Audio Connectivity Puzzle - Converter Adapters Advice etc.

[agm2992mga]

Hi there,

I have a fairly (perhaps very depending on your viewpoint! - 7 years old maybe?) old-school, basic home audio system for my PC consisting as follows: with a subwoofer under my desk and two table top satellites all by Logitech. I have broken the knob off the satellites so cannot adjust the volume anymore!

A friend of mine happened to have a spare pair of functional Logitech satellites (newer but not very recent models), which they were happy for me to have so I now have these in my possession and am wanting to swap in and out the dual satellites as a direct exchange, whilst retaining my original subwoofer (there isn't a second one in the picture).
Sounded simple enough.. Wrong unfortunately, because I hadn't appreciated that the connector on the end of the new satellites is a 9-pin serial (presumably for connection with a more recently designed subwoofer unit), whereas my subwoofer has a receiver for a 9-pin MINI DIN receiver (what was on the end of the original 2 broken satellites). This 9-pin MINI DIN female receiver seems to be a fairly obscure connector as I can only primarily find adapters for converting from female serial into male ps/2 6-pin versions and 8-pin versions of MINI DIN.

I have been looking online for adapters / converters and combinations thereof to try and think of a possible solution that could make this setup work. Can anyone please help me further in this vein as I have come to no avail?

Hope that all makes sense. I will be very grateful for any help.
Thanks a lot in advance and best season's wishes!

 

[boju]

Hey!

Can you link us to both logitech sets please. You're probably right with this 9pin business but i've been in the game long time as well and never seen anything like a 9pin. Theres not much in speakers, just a positive and negative in form of either 3.5mm audio jack or RCA, why theres a need for 9pins has got me gob smacked.

 

[agm2992mga]

Hi there!

So this is what we are talking about on the end of the new satellites:
http/assmann.us/images/AK131-2-R.jpg

And this is what I have in the rear of the subwoofer and on the end of the original satellites
http/thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/msB3rjA9rKfeA1jIE41QYHw.jpg

I am afraid I can't link you to the Logitech products sets of speakers themselves as I can't find anything to identify them...
Allow me to explain a little farther, however:
The speaker satellites I am wanting to replace both the switched in and switched out set are NOT standalone functional. They have this lead to connect them to a subwoofer and then a green AUX audio jack to plug into the PC itself to obviously get a signal of what to be playing. The base subwoofer is plugged into the power supply at the wall plug socket and hence is indispensable for the functionality of the system.

Cheers

 

[ssddx]

sounds about right. logitech has an obsession with using mini din and dsub connectors. in fact, they still use them. i get why they use them however its unfavorable when it comes to doing what you want to do. i think they swapped over to the newer style because the round connectors are more fragile.

generally the right front speaker has this dsub/mini din while the left front connects to the subwoofer with an rca connector. the subwoofer itself usually then has more standard cabling to connect up to your pc. the odd connector is for adding volume wheel functionality.

now, if you knew the connector pinout (what pin does what) you could make an adapter cable to go from one to the other. yes, they do make adapter cables with the correct ends however you do not know how they are wired as they are for a different purpose. this is why you will likely need to either look for pinout diagrams or wiring diagrams for your speakers or figure out what pins do what on your own via testing.

likewise, its also possible to open the speakers up and replace the potentiometer (volume knob). in fact, that may be far easier than figuring out an adapter cable as long as you can get the speakers open.

given the age of the systems, its generally not worth the trouble honestly. you can get a new 2.1 from logitech for $30

 

[agm2992mga]

Hi again,
Sorry for the delay in replying - had relatives to visit over the festive period.
Thanks for your answers and suggestions of help on this matter.

To be honest, this is more just a helpful prompt for me to start thinking about replacing the old original satellites anyway as the volume adjustment knob isn't the only issue for they are pretty much knackered and on their last legs on their way out anyway! Yet the subwoofer remains fine.

I feel reluctant to buy a new system when I feel I have in my possession the necessary two functioning parts of the solution to the problem!

ssdx, I am following your detailed, knowledgeable post but can you please guide me through the steps I need to be taking to get to the bottom of this as it sounds a bit too technical for me without assistance!

Look forward to hearing back from you and happy weekend! Thanks very much again.