaker cable into the FRONT outputs. You can find these outputs on the back of your receiver.
- Step 3: connect the other side of the speaker cable to your speaker. The speaker might have a little clamp that you need to open first. It's also possible that your speaker has a rotating cap. In that case, you'll have to twist it up completely.
- Step 4: once open, you can see the hole for the input. Only put the stripped part of the wire in the hole. Make sure non of the rubber on the speaker cable is in the input. Repeat the steps for each speaker.
- Step 5: Twist back the cap or release the clamp so the wire is firmly in place.
Connect the surround set
- Step 1: a surround set consists of front, center, and surround speakers. Consult your speaker set's manual to find out what your front, center, and surround speakers are. Connect the speakers to the right outputs on the back of your receiver. The picture shows which speaker belongs to which output.
- Step 2: connect the other end of the speaker cable to your speaker. Do this in the same way as when connecting the front speaker (steps 3, 4, and 5).
Connect the subwoofer
- Step 1: Make sure you have a subwoofer cable. The cable has the same connectors at both ends; it won't matter which end you plug into the receiver and which end into the subwoofer.
- Step 2: connect 1 end of the subwoofer cable to the SUBWOOFER OUT output on your receiver.
- Step 3: connect the other end of the subwoofer cable to your subwoofer.
- Step 4: plug in the subwoofer..
Almost done
Now it's time to test the speakers. Plug in the receiver and turn it on. Now use your receiver's remote to turn on the radio and test if the speaker is producing sound.
If not, carefully go over all the steps and check if all the cables are properly connected.