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This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi guys,
A (maybe not so) simple question:Is it ok to connect two different sources to an Aux-in socket with a simple Y cable (i.e whith no resistors or anything inside)?If yes, is there any exceptions, like old beomasters, old sources or recent sources?
That may be obvious but I can't find a clear answer to that. I wonder if the first device will not "inject" an harmfull signal to the output of the second device.
I'd like to connect an airport express and a Beogram (through RIAA pre) to a BS 9000, and also two beocords (open reel and cassette) to a beomaster 1001.
Thanks.
As long as one source is completely off when the other is on, it might work. However, this is not advisable and you should probably use a switcher if you can. The splitters are using OK to use to for speakers but not for input sources. Give it a shot and see, I guess....
B&O in my life 😊:
You are not guaranteed to ruin the other piece of equipment, but it certainly is possible. Here is a quote that may help explain why, from http://silentsky.net/wordpress/archives/624
"Here’s the rule: outputs are low impedance, and must only be connected to high impedance inputs. You should never tie two audio outputs directly together! If you do, each output tries to back-feed into the other, and drive the very low impedance of the other output, forcing both outputs into current-limit. At best, this can cause signal loss, audible distortion (popping and clicking sounds), and weird phasing effects. At worst, over time it can actually cause damage to your equipment."
He goes on to describe what resistor values he chose, for his live-audio equipment DIY combiner cables -- but you can buy inexpensive pre-built switch boxes, either automatic (e.g. www.amazon.com/Automatic-Two-Way-Source-Selector-Activated/dp/B00L9YVL90 but it's touchy to set the trigger volume just right) or manual (e.g. https://soundsheavenly.com/music-input/18-419-aux-input-switch-box-for-multiple-input-devices-to-one-aux-socket-4-way.html#/36-output-5_pin_din_aux ).
Cannot your BS9000 case be done "the B&O way" with a Playmaker? That's if you are willing to accept Airplay(1) and don't need multi-zone sync of Airplay2, like your Airport Express (if updated) gives you. See this old thread: https://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/20982/172692.aspx
Thank, you both for your advices,
The I suppose the wise answer is mostly "no".
Jaffrey2230:As long as one source is completely off (…)
One of the devices is an Airport Express, si it is always On and the other a RIAA pre which I suspect will also never be turned off.
trackbeo:Cannot your BS9000 case be done "the B&O way" with a Playmaker?
I was in a deal to get one of those and started to think it would have been agreat solution. But the deal wont happen and these things are quite rare here in France and when they pop-up they're also expensive.But since you talk about that, it would be connect the powerlink out from the Playmaker to the Aux.In of the Beosound right ?
Also thanks for the links.
matador43:But since you talk about that, it would be connect the powerlink out from the Playmaker to the Aux.In of the Beosound right ?
That's how I used my Playmaker (into my BC9500) - you just need to set it to fixed output mode, to avoid having two volume controls. You can also turn off the Playmakers IR, to avoid other remote conflicts.
matador43:But the deal wont happen and these things are quite rare here in France and when they pop-up they're also expensive.
You could consider something like this.
https://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Two-Way-Source-Selector-Activated/dp/B00L9YVL90
It is for always on devices like you have and will be triggered by actually playing something.
Yes, but as Olivier suggest, it is close to a more neat and funnier playmaker.
And to answer to the point about the budget: when, in my wrong mind, it could have been solved with a couple of plugs and some soldering job, it's hard to spend more than a couple of ten's euros now :-D
Will have to wait to find an affordable Playmaker…
Thanks all
OlivierC:I don’t know your budget, however if you look outside the French border you should be able to get a Playmaker for less than 100 €, including shipping. Olivier
Olivier
Dou you have some links/hints please?
@matador43, my hint would be, "don't bother pricing them in the USA or Canada." (It's humor, but sadly true.) But in the EU, no problem... @Mikipedia even gave one away during last week's BeoTalk podcast.
@Jaffrey2230, have you actually used that unit? The high-volume version (auto amp/speaker switch) from the same manufacturer (MCM) is very touchy. I haven't opened it up, but believe there must be one single capacitor attached (thru whatever different circuitry) to both potentiometers, because a low-volume music piece affects the delay. For example, it works fine with rock&roll, but an album of classical guitar music will cause the relay to pop over during the silence between tracks, even with the delay set to almost-max and the trigger volume set to min. In other words, the delay is *not* a digital counter beginning when volume gets to below the threshold, but rather some analog mix-mosh which is affected by the lower (but not threshold) volume of the music which precedes the silence. Maybe the line-level version is different?
trackbeo: @matador43, my hint would be, "don't bother pricing them in the USA or Canada." (It's humor, but sadly true.) But in the EU, no problem... @Mikipedia even gave one away during last week's BeoTalk podcast.
At the moment there's one on the bay at more tha 300€. Another one on a french famous second hand website at 150€ and aa second at 100 but with a full Beosystem 2300 (not a problem, but the guy wont ship…).
It's quite suprinsing as the playmaker doesnt seems to have been a very loved item, right ?
matador43:It's quite suprinsing as the playmaker doesnt seems to have been a very loved item, right ?
Hi OlivierC,
I did try your link, didnt know about hifishark. But unfortunaltly there is few and expensive.
You may be right about the essence, There was one to sell on Leboncoin recently very cheap (30€) but a smarter fellow member from Beoworld took it from me (if you read us: congratulation!)
I'll wait…
Thank you again for your insights.
I have only used a manual switch back in the day. Now a days I just use Cores - one connected to a pair of BL 8002 through a BL 2 and another Core connected to a pair of BL 6000 through a BL 11. I use optical and AirPlay2 and B&O streaming sources. If I need to connect more sources I connect them to my TV which acts as the receiver since Apple TV and my computer are the only sources I need a hard wired connection.
If I needed to connect to say a CD Player, I’d probably use a 3rd party receiver and use the line out to my BL speakers. I have tried that too and it worked.
personally I would not buy a Playmaker because it doesn’t seem like a high quality product (just my humble opinion).