P. Funk Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 I'm in no way a soundie, but why are speakons 4-core? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Speakon connectors come in 2, 4 & 8 pole variants.2 for full-range systems (probably crossover in the speaker), 4 for bi-amped speakers or running L&R down one cable, 8 for tri- or quad-amped systems.Beware 4-pole speakons connected with two-core cable are very common, as 2 pole speakons are relatively recent additions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P. Funk Posted October 27, 2004 Author Share Posted October 27, 2004 ahh ok... Thanks for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattywhi Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Does this mean that there is no point gettin 4 pole speakon ends if you are just linking from amp to speaker. This was something that I was never sure about but wouldnt mind having cleared up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
london sound Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Beware 4pole plugs do not mate with 2pole sockets, but 2pole plugs will mate with 4pole sockets!!! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammymj Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Does this mean that there is no point gettin 4 pole speakon ends if you are just linking from amp to speaker.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Some speakers (known as 2 way active) actually use two separate signals and these require four core speakon to carry both signals. Two separate amp channels feed into one end of the speakon and then the speaker 'listens' to both signals at the other end. It is also possible to get 3 way active speakers which require, you guessed it, 3 signals and so need 8 core speakon. Hope this makes sense! Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattywhi Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 yeah all makes sense now. I just have a load of speakon cable and never really thought about it until I had to wire one up the other day and I had 2 wires and 4 connectors. Thanks for clearing that up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 One other gotcha (that got me) was I have found a couple of instalations where the delightful person who wired up the speaker panels wired 1+ & 2+ as + & - to the speaker, I would hope that this is the severe exception rather than the norm but as far as I can tell this was the work of a major broadcast supplier at work.* James * These instalations were before my time so it is possible that this bit was an in house job however It doesn't look like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Some speakers (known as 2 way active) actually use two separate signals and these require four core speakon to carry both signals. Two separate amp channels feed into one end of the speakon and then the speaker 'listens' to both signals at the other end.It is also possible to get 3 way active speakers which require, you guessed it, 3 signals and so need 8 core speakon.Hope this makes sense!Cheers Martin<{POST_SNAPBACK}> "Active" would imply "Powered" surely? That is the speaker has one or more amplifiers built into it, and should only be connected to your source at line (or Mic) level. If a speaker is 2 (3 or 4) way it can be driven by discrete amplifiers. This is sometimes referred to as bi-wired for 2 way etc. You usually use a pair of connections for each amp/speaker combination, hence 4 & 8 pole Speakons. Properly wired as 1+ and 1- making a pair. There is a standard of sorts, try the Canford Audio catalogue or web-site. BTW Has anyone seen the new metal connectors in the flesh yet? Any good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamplighter Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 One other gotcha (that got me) was I have found a couple of instalations where the delightful person who wired up the speaker panels wired 1+ & 2+ as + & - to the speaker, James <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Bridged outputs are sometimes wired this way. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattywhi Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 OOh thanks for the extras you have jogged my memory of 1 other thing I wanted to ask.... I have some speakers with 2 speakon connectors 1+1 and 2+2 on them. I am always plugging into 1+1 on each one but have wondered what 2+2 does as I cannot see why it would be used. Any light please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 OOh thanks for the extras you have jogged my memory of 1 other thing I wanted to ask.... I have some speakers with 2 speakon connectors 1+1 and 2+2 on them. I am always plugging into 1+1 on each one but have wondered what 2+2 does as I cannot see why it would be used. Any light please<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wiring the LF drivers? Could be a loop through for a second cab, perhaps. What make / model; this might help shed some light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 One other gotcha (that got me) was I have found a couple of instalations where the delightful person who wired up the speaker panels wired 1+ & 2+ as + & - to the speaker, James <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Bridged outputs are sometimes wired this way. Brian<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes but on a ctp on the back of a bay between a Quad 520 and a pair of LS3/5's is a bit counter intuative when you first look at it. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattywhi Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 OOh thanks for the extras you have jogged my memory of 1 other thing I wanted to ask.... I have some speakers with 2 speakon connectors 1+1 and 2+2 on them. I am always plugging into 1+1 on each one but have wondered what 2+2 does as I cannot see why it would be used. Any light please<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wiring the LF drivers? Could be a loop through for a second cab, perhaps. What make / model; this might help shed some light.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> They are dareAudio speakers - complete budget cabs that were bought for college on "advice" on the back are 2 speakon connectors and they are 1+1 and 2+2 I have yet to find what they mean. We were sold the following: 1x 1400W dare audio amp4x 400W dare audio speaker cabs2x speakon-speakon leads2x speakon-bare end leads The way it is rigged at the moment is that the speakon-speakon goes into the sockets on the back of the amp and to the speakers. the speakon to bare ends go onto the screw sockets on the back of the amp and into 2 speakers. It is a 2 channel amp running 4 speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammymj Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 "Active" would imply "Powered" surely? That is the speaker has one or more amplifiers built into it, and should only be connected to your source at line (or Mic) level.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I meant that the system was active in that the crossover is a powered system contorller rather than a passive circuit in the speaker itself. i.e. the line level signal is split before amplification rather than the amplified signal being split between the different drivers. There seems to be some confusion as to what 'active' can be used to describe. Some people use it in the way I was and others do use it to describe powered speakers... somebody set us straight!!! Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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