Newbie - Trying to run speakers outside (it's a long distance)

[miker1999]

Hi -
I must start by saying I am a very beginner to the audio enthusiast world. Here is where I need some guidance.

I would like to run some outdoor speakers so I can play some Halloween music in my front yard. The run is about 90 feet. I purchased some outdoor bookshelf Jensen speakers. I first ran them to a little boombox, but of course the audio was very soft...so I figured I needed an amplifier because the run was so far. So, this weekend, I purchased a Kenwood KM-208 Power Amplifier at a garage sale. I figured I could plug the boombox to the amp running a y-cord out of the headphone jack into the amp. Well, it doesn't seem to work. I get a little squeak and then silence. Could it be a bad amp? Bad cord? or am I missing something else.

Thanks for your guidance.
Mike

[thekid]

Do you have any type of pre-amp you can hook up to the amp?
My guess is since the boom box does not have a pre-out you are not going to have any luck. It is not as simple as hooking an amp up and instant power. If you don't have a pre-amp I'd scour the local thrifts and see what they have. You might be able to find a pre-amp and a cassette deck/cd player for under $30. Heck if you find a decent enough pre-amp like a matching Kenwood KC series you might discover you have a nice little 2-channel system. I have a Kenwood KM-209 and it is a pretty solid amp.

[markw]

The simplist method would be by plugging a source into it (MP3 player, CD player, etc) and a pair of headphones.

If that works, then reconnect those speakers using that same source.

That should give you a pretty good indication if all is well with the amp.

[Worf101]

The simplist method would be by plugging a source into it (MP3 player, CD player, etc) and a pair of headphones.

If that works, then reconnect those speakers using that same source.

That should give you a pretty good indication if all is well with the amp.
Ipod or CD to power amp. Simplicity at its finest.

Da Worfster

[miker1999]

Hi - I have tried hooking up an ipod to it, but it produced music that is pretty soft and seems to lack bass. It stays on for a minute or so, then squeaks at me and goes silent. Do I need a pre amp to make this amp work properly? What is the purpose of the pre amp?
Thanks again for your help.
Mike

[Gerard]

Hi Mike,

The purpose of the pre - amp is to act as a buffer between the source ( CD player, Tuner etc ) and the Power Amplifier. However, some CD Players incorporate variable signal output, that you can feed straight into the Power Amp. without using the pre - amp.

Back to your problem, don't rush out & buy the pre - amp yet. The boom box and ipod is good enough to test your Power Amp. Use speaker cables of around 10 feet per speaker, and run your Power Amp again. You can chose either the boom box or the ipod as source. If all goes well, this means that your 90 feet run is too much for the Power Amp to handle, ( increasing cable capacitance ... ). See if you can temporarily set up the Power Amp nearer to your outdoor speakers, say within 30 feet of the speakers. Alternatively you may consider the PA amp.

If the same problem still persists with the 10 feet speaker cables, you got to fix the Power Amp. The previous owner might have thrashed it.

Do check all sockets for oxidised pins. These can cause contact problems. If so, those pins need cleaning. Contact cleaners will be useful here.

Regards,
Gerard

[markw]

It stays on for a minute or so, then squeaks at me and goes silent.Sorry to say, but since it seems to do this with whatever source you've connectrd to it, this is NOT an encouraging sign.

You're quite sure that there are no hairline shorts in the speaker wires, aren't you?