Hello everyone,

I am new to home theater stuff, and I was recently given a set of speakers, along with an amp and pre-amp. I have been searching all over the web for manuals and whatnot for this stuff, but to no avail. The equipment, a Mitsubishi DA-M30 amp and DA-P30 pre-amp, as well as Vandersteen Model 2 speakers are from around 1986. I have been trying to get these things to work with my TV and Cable box, but i just cant seem to hook them up. I have all the proper wires, as the previous owner hooked it up before he gave them to me to make sure they worked. The only thing I had to buy was the speaker wiring and banana plugs.

On my first attempt, I hooked up the speakers, amp, and pre-amp but there was no sound. The amp had the lights flashing on the front saying it was receiving sound from the tv, but there was nothing coming out of the speakers. With this, I thought my wiring and banana plugs was the root of the problem. Anyways, I have the wire stripped and wrapped around the screws (for lack of proper name) in the back of the amp, then running to the speakers via the banana plugs. Is there something I am missing about this step? Sorry for being so vague, any input is appreciated.

Thanks,
Evan

Did you hook up the preamplifier to the amplifier? This is usually done with RCA or XLR cables.

yes, there are RCA cords running from the pre-amp to the amp. They go from the pre-amp's output to the amp's input outlets.

Hmm. Then maybe the cable box is the problem. Try to hook up something else (CD player or something) and see if you can get sound from that. What kind of outputs are on the cable box? Analog, coaxial, etc.

You also may have to go into a menu on the cable box with the remote to turn on audio out perhaps?

I dont think it is the cable box, as I hooked up my dvd player to it today with no luck. There are bars flashing on the amp saying that it is receiving a signal, but nothing coming out of the speakers. Has anyone dealt with banana plugs before? This is what I am using for the wiring....pics will be up tonight

What position is the tape monitor switch?

I have bananas on my system; it really should be straightforward. Do you have another pair of speakers or an amp around? You could hook up the speakers to another amp or hook up another amp to the vandersteens to try to isolate the trouble.

I was thinking about the tape-monitor switch too... Is there an A/B Speaker switch? (I assume you already played with all of the controls...)

If the "flashing bars" are an LED level meter, then the amp is receiving a signal. These flashing lights are on the power amp, right?

If you put your ear up to the speaker, you should hear some background hum or hiss from the power amp. You should also hear a tiny "click" or "thump" when you turn-on/off the power amp. If you can hear anything, then the speakers and their wiring to the amp is OK. If you hear dead silence from the speakers, I suspect something is wrong with the amp, speakers, or speaker-wiring.

The wiring should be pretty simple. As long as both conductors of the stripped copper wire are touching the metal part of the connectors at both ends, you should have a connection. And, I assume the wires are not shorted together... Are there "speaker" fuses on the back of the ower amp?

Most banana plugs need to be soldered to the wire, although some are solderless. In any case, you need a good connection to the stripped copper. If you have "5-way" binding posts on the amp (or on the speakers), these will accept banana plugs, bare wires, (or 3 other choices).

Here's how you can check the speakers and their wiring: Disconnect the speaker wire from the amp, and touch the wires to the + and - ends of a flashlight battery. You should hear a "click" from the speaker.

Now, I'm going to suggest something "dangerous". If you disconnect the RCA cable from the preamp and touch the center conductor, you should hear a "buzz" from the speaker. (This comes from the ambient AC power radiated into your body.) The main danger is that there is a slight possibility of damaging your speakers, as this buzz may be amplified to a full-power signal! (Hooking-up your DVD player directly to the power amp is almost as dangerous, assuming there is no volume control on the power amp.) Also, it would be a good idea to touch ground (or the amplifier chassis) first, so that you don't send a static-discharge into the amplifier's input. In fact, keep one hand on the chassis when you touch the input wire... This will reduce the level of the "buzz". Or, if you disconnect both RCA cables with the power on, you should breifly get the same buzz when you disconnect the 2nd cable, because the ground usually disconnects before the signal wire. (You often hear the same AC buzz as someone plugs a guitar into a guitar amp, although it uses a different type of connector.)

BTW- If the power amp has a volume control, you may not need the preamp at all and you can bypass it for testing & troubleshooting. The TV, DVD player, and cable box can drive the amp directly. The main purpose of the preamp is for input-switching, volume control, and tone control.

Hum, from the title I was expecting at least 8mm film, if not a candle powered projector. Youth with no clue about the past.