Sylvania GT 4/40 Speakers

[vinylndunks]

Hello all, I have a Sylvania Exponent 4/40 GT Solid State record player. It is a compact fold up suitcase type player with plug-in speakers. I was wondering if there was anyway to hook up similar type plug in speakers, but bigger with more bass and loudness without ruining the actual unit itself.

New or old speakers will do but every type of speaker I try to find are only the wire type not a straight plug in type like this unit requires. Been searching everywhere and I could not find anything

If anyone has any knowledge of this and can tell me (if it will work without ruining my unit) it would be greatly appreciated...cheers!

[Nickthedentist]

Hi and welcome.

Sounds like you need to fit a cable and plug to the speakers you're attempting to use - not necessarily difficult.

Could you post a pic of the Sylvania's speaker sockets?

N.

[vinylndunks]

I had a guy write me back on youtube and he said to get 8 ohm speakers not 4 ohm because they will ruin the amp. I asked back exactly what kind of speakers...still waiting for a reply.

In the meantime if you know anything I would appreciate it, here's the pics...

[Michael Maurice]

These are phono plugs. Available from Maplins. You will have to solder the speaker wires to them.

[Tractorfan]

Hi,
I think it's better to have the speaker impedance a bit higher rather than too low, so 8 ohm speakers should be OK. It usually says somewhere on the unit what the recommended impedance should be. If you use 8ohm speakers instead of 4 ohms, it may be a little quieter, but that's all.
Cheers, Pete.

[Herald1360]

You may get more bass with better speakers, but I suspect you will struggle to get more loudness. Good speakers are usually even less efficient than cheap'n'cheerful ones, on account of the compromises needed to get a level response mostly involving flattening response peaks down to a common level rather than boosting troughs up.

[vinylndunks]

Thanks for the replies. I guess what I am looking for would be 8 ohm phono plug in speakers. Any suggestions as far as brand or type I should get? Again I'm looking for something a little bigger with some more oomph.

[Station X]

Oomph comes from the amplifier, not the speakers.

[Herald1360]

Active speakers would be one way round it. Some of the larger computer speaker offerings might be worth investigating, but you gets what you pay for and good quality sound isn't ever particularly cheap unless you start over and look for something different like a 70s-80s hifi system. And that will just be cheap for what you get- not necessarily cheap in absolute £££s.

[vinylndunks]

^^^^You have been a big help, thank you.

Also, does anyone know the specs of this speakers? As far as speaker size & wattage? Been searching and can't find anything.

[vinylndunks]

I have been doing a bit of research for older style 8 ohm speakers with a RCA (phono) plug that would be compatible and I have found a few: Sonics AS-331, Zenith Allegro 1500, Realistic Nova 7B & 8B, Harmon Kardon HK20, Maximus 44 just to name a few.

Now would these speakers be OK to work with my system? I don't want to get something bigger if it will ruin the the system and/or stress the amp.

Thanks again for all of your help mates.

[jamesperrett]

In general, speakers with phono connectors tend to be at the cheaper end of the market and not particularly good. If I were in your position, I would find some reasonable speakers on Freecycle or your local dump and then make up some cables with a phono plug on the record player end and a suitable connector (or bare wires if necessary) for the speaker end.

[cmjones01]

You don't need to worry about whether the speakers have a phono plug or not. Phono plugs can be added to any speaker, as long as you can solder or can find someone who can do it for you. It can be a fiddly job if you're new to soldering, but the plugs are cheap and readily available at shops like Maplin, or online sellers.

In general, the only speakers fitted with phono plugs from the factory were very cheap ones supplied with 1970s music centres. I can almost guarantee you'll be disappointed if you search out a pair and plug them in: they weren't much good when they were new, and they won't be a great improvement on what you've already got.

You can pick up almost any pair of hi-fi speakers - if you've got a 'cash converter' type shop nearby, that might be a good place to look - and get phono plugs fitted to them. The sound quality will be better than your existing speakers, and probably with more bass. However, as Herald1360 said, better quality speakers tend be be quieter when connected to the same amplifier, so you might not find you get more volume. That said, it looks like your Sylvania has a reasonably beefy amplifier, judging by the power transistors visible through the hole in the back, so it'll probably work quite well.

Don't worry about stressing the amp. You'll only do that if you try and connect more than more pair of speakers, or connect ones with an impedance much less than 8 ohms.

Chris

[Nickthedentist]

Look in charity shops. Many have loads of pairs of speakers for £10 or so.

N.

[vinylndunks]

So I ended up getting the Zenith Allegro 1500's, I was really happy with them but I found myself wanting more. I picked up the Realistic Optimus 9's and couldn't be happier. These speakers are amazing. I know suggestions were getting newer speakers (but I wanted older ones to match my vintage record player) and/or making the plug into a 2 wire. I currently just have them plugged in on each end...would it really make that much of difference making the plug into a 2 wire? I can't see anything topping this =)

[Herald1360]

If you're happy with the sound you have now, that's the best result you could have.

As long as the speakers are connected up tidily with no chance of a short between the wires, it really doesn't matter exactly how it's done- phono plugs, terminal blocks, DIN plugs, banana plugs or gold plated diamond encrusted money pits will all work just the same as long as they're clean and properly attached.

[vinylndunks]

^^^Thanks sir =)