ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
hello & thanks for your interest in helping! i just purchased a pair of 6603 speakers (thrift store in immaculate cosmetic condition). i could not pass them up for 50 bucks. i currently use a sony str dg600 reciever/amp. i have a few questions i really need help with.
1. can i use the regular speaker wire into the clips on the bottom of the speakers just like i would with a normal non powered (passive) speakers. i dont think my sony has preamp out jacks. what will work best? i plan on using these as my main speakers in my surround 5.1 system.
2. i tried hooking them up (with regular speaker wire) and when i turned on my sony the power light on the bottom portion of the speaker turned from red to green to amber (yellowish orangeish) very quickly and made a quick feedback noise (like a pop sound) and the amber light just stays on. i tried both speakers multiple times and the same thing happens every time. is this a problem with the speaker or with my hookup?
3. if its a speaker problem where would i start with the repair? is there a fuse somewhere? should i inspect the internals for damage? any ideas would be great! thanks for your time & happy holidays.
These Pentas are designed for use with almost anything! You can use the normal speaker wires as you describe - set the switches to min sensitivity and the right hand switch to off. However it sounds as though you have a faulty amplifier. These are tricky to repair unless you have electronics skills - the service manual is on site. You can still use the Pentas by bypassing the amplifier. The amplifier unbolts and there are connections on the top of it which go directly to the cross over.
Peter
hi peter
thanks for your response. how will the sound quality be without the built in amp? will my reciever drive them well enough? they need some new foam surrounds and i didnt want to spend the time and money replacing the surrounds for speakers that dont sound that great. i currently have some entry level paradigms & energys. do these pentas handle bass very well? thanks for your help, i really appreciate it!
Congratulations on a real bargain!!!I would ALWAYS recommend bypassing the amp completely if you are driving directly from another amplifier output, no point in attenuating signal and boosting it for a second time!So, I would try this first by temporarily removing the amp module and you will notice you can run some speakers wires between amp base and speaker column (make sure you don't trap the wires!)- I have mine like this permanently attached with 2 pin DIN plugs so that I can bypass the B&O amp at any time, very convenient!Your speakers are certainly worth repairing, especially after spending 50 bucks!!! whether you will like the sound though is anyone's guess! They are not for everyone, I find they have more than enough bass just the top end can be slightly soft / fuzzy; I remember this was very much the main complaint when I use to do some bench time at a hifi shop ion the early 90's! However worth giving them time and see if you adjust to the sound, if it is not what you were expecting!Lots of people will tell you the crossover capacitors will definitely need replacing, however the original capacitors in mine are fine, and I more often than not find these capacitors to be just fine. If you do want to replace however, Martin Olsen (Dillen) is your friend :-)
Olly
hello
olly
thanks for your help! I feel much better about bypassing amp now. its nice that you took the time to advise me! will a 100 watt per channel Yamaha or sony push these ok or will I need a stronger amp? if so what would you suggest that would be inexpensive (used ebay).
happy holidays!
The sony amp will be fine for driving the speakers at normal levels yes. You do need to sort the mids out although it will be fine to run the speakers as they are for now - refoaming is fairly straight forward DIY kits / speaker re furbishers are available or you can exchange them at a local B&O dealer.
Pentas are superb speakers - I use a pair in preference to anything else. They are just good alrounders - if being critical, the bass is not as extended as you may think as there is a slight hump before the roll off and this means they are not quite as detailed as say MS150s, and the treble is soft, though sitting down helps this! (The tweeter is then at ear level!) But they are nicely balanced and very easy to listen to. If I am critical at all of the newer B&O range, it is that they are rather bright and this leads to listener fatigue. Pentas are more akin to the older ranges.
thanks in advance for your help!!!!
You should replace the foam as otherwise the speakers could wear the coil and burn out. CX100s are fine as rear speakers - nice top end
All I want to know is where are you shopping very glad you like them :-)