Audio noob needs help picking speakers!

admin_exported

New member
Aug 10, 2019
2,556
4
0
Visit site
Hey everyone, I'm fairly new to all this hi-fi stuff, and after finding this site I figured it was the best place to ask for help... recently I picked up a JVC RX-206 amplifier off eBay and now I'm looking for some stereo speakers to hook up to it. I found a pair called the Tannoy Mercury Custom F1s (whathifi reviewed them here: http://www.whathifi.com/review/Tannoy-Mercury-F1-Custom/) that are on Amazon for the very tip of my budget - £100, and various reviews both professional and user make me think these are the right speakers for what I want. However, I've found out that they don't come with any included cables, and I have no idea what to buy...

Here's a picture of the back of my amp:
436060859_o.jpg


So basically I need a cable that will fit those ports on my amp and the Tannoy speakers. I've heard there are other types of sockets, so I'm worried the Tannoy's aren't compatible with my amp or something.

Of course, if someone has a suggestion for better speakers at that price please give me a link to them. I'm looking for something with good clear bass without having to get a subwoofer. The current speakers I have have OK bass but lack clarity on the higher tones so I'm basically looking for an upgrade to them - a bit more bass and better clarity. Also, I need a good (but not very expensive) phono to 3.5mm cable. I bought one off eBay for £1.30 but they were crap (I tested them on some speakers that aren't mine).

Thanks for any help :).
 

betamale

New member
Sep 16, 2010
0
0
0
Visit site
Firstly, welcome onto the forum. The Tannoy Mercury F1 is a good speaker, taken into account taste etc. You need either bare ends or banana tips on your cable as far as I can see. I had some Mercury 2 until recently and used Banana ends. The quality of cable does actually make a noticable difference. Different cables do give you a different sound, to be honest you will probablay be happy enough with any half decent cable.

I would say bare ends are better into those amp connectors, but ,Cable terminations like this are the other choice:-

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-cables/cambridge-audio/4mm-banana-plugs/gale-4mmbanana-gd

For speaker cable, I would guess for a reasonable compromise something like this :-

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-cables/chord/carnival-silver-scr%27/chor-carnival-spk-ca

I like the sound of Chord speaker cable in general it is more neutral than some , I use it myself anyway.

I hope that is of some help.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Thanks! I tested some speakers on this amp to make sure it worked, and they used bare ends so I know they work nicely. I'm just not sure how to hook stuff up when I buy it. Do I get some speaker cables like those Chord Carnival ones, and then buy some bare end cables and somehow hook them up to each other? I've never owned an amp before.
 

betamale

New member
Sep 16, 2010
0
0
0
Visit site
You just need the speaker cable (Chord carnival for instance) You then put the red core to the + terminal on the speaker and the other end to the red + terminal (1) then put the black core to the - terminal on the speaker and the Black - terminal on the amp (1)

The terminals below on the amp are for Bi-wiring, you can't do that on the mercury speakers (No loss)

So it is just one cable, two cores, running from the back of each speaker to the amp.

Obviously one for each speaker, two cables, four cores in total.

Do it with the amp turned of to avoid any tears!
 

betamale

New member
Sep 16, 2010
0
0
0
Visit site
I assume the speakers you have had before had cables already attached to them? The Tannoys just need you to attach both ends, otherwise they are the same. I would guess you are going to notice a hell of an improvement. By the way, don't overdo your buget, cheaper cable will be okay, I just thought the Carnival was a good match for the tannoys. Much as I love music, it is not more important than eating!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
The speakers I have now don't require an amp, it's all built in, so I can't use any of the cables from them. If I buy those Carvinal cables, do they have bare ends to plug into my amp, or banana ends, or do I need to buy another cable to fit into my amp, and then connect to the Carnival cables? This is what I'm finding really confusing at the moment. If the Carnival ones will fit BOTH the speakers and the amp without any extra cables, then I'll probably order them and the speakers tonight or tomorrow. I don't need any long length of cable, so if it's a metre I can buy at minimum then it'll only be £12 for two Carnival cables which is a fair deal. If I can buy 0.5 metres, even better.
 

betamale

New member
Sep 16, 2010
0
0
0
Visit site
Hi, sorry about slow reply. All you need is the cable (Carnival) it will come with bare ends but that is fine. The amp you have has sprung loaded clips and the speakers have a screw which when undone exposes a hole which the wires can go into then tightened down with the screw. Simples!

You buy the cable as a length and can cut it in half. So you can buy a metre and half it. Half a metre is very short, double check that is enough to get from the amp to the speakers. It would be a good idea to get the speakers as far apart as is practical anyway or you won't hear much separate stereo.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Damn! I bought the stuff before reading the last reply, so I bought two cables XD; Oh well, I guess I can have a spare cable incase something goes wrong... but anyway, thanks for all your help! Hopefully I'll have everything up and running nicely when I get it later this week :). Hopefully the new Phono to 3.5mm cable I bought works OK compared to the last one I got too... (I'm hooking this system up to my PC)
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts