MJA Pro 50 Neutrik Speakon pinout?

BigAde

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I've fairly recently purchased the MJA Pro 50 sub. I am so impressed with it via the low-level (phono) input, that I wanted to try hooking it up via the high-level input (Neutrik Speakon) connector.

I just phoned up MJA and the cost of the cable to do this (Neutrik Speakon connector to 3 bare wire ends) is £30!!! Since I'm fairly handy with the old soldering iron, I thought I'd have a go at making up my own cable. I can get Speakon connector plugs okay (presume I need the 4-pole version?), but need some idea where to solder the wires to.

Does anyone have any information on this, or know where I might find it? Also, out of curiosity the cable they sell has three cables - one to left channel +ve terminal, one to right channel +ve terminal and the remaining (black) wire to only ONE of the -ve terminals - not BOTH!!! Does anyone know why this is?
:confused:
 
Hi

Use three core cable lets say brown, blue, and green and yellow. Take the brown to the +1 the Blue to the +2 and the Green and Yellow to the -1 or the -2.

To connect to a high level output Brown and Red are Left and Right, Green and Yellow are 0V.

The supplied lead are yellow red and black
 
Originally posted by BigAde

out of curiosity the cable they sell has three cables - one to left channel +ve terminal, one to right channel +ve terminal and the remaining (black) wire to only ONE of the -ve terminals - not BOTH!!! Does anyone know why this is?
:confused:

If your amp has a special output configuration like bridging, then if you wire the two negatives together you will fry the amp. So by supplying one 0v lead this can not happen.
 
One more question Dan...

On the actual Neutrik Speakon plug I'm soldering these 3 wires to, how are the pins labelled? Do I use a two-pole or a four pole plug? Do the two +ve outputs from the amp get wired together to the same tab on the 2-pole plug? Or do the two +ve outputs get wired to separate tabs on the 4-pole plug? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick altogether? :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Firstly you need the four pole neutrik Part No. NL4FC. Hopefull if I have done it properly there will be an image of the pin connections. These pins are +1,+2,-1,-2.

Do not connect the two +ve's together this will short your amplifier outputs. Wire one output to the +1 and the other to +2 then you can use either the -1 or -2 for your 0V connection.

If you have any problems pm me and I will give you my phone number.
 

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Just an update...

Finally got round to ordering the Speakon plug. After a bit of faffing about with the plug which was my fault for not reading the enclosed instruction leaflet (!) it was all wired up.

Works very well - definitely worth doing. It was just £3 for the Speakon plug and a fiver for some half-decent OFC cable. Could have used cheaper cable I guess, but at just £8, it was still a lot cheaper than the £30 I would have spent otherwise.

Thanks again for all the help Dan.

Cheers
Ade
 
Just want to add my thanks to Dan for his valuable instructions.

I too was hesitating at spending £30 on the MJA cable, but armed with this thread, I spent £3 on the Neutrik connector, and blew £10 on 3 metres of Van Damme pro loudspeaker cable. Used Dan's instructions, and all worked fine.

Only one footnote - apart from mains cable, I could not find any 3-core cable. I ended up buying the 4-core Van Damme pro (from Maplins) and just using three. Seemed the neatest way to build a high quality cable.

JohnK
 
Guys,

You say it's worth doing. Can you describe the difference in sound with the High Level Connection?

thanks
 
Huggy,

Nothing to do with "better than" really, just a completely different way of feeding the sub.

If I understand it all correctly, when you play stuff other than 5.1 DVDs, your sub may get no feed at all in normal circumstances. You would have to (a) set up your main speakers on your AV amp as "small" or whatever, and (b) rely on your amp automatically filtering the bass to your sub via the low-level output, if it does this at all.

But I don't want to set up my floor-standing Missions as "small". But using the high-level cable, the feed for your sub comes directly from the feed to your main speakers. So with any kind of output, the bass goes to your sub as well as your main speakers, and you control the filter to the sub.

The high-level option is worthwhile if you're interested in putting music through your sub. But for those whose only interest is 5.1 film DVDs, then the low level is probably all they need. Even with 5.1, though, MJA recommends using a high level to feed bass from the centre speaker. They say that a lot of bass goes to the centre speaker in a normal 5.1 feed, and using the high-level from the centre speaker will make better use of your sub. I haven't tried this, and I'm not likely to.

I'm only playing my first few discs with the high level cable, but it certainly adds another dimension to stereo music, and was particularly effective on one of my favourite discs at the moment, a (stereo) SACD, Yola by Eleanor McEvoy. By the way, this is a fabulous disc with or without a sub. Not only is it good music, but it's the best argument for SACD I've yet heard. Amazing depth and clarity.

This is all a wholly unscientific explanation, and I'm sure someone much more technically able will jump in with the necessary corrections!



JohnK
 

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