[skaraphoid]

Hi.
In my shop I have a cd stereo system that has been there for years (has tape decks!!)

Problem is, it does not play certain cd's so we have to make do with certain ones and no compilations (this means that some songs customers may not know of etc, better to have greatest hits)
Basically i checked the speakers and they come out as jacks which i suspect have been converted from aux,

I have decided to put loads of suitable music on an mp3 player which will save our staff from going into the back of the shop to play cd's
Problem is, mp3 player wont play through the jacks.
No MP3 player will not just the one in question.

One thing i did notice though is that the ends looked slightly different.

Question - Is there a difference between these two connections?


And


The top one is the left speaker for the store
The bottom is a picture of the splitter i am using (which works) and a pair of earphones which i use


LARGER

[Gunner]

Your pics are so small I can't see them well enough but looks as top pic
has only 2 elements which would make it mono and bottom are separate for
left and right audio as in stereo. I may be wrong.

[skaraphoid]

yeh it is left and right audio, should still work though? no?
i am going to use a jack splitter so sounds is to both speakers

[Gunner]

The mono plug may not fit or work properly in a left/right jack.
The ground and hot contacts may not align. You'll just have to try it.
Good luck.

[Albert Lionheart]

Just watch out for the performing rights secret police if you are playing music to your punters without a public broadcast licence. Not kidding - you can get royally screwed by that crowd.

[Daveskater]

The one on your speakers is a mono jack and the earphone ones are stereo. I can't see why it wouldn't work because as long as they are definitely both 3.5mm then you can put a mono jack into a stereo socket, it will just convert it into mono sound because the two positive contacts on the stereo socket will both connect to the one positive connection on the mono jack. It will therefore still receive both signals.

Just to clarify though, to make sure I haven't got the wrong end of the stick: You want to plug in the speakers via a 3.5mm jack splitter into your MP3 player with a stereo socket, but it won't play any sound?

[Husky]

Daveskater, I don't believe you are correct on that. Here in the US the tip is usually the left, the ring is the right, and the barrell is the ground. If you plug a mono jack into a stereo it shorts out the right channel.

[Gunner]

Just so you guys are on same page, plugs are male and jacks are female.
Plug/male goes into jack/female. Does that sound too sexy?

[Husky]

I didn't want to sound like I was double talking "plug a mono plug into......" if you catch my drift.

[Gunner]

Husky, if you notice our posts crossed quickly and my plug/jack analogy
just coincidentally hit on you before I even saw your post. It's all good.

[skaraphoid]

obviously I've tried them out. yes i use a splitter to plug both left and right?
Is there such a product that can convert between mono and stereo? there are no settings on the mp3 player for mono/stereo.
Also for the broadcasting police. I work for a fairly large company, i imagine they'll have it bundled, we're allowed to play any BBC radio station too,

[Gunner]

It's not a matter of converting as in settings but physically converting the proper
plugs to work in the proper jacks. Probably stripping and rewiring may be necessary
as I doubt 2 wire (mono) and 3 wire (stereo) adapters are readily available.
I may be wrong and surely wouldn't be the first time nor last.

[skaraphoid]

3.5mm Stereo Jack Plug to 2 x Mono Sockets 2 Metre Lead on eBay, also, Audio Cables, Cables Connectors, Computing (end time 30-Mar-09 16:33:37 BST)

^ might be the answer to my problems, i can take my normal splitters home too by the looks of it.

[Gunner]

Hey, there you go.
Being an electronic nerd I'd have spliced and diced those cables to fit.
I do wonders with side cutters and electrical tape.
Whatever works, eh.

[skaraphoid]

yeh i dont trust myself doing it.
That worked when i went in today only thing is. my mp3 only has small amplifacation, when it is turned to full blast you can barely hear it. is there such things like mini amps that yu can control volume of speakers?

[Gunner]

There are many amps available for mini devices that use head phones.
Just Google MP3 amplifiers and get some like this in various price ranges
and output ranges.
You'll have to check if UK supplied.
Good luck.

[Daveskater]

I have a very small pre-amp that my dad used to use for his turntable, so yes they are available.

[skaraphoid]

sweet. i think it's "rule 33"
If you think it exists, it has probably been invented. rule 34 is just a step up

Thanks everyone!