Usare gli Apple Pro Speakers con un amplificatore classe d

Scritto Da: rafael
  • Commenti: 49
Usare gli Apple Pro Speakers con un amplificatore classe d

Difficoltà

Difficile

Passi

11

Tempo Necessario

20 minuti

Introduzione

Gli altoparlanti Apple Pro (realizzati da harman kardon) sono un grande pezzo di tecnologia. Sono progettati appositamente per la serie iMac G4 e Power Mac G4 MDD (porte mirror). Questi computer avevano un connettore speciale che forniva sia il segnale audio che l'alimentazione agli altoparlanti.

Ci sono alcune guide che spiegano come collegare gli altoparlanti utilizzando un jack da 3,5 mm, ma questa non sarà mai una vera soluzione in quanto questi altoparlanti devono essere gestiti da un vero amplificatore e non dall'uscita di linea di un computer o altro dispositivo audio.

Poiché i convertitori Griffin iFire sono costosi e difficili da ottenere, questa guida si basa su un amplificatore di classe D, il che significa che è possibile ripristinare gli altoparlanti per circa 40 euro.

  1. aUwHdYwFMqZli3hn

    • Questa immagine mostra il setup completo con il quale ti ritroverai alla fine. Con un po' di lavoro potrai goderti l'ottima qualità di veri speaker Harman Kardon.

    • Nota bene: Questa guida prevede la distruzione del cavo/connettore originale usato per collegare gli Apple Pro Speakers a un iMac, PowerMac o il Griffin iFire

    • Nota anche che come con ogni guida di riparazione o modifica, solo tu sei responsabile per la tua salute e quella altrui. Solo tu sei responsabile per l'equipaggiamento elettronico danneggiato.

  2. DJ2I3pTuqSZh1PqL

    • Taglia entrambi i cavi dello speaker. Per ottenere la massima lunghezza puoi tagliare vicino alla "manopola" bianca che unisce i due cavi.

  3. IOXEaESOr4jJ5cEM

    • Rimuovi l'isolamento esterno da entrambi i cavi. Rimuovi fino a 5 centimetri, puoi usare le forbici o uno spelafili. Stai attentissimo a non danneggiare e/o tagliare i cavi interni.

    • Ci sono due cavi dentro ogni cavo dello speaker.

  4. fBXK6LntZTaufujM

    • Adesso rimuovi l'isolamento dei cavi interni più piccoli. Stai sempre attento a non tagliare i cavi, poiché sono molto piccoli.

  5. qAiZWtyJWuTIaSol

    • Dovresti trovarti con qualcosa simile alla foto.

  6. xI1QiethmST51MNB

    • Adesso dovrai trovare la giusta polarità degli speaker, cioè quale cavo è negativo (-) e quale è positivo (+).

    • Sfortunatamente, mentre facevo questa conversione non ho fotografato i colori del cavo, ma c'è un trucco facile per trovare la polarità.

    • In questa foto si vedono due banana-plugs e una batteria AA. Immagina che questi due siano i cavi spellati di uno dei due cavi dello speaker.

  7. XOFohUsvADyHipB1

    • Ora collega un cavo al terminale negativo (-) e un altro al terminale positivo (+) della batteria AA.

    • Se il cono dello speaker si gonfia (immagine a sinistra) hai trovato la giusta polarità. Adesso sai che il cavo sul terminale positivo della batteria è il tuo cavo positivo "+", quindi si collegherà all'output "+" del tuo amplificatore.

    • Se il cono dello speaker rientra dentro (immagine a destra) la polarità è inversa. Ora sai che il cavo sul terminale negativo della batteria è il tuo cavo positivo "+", quindi si collegherà all'output "+" del tuo amplificatore.

  8. wNRAsOgEE3w1XPB1

    • Adesso salda un cavo di estensione ad ognuno dei cavi spellati. Se vuoi puoi usare un cavo rosso per il positivo (+) e uno nero per il negativo (-) cosi potrai facilmente collegarli all'amplificatore successivamente.

  9. PRulILiErDECw1Yp

    • Isola i cavi correttamente. Usa una guaina termorestringente e/o nastro isolante.

    • Se vuoi puoi anche usare una guina termorestringente sui cavi isolati in precedenza, cosi ti rimarrà un singolo cavo per speaker.

  10. gWYTlSVksJNfhV5Y

    • Adesso spella i cavi di estensione di ogni speaker. Ora sei pronto per collegarli al tuo amplificatore.

    • Se vuoi puoi usare dei banana-plugs con i cavi spellati (come si vede nell'immagine).

  11. f5dSrBjPecXFXMJ1

    • Hai quasi finito, adesso devi collegare i cavi degli speaker al tuo amplificatore. Collega il tuo Mac o PC o qualsiasi altro dispositivo audio all'amplificatore e goditi i tuoi vecchi-nuovi Apple Pro Speakers.

    • Nota bene: gli Apple Pro Speakers non sono molto rumorosi, ma è per design. In ogni caso, il suono è molto pulito e dettagliato (su un amplificatore di classe d).

    Noch eine Anmerkung:

    Der Verstärker mit den Apple-Boxen eignet sich auch als Gitarren-AMP für den Schreibtisch zum Üben auf Zimmerlautstärke!

    Effektgeräte haben i.d.R. einen 3,5 mm Klinkenausgang. Auch der direkte Gitarrenausgang sollte funktionieren, wenn mann das Klinkenkabel der Gtarre an einem Ende mit einem Adapter auf 3,5 mm Klinke versieht.

    DonGa -

Autore

rafael

Membro da: 30/10/12

1283 Reputazione

48 commenti

Amp shown appears to be a Muse Audio M20 EX2 TA2020

dick -

Good guide. I'm doing the same thing with a pair of these speakers, but I think I'll use new cables soldered to the speaker terminals.

One quibble though. I believe the correct term for the wire covering is "insulation", not isolation, and in step 9, you "insulate" the wires, rather than isolate.

Chuck -

Thanks chuck, I have corrected the wire covering term :)

rafael -

Will this amplifier work for my Apple Pro speakers?

http://www.amazon.com/LP-2020A-Lepai-Tri...

Brian Hernandez -

Should work. Not the 'best' amp out there, but same tripath chip as most other class-d amps on the market.

rafael -

Yes, I actually bought that amp last week and it worked a treat with these apple speakers.

downs -

I just did this successfully, thanks for the writeup. :) For the record, these were the wire colors and polarities on the set I had:

Left speaker: Blue = negative, white = positive

Right speaker: Brown = negative, yellow = positive

But who knows whether that's consistent? Anyway I reinforced the connections with a combination of heat shrink tubing and Sugru, since the wires are so teensy, and got the exact amp used here from eBay for about $25. Nice to give these speakers a new lease on life. :)

mbates -

Great to hear that :] It's a good thing to see some Pro Speakers getting revived!

rafael -

For the record, I had exactly the same colours and polarity.

Thanks for the great guide - my speakers are working perfectly again!

phwells -

Just to confirm that I had the same polarities.

Also, to add, here are the matching connector rings:

Tip: White, Left (+)

Ring 1: Blue, Left (-)

Ring 2: Brown, Right (-)

Ring 3: Yellow, Right (+)

Hiyel -

Thanks so much for the note on the speaker wires. I cut off the plug and stripped the cable from the connector, cut away the insulation and extraneous wires, stripped a half inch off the four key wires, and hooked it up to a Kinter K2020A+ amp. It is pretty simple project if you don’t try to put on thicker wires and banana plugs (unnecessary for this amp that has only spring clip connections). It's a really nice set up for computer sound — plenty loud for one person at a desk, but definitely not a set up to fill a big room with sound.

Peter Litman -

You can send a link to purchase amp correct?

Thanks

Ciao

dduniv -

Thanks. Great guide. It looks like after step 4, the wires can be used in an amp with those spring loaded clip connector, rather than having to solder an extension and put on the RCA connectors.

smegma -

Sure, you can just connect the speakers directly!

rafael -

I have these speakers, plus the subwoofer designed to work with them. It attaches directly to the computer via USB cable and has its own power brick. Will I be able to use the subwoofer with these speakers after completing the project above?

LarryH -

This will most likely not work, as the USB Subwoofer has to be supported by your operating system. As far as I remember Apple stopped support for those USB subwoofers a long time ago and in addition to that they were only supported on few computers (like the second generation iMacs). Even if it would work, you'd have two separate volumes – one for the subwoofer and one on the Pro Speakers amp. It's a pity. Long ago I had an iMac "snow" in combination with this USB iSub and it sounded terrfic. What you could do is to disassemble the sub and connect the speaker directly with the amp where you also hook up the Pro Speakers, but this requires a little bit more technical insight and I would not recommend to do it.

rafael -

What Amp should we use or witch model is this

Andres -

Answered above already. Anyway, you can use any Class-D / Class-T amp.

rafael -

This completely worked for me. I used a Muse Audio M20 EX2 TA2020, which I ordered through Amazon (it shipped from China). The wire colors were the same for me as mentioned earlier: Left speaker: Blue = negative, white = positive, Right speaker: Brown = negative, yellow = positive. I've been holding onto these speakers for a long time, hoping there would be a way to use them again. Thanks for the guide, and for everyone's comments!

Dennis -

Hello,

Your post is amazing , thank you very much !

Your project has made me think of a more ambitious project since I have not used these beautiful speakers also the first Soundsticks and Subwoofer .

Is it possible that there is a type of amplifier that would connect the pair of Apple Pro Speakers (4 inputs) , Soundsticks another pair of Harman / Kardon (4 more inputs) and also Subwoofer Harman / Kardon (1 more input) . In all 5 pairs of inputs.

If so, can you tell me what kind of amplifier would be.

I hope you can help me and tell me whether to start , you think appropriate the project.

arturo barrera -

pefect, thanks a lot

man

Michele Angelo Narracci LR -

Great guide, thanks a lot! I'm pretty amazed how great the speakers sound. Kudos to you!

Jan Sieroslawski -

Also did the same way and it is Success! )) Works like a charm! )) Pro Speakers with two white Cinemas and Mac Pro is best!

armdn -

I like the description given of how to connect the speakers to a small amp, and despite my extreme novice status, I think I can pull this off. One thing I'm not clear on, however, is the means by which to connect the amp to the source. (In my case, it'll be a Mid-2010 iMac.) Is this so simple it simply isn't mentioned? Help appreciated, as always. Thanks.

perryclarkkc -

amps like this are usually connected to a computer by an RCA to headphones jack cable

rafael -

Sorry for this late post. Does anyone know the resistance of these speakers? Can I use it on my Kenwood 6-16 Ohm amplifier?

Geralt van 't Veld -

I've been storing these little speakers of mine for a decade, on the verge of throwing them away because I figured they were probably useless. This thread gives me hope that I can use these again!

I'm pretty good with electronics, but don't know what a class D or class T amp is exactly. Trying to figure out what to buy in Sweden that might work. Does this seem like the right kind of thing? https://www.kjell.com/se/sortiment/el-ve...

jacknutting -

Do you have a link for that amplifier you used?

Ricardo Martinez -

you can use any class D amp. the manufacturer “S. M. S. L” is recommended for good quality amps, but any will do.

rafael -

Thanks Rafael! You’re a life saver!!

*

SO needed this as I was not prepared to give up on these speakers and wasn’t going to shell out ten times what they cost me for the Griffin iFire.

*

About the speaker wire polarity and for future reference- one speaker has one blue and one white wire- the white one is the positive. The other speaker has one brown and one yellow with the yellow being the positive. Basically the paler ones are positives, the darker in the pair- negatives. You can see the pairs your set have at the back of the speakers due to the casings being clear.

*

And I actually repurposed the single cable (the one post “white knob” with the plug) by cutting it in half and then isolating the redundant wires (red and black for power on both and either the blue/white set or the brown/yellow sets, depending on which speaker I was working on. This resulted in only the blue/white or the brown/yellow pair being matched all the way to the new plug ends. ;)

The Lady from UNCLE -

Thanks Rafael! You’re a life saver!!

*

SO needed this as I was not prepared to give up on these speakers and wasn’t going to shell out ten times what they cost me for the Griffin iFire.

*

About the speaker wire polarity and for future reference- one speaker has one blue and one white wire- the white one is the positive. The other speaker has one brown and one yellow with the yellow being the positive. Basically the paler ones are positives, the darker in the pair- negatives. You can see the pairs your set have at the back of the speakers due to the casings being clear.

*

And I actually repurposed the single cable (the one post “white knob” with the plug) by cutting it in half and then isolating the redundant wires (red and black for power on both and either the blue/white set or the brown/yellow sets, depending on which speaker I was working on. This resulted in only the blue/white or the brown/yellow pair being matched all the way to the new plug ends. ;)

The Lady from UNCLE -

Thanks Rafael! You’re a life saver!!

*

SO needed this as I was not prepared to give up on these speakers and wasn’t going to shell out ten times what they cost me for the adaptor (which shall remain nameless).

*

About the speaker wire polarity and for future reference- one speaker has one blue and one white wire- the white one is the positive. The other speaker has one brown and one yellow with the yellow being the positive. Basically the paler ones are positives, the darker in the pair- negatives. You can see the pairs your set have at the back of the speakers due to the casings being clear.

*

And I actually repurposed the single cable (the one post “white knob” with the plug) by cutting it in half and then isolating the redundant wires (red and black for power on both and either the blue/white set or the brown/yellow sets, depending on which speaker I was working on. This resulted in only the blue/white or the brown/yellow pair being matched all the way to the new plug ends. Perfect for someone as OCD as I am.

The Lady from UNCLE -

Fantastic…nice to have these speakers working again. Great guide. I picked up a cheap Lepy Class D amplifier off Amazon and it works well.

http://tinyurl.com/ydyyfxzb

Long ago I sold my G4 tower which was the only computer i had that these speakers worked with. I was always curious about using these with my newer computers, glad i didn’t throw them out.

Richard

Rich -

What if connect the speaker cables mentioned to computer’s headphone jack and use an old ipod’s ac power adaptor (that has firewire port for connection to ipod) to send power to the firewire cables (red /black) in the white knob?

George K.

George Kakarelidis -

Will this amp work? https://www.jameco.com/z/VMA408-Velleman... It’s not clear to me how much power these speakers actually require. Thanks!

Joe Elliott -

Thanks!

Left speaker: Blue = negative, white = positive

Right speaker: Brown = negative, yellow = positive

I just cut it at the jack. My amp has spring loaded inputs. Kinter K3118 Texas Instruments TI Digital Hi-Fi Audio Mini Class D Home Auto DIY Arcade Stereo Amplifier with 12V 3A Power Supply Black

Sounds great. Glad I didn’t throw them away!

Chewy Bacca -

I have a question. I want to use my 2002 iMac speakers with my 2014 MacMini. You Recommended: class-d / class-t, at least 15 watts per channel, 4-8 ohm. Will this work?

Eric Tangney -

Yes. Works great on my 2011 MacMini.

Chewy Bacca -

Good guide

I use a Bluetooth 5.0 Amplifier 2 Channel Stereo Amp Receiver Class D Amplifier with success

Thanks a lot

William

William Fourche -

TA2020 are difficult to find in 2021. After many hours to search, I am using a “Nobsound NS-10G Pro” which is working really well.

This model doesn’t have a Knob volume control, so Audio sources needs to have their own volume control (iPhone, Android phone, MacOS, Windows…). It is really convenient as it avoids to play with 2 different volume controls !

Like the Original Apple Pro Speakers plugged on the iMac G4 : Only 1 volume control.

Fred

Openfred -

Be careful if you want to use the Audio out from a HDMI cable on Mac, as MacOS does’t control volume of HDMI devices. You may then need to buy an amplifier with Volume control such as the NS-01G or the NS-10G (not pro).

For example, I am using a HDMI connected Dell monitor with Jack output (not powered unfortunately, thus not suitable for headphones) : if I try to connect the monitor “jack out” to the amplifier “Jack in”, the Mac send __full__ volume (through HDMI cable), and this volume is NOT controlled by the OS !

An extension called MonitorControl (available for M1) is available on GitHub, but I don’t want to tweak the OS (and don’t know how to compile)

Openfred -

I decided to dedicate the Audio jack out of the mini to the amplifier / Apple Pro Speakers, and to use a BT headphone.

Some multi pairing headphones can now be connected to both the Mac and the iPhone.

Openfred -

Fantastic! wow and wow! I just stole (just from work) a pair of theese and thought i could do a 2,5-3,5 mm. But no… So i gotta get through this. But first: Suggestions on affordable amps? I got my chromecast audio so i dont need BT or other fancy stuff. But i remote would be great - gess its hard to match that. But thanks!

Victor Lindgren -

I did it!!!!

Danke für diese Anleitung! Mein Klasse-D-Verstärker (https://www.amazon.de/dp/B096M5HJR5/ref=...) war zwar nicht so günstig, wie andere hier geschrieben haben, aber er funktioniert und die alten Schätzchen tun selbst nach fast 20 Jahren ihren Dienst. Der Sound gefällt mir beim 1.Mal besser als meine Bose Companion III am MacBook Air.

Lothar

ultraleicht -

PS: Und schwierig ist das Ganze auch nicht. Nur ein bißchen Löten - das wars.

ultraleicht -

what amp do you suggest?

Jason Engen -

We found 6of these, I plan to do this to them. Great tutorial.

Jackie DuChene -

Thanks a lot for this article. Everything is so perfectly explained, with so many pictures. It's was so easy to do it, even to find the proper polarity.

Merci beaucoup. :-) J'ai utilisé un excellent ampli, le modèle BT10A de Fosi Audio (https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07KSWPCS4/?th=...). Cela m'a permis de remettre en fonction mes Apple Pro speakers qui dormaient dans un carton depuis plus de 10 ans.

ninicool -