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Speaker switch (DIY?)

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pjug

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This chap might make one for you, not sure if he'll ship to the US though...

https://www.reelaudio.co.uk/sw2_2.shtml
Thanks. that looks like a nice switch box. A little more than I want to pay however (not that I think it is overpriced considering he is building a small number of these by hand) Price for the standard 2 x 2: £369.00 + £30.00 Postage in the UK - £50.00 to Europe

At the moment the Lynndahl is my most likely choice. I see a used one in Germany, looking into whether the seller will ship to USA.

If I can't get the Lyndahl, this Beresford TC-7210 box looks similar, but designed for switching between amplifiers. I probably want to do away with the protection circuitry and then it would OK
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Beresford-...a=1&pg=2546172&_trksid=p2546172.c101072.m2109

Third option is this one with relays and remote, maybe similar to the Luxman I mentioned earlier. The guts of this look very much like what I have inside one of my integrated amps (NAD C370)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-way-Spea...190621?hash=item3d670204dd:g:68wAAOSwY8td6bTK

Whichever way I go, I like the idea of starting with a complete box and modifying as necessary, rather than full DIY.
 
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pjug

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In the end, I ordered the SP1 from Mapletree, like this one:
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/l...fier-switch-box-router-amp-multi-channel-amps
This was mostly chosen because I like the way it looks. But also because Al at Mapletree seems like a nice guy and is a good communicator. Since Luxman would not sell the switch I wanted, and Beresford and Lyndahl did not reply to my inquiries, easy back and forth email with Al really made me want to buy from him!
If anyone is interested, I will take a peek inside and get the switch part number and take a photo. Also try to get a rough measurement of the resistance at about 0.5A.

Edit: I received a nice email from Stan Beresford answering my questions about the TC-7210 and also giving some tips for going about this as a DIY. So I wanted to amend what I said above, where I was somewhat impatient. Maybe I will buy a TC-7210 as well and see which of these boxes I like better.
 
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txbdan

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IMG_0759.jpegIMG_0761.jpeg

I made this simple switch a few weeks ago when i was testing a bunch of speakers. Be sure to use a proper four pole switch.

Switch: Carling Technologies / IL251-73
Enclosure: Hammond Manufacturing / 1595EBK
Posts: Mueller Electric Co / BU-P6883

Does the trick.
 
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pjug

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I received the Mapletree switch last week. I am happy with it. Looks fairly nice. The Grayhill switch is a $56 part (single from Mouser). I like that rotary switching should wipe the contacts. So this is a little more than I wanted to spend on a speaker switch, but I am happy I didn't have to make one of these.
IMG_20200615_160350800[1].jpg
 

FrankF

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I use the Niles SPK-1 between my AVR and 2 channel rig. Works great with a trigger and handles 600 watts per channel.
FG00240_main-1.jpg

It requires a 12 volt signal to activate. I use a old adapter and a signal sensing power strip.
 
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S-unny

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View attachment 66688View attachment 66689

I made this simple switch a few weeks ago when i was testing a bunch of speakers. Be sure to use a proper four pole switch.

Switch: Carling Technologies / IL251-73
Enclosure: Hammond Manufacturing / 1595EBK
Posts: Mueller Electric Co / BU-P6883

Does the trick.
Wow ! this is so inspiring. I am a newbee to the audiophile world and am very impressed with people who can put together simple devices. If I may run a related query by you - I have bought a pair of speakers and in the process of setting up to evaluate multiple amplifiers. A bit reverse of what you did where you are testing bunch of speakers. Would this contraption still work for my case ? 1 fixed speaker set with option to toggle between 2 different amps ?
Thank you for your help
Sunny
 

somebodyelse

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Wow ! this is so inspiring. I am a newbee to the audiophile world and am very impressed with people who can put together simple devices. If I may run a related query by you - I have bought a pair of speakers and in the process of setting up to evaluate multiple amplifiers. A bit reverse of what you did where you are testing bunch of speakers. Would this contraption still work for my case ? 1 fixed speaker set with option to toggle between 2 different amps ?
Thank you for your help
Sunny
For most amps it should work, but some can react badly to having the load removed when powered. There was another thread a while back discussing a switcher that would swap the speaker for a dummy load to keep some valve amps happy. I don't know if that would work for the solid state ones that go unstable, or whether it's the sudden load change that throws them.
 

Katji

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I have bought a pair of speakers and in the process of setting up to evaluate multiple amplifiers. A bit reverse of what you did where you are testing bunch of speakers. Would this contraption still work for my case ? 1 fixed speaker set with option to toggle between 2 different amps ?
See post #10
 

S-unny

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This chap might make one for you, not sure if he'll ship to the US though...

https://www.reelaudio.co.uk/sw2_2.shtml
I actually called and spoke with Paul @ ReelAudio ! The pricing would work out about $550 on being shipped to US. I just cannot justify this cost on a relative basis - If I am shopping for say a $1000 amp spending about $600 on a switching device just does not cut it for me.
 

S-unny

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For most amps it should work, but some can react badly to having the load removed when powered. There was another thread a while back discussing a switcher that would swap the speaker for a dummy load to keep some valve amps happy. I don't know if that would work for the solid state ones that go unstable, or whether it's the sudden load change that throws them.
I found this on Ebay. Any thoughts on this ? It seems to have that Relay & Load feature so that tubes can be connected as well. For the breadth of search I have done {mapletree, reelaudio, luxman} this is surprisingly the best option in terms of pricing. I cant figure out what the purpose of the VU meters is for. They could have saved space by eliminating that visual feature
 

m_g_s_g

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I found this on Ebay. Any thoughts on this ? It seems to have that Relay & Load feature so that tubes can be connected as well. For the breadth of search I have done {mapletree, reelaudio, luxman} this is surprisingly the best option in terms of pricing. I cant figure out what the purpose of the VU meters is for. They could have saved space by eliminating that visual feature
Amir tested it some time ago. Link.
 

Berwhale

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I cant figure out what the purpose of the VU meters is for

There is an affection for VU meters for audiophiles of a certain age (some of whom inhabit this forum). My understanding is that there is a technically justified use for VU meters in some circumstances, but my impression is that they are somewhat irrelevant for most users in the 'digital age' and their inclusion on the on the switcher linked to above is purely for aesthetics (with little or no regard to their negative impact on sound quality).
 

Berwhale

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Sir, where i can get the wiring diagram? I plan to make this one too. Exactly the same!.

The diagram is trivial, you can work that out yourself... The switch I'm using connects the middle column of 4 connections (e.g. for L+, L-, R+, R-) to either the left or right column...

1686138600577.png


It's important to get a switch that is 'break before make' which ensures the left column will never be connected to the right column.
 

ReisDaddy

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The diagram is trivial, you can work that out yourself... The switch I'm using connects the middle column of 4 connections (e.g. for L+, L-, R+, R-) to either the left or right column...

View attachment 290762

It's important to get a switch that is 'break before make' which ensures the left column will never be connected to the right column.

Ahhh.. as simple as that.. Im over thinking... lol..
Thank you so much.

One more question, so i think its also work for RCA? from DAC to 2 choice of amps?
 

Berwhale

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Ahhh.. as simple as that.. Im over thinking... lol..
Thank you so much.

One more question, so i think its also work for RCA? from DAC to 2 choice of amps?

I suppose the switch would work, but you'd need to replace the binding posts with RCA connectors. Also, I think this type of line level switch is much easier to buy off the shelf, so probably not worth the bother of building yourself. For example, I found this nice looking three way one on Amazon with little effort: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nedis-ASWI2403BK-Analogue-Switch-Female/dp/B07JZ5LNK8/?th=1
 

ReisDaddy

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The diagram is trivial, you can work that out yourself... The switch I'm using connects the middle column of 4 connections (e.g. for L+, L-, R+, R-) to either the left or right column...

View attachment 290762

It's important to get a switch that is 'break before make' which ensures the left column will never be connected to the right column.

Can i solder the wire instead of using spade?
 

ReisDaddy

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I just want to share my DIY, appreciation to @Berwhale helping me about the diagram.

IMG_20230624_132521.jpg


Front look:

IMG_20230624_134843.jpg


Back:

IMG_20230624_134854.jpg


I will use it for selecting one of 2 amplifier and 1 set speaker.

Front panel:
- Left switch for amp line 1 or 2
- Right switch for speaker of amp 1 or 2

Top panel:
- upper row amp 1 input and speaker out.
- lower row amp 2 input and speaker out.

Back panel:
- Line output from PC.
- Speaker output (because i just have one set speaker).

Waiting for my speaker cable on the way.
My goal is to test difference amp with same speaker.
 
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