Which is positive on RCA cable red or white?

kshep

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Dec 12, 2017
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Trying to connect a sub woofer out which is marked + and - to an RCA which feeds to a Wharfedale SW150, so is the white or red the positive?
 
Solution
Own one very similar with bluetooth a fm radio.

Essentially if you have a twin rca cable (red & white) , strip the ends off 1 side ,both the internal cables fr red/white to the + , both the external cables to the -.

However when I did this I got godawful feedback when not much is playing & the amp has no internal crossover anyway.

I dont know what speakers youre running ?? but those little amps are nowhere near capable of their rated output on a full frequency range.

Use the speaker level outs to the sub speaker level ins ,& cable your left/right speakers from the sub speaker level outs.

Set the crossover on the sub to match the speakers & just let the amp & speakers deal with the higher frequency range.

There is hardly any draw...

Math Geek

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Herald
i don't think it works like that. the white and red are left and right stereo sound. each one is independent of the other and includes a + and - on each cable.

many years ago the last time i messed with rca jacks i ended up cutting the cable to get to the wires so i could do something similar to this. i'd have to look into it further but i'm pretty sure you'd have to cut one of the cables to connect the + and - to one end so it can work on the receiver.

but do some research first cause it been a long time and i rusty on my old audio tech :)
 

TJ Hooker

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Apr 15, 2014
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RCA cables are coaxial cables, meaning that each cable has a positive conductor (inner) and negative conductor (outer). The two different cables are the left and right stereo audio channels.
 

kshep

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kshep

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From what I can understand the plus connects to the centre wire of the red Jack and minus to the same on the white discarding the outer part of the cables
 

kshep

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A mini amp that has a two pin sub bass connection marked plus and minus!
 

kshep

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Dec 12, 2017
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No link but it's a Hongxing HX168AH, supplied with small green plug that fits the two pin super bass outlet,
possibly easier to use the speaker connections to the posts on the sub any suggestions are welcome
Many thanks
Kshep
 
Own one very similar with bluetooth a fm radio.

Essentially if you have a twin rca cable (red & white) , strip the ends off 1 side ,both the internal cables fr red/white to the + , both the external cables to the -.

However when I did this I got godawful feedback when not much is playing & the amp has no internal crossover anyway.

I dont know what speakers youre running ?? but those little amps are nowhere near capable of their rated output on a full frequency range.

Use the speaker level outs to the sub speaker level ins ,& cable your left/right speakers from the sub speaker level outs.

Set the crossover on the sub to match the speakers & just let the amp & speakers deal with the higher frequency range.

There is hardly any draw wattage wise from the sub & you'll get higher volumes with less clipping on ypur left right speakers this way.

Its the 'correct' way to set it up

You don't need full range on the front s anyway with that sw150 - it is an absolute bass monster .




 
Solution

kshep

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Dec 12, 2017
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Many thanks for your advice, I think I'll skip the bass out and do as you said connecticting to speaker outlets.
I suppose there's plenty of oomph in the Wharfedale SW150 as it's powered anyway, I have matching Diamond 9.0's so all should work OK. The safe way is the best way, maybe save up for a decent amp in the future!
Again many thanks.
 

shrapnel_indie

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Jan 21, 2010
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typically, red is right channel and white is left. with the tips (center pin on the connector) is + and the outer is -.

While it is possible to use one as - and the other as +, it isn't typical and as such could be a cost/corner cutting thing. Using it that way hooked up to normal left and right gives you the difference between the two channels. Bass wouldn't normally come through that connection as it would for the most part, cancel itself out.

 

kshep

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