Need help w/ home stereo

[Raptor77]

Probably a simple fix for most anyone here but I am severely teck challenged. I have two old Onkyo tower speakers mounted to my garage ceiling. Powered by an old Pioneer home stereo amplifier. I plug my smart phone into it to charge and listen to iheart radio. The old amp is no longer recognizing that the phone is plugged in. Was going to replace it with something cheep from amazon. The Pioneer says on back that it's 400 watt. I have no idea what else matters, or even how much that matters.
Could someone please help me. Ask me whatever else you need to know, if anything. Some of the products on Amazon say 40w x2 max 300w. some say 2000w. I would think it would be a simple fix.

Amazon.com

would this work? I really have no idea what I'm doing.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Bluejets]

The old amp is no longer recognizing that the phone is plugged in.

So is the above your problem...you tended to rave on a bit.
If so, are you sure it's this way or the phone ..???

If you are certain it is the power from the amp, I'd check that power first.
Maybe plug your phone into a run-of-the-mill phone charger to verify.(or even as a fix...forget the amp socket)
Perhaps simple thing like the socket where you plug in and out.(I imagine USB socket).

 

[kellys_eye]

I have two old Onkyo tower speakers

Powered by an old Pioneer home stereo amplifier.

I'm assuming the speakers weren't part of the Pioneer original setup?

The 400W rating is probably for the whole amp electrically. This might equate to 2x100W audio output. If it is a rating of actual AUDIO output then such figures are more than often exaggerated beyond belief.

For a garage you wouldn't need any more than 50W per channel to deafen yourself pretty quickly. Sure, go for the higher powered unit but don't turn it up to 11.

 

[Martaine2005]

What amp? We can guess all day.
Old Pioneer to me means OLD!
70s.
And it has USB charging?. Trust me, it’s not old.

 

[poormystic]

Hi
Is there a stereo input jack on the amp? (Telling us more about the amp might help - at least good photos or a link to a good description of it )
Mk

 

[H2814D]

The answer to your question is yes. You can use the amazon amplifier in place of your existing Pioneer home stereo system. It is outputting 40W per channel. That will be enough to power the speakers you have in the garage and even annoy your neighbors if you wanted to.

Just remove the speaker wires from the back of the Pioneer system and note the polarity (+, - ) of the wires. The rear Pioneer stereo hookup locations will probably be identified as red for (+) and black for (-), just like the amazon amplifier is. The amazon amplifier also has a wide 4-16 ohm speaker impedance rating, which should cover your existing speakers. Make sure you have the speaker wires connected to the correct polarity on the amazon unit before you fire it up.

I think you will actually be happier with the amazon unit anyway. It has a USB port for charging and bluetooth if you want to run the system amplifier without actually connecting it to the phone. If you get the amazon amp, let us know how it works please.

There is also a possibility that the connecting cable between the phone and the existing stereo has failed. That is common and easily fixed with a new connecting cable. Another issue would be a failure at the phone connection. In that case bluetooth capability, between the phone and the amazon amp, would fix that. It won't fix the phone, but it will allow you to the listen to the stereo in the garage.

 

[Raptor77]

First, I want to thank everyone for their help in this simple matter.
Sorry for the delay in responding, but I have been very busy lately.
To clear up some things and answer some questions; I know it is the unit that's the problem. Tried a different cord that I use in another place and works, but doesn't work on the unit. Tried another phone, same result. Speakers work when the unit recognizes the phone. Bought the replacement linked in my first post. Probably would have worked, but couldn't plug it in because I live in the United States and our power outlets don't take the type of plug that came with it. I will include pictures for those that asked of the unit that I wish to replace, and an outlet where I live and the plug that came with the one from Amazon.
If someone could send me a link to a product on Amazon that would plug in in my country, accept speaker wires for the two tower speakers and has USB for my phone, I think that would solve the problem.
Again, thank you all for the help that you are providing me. I very much appreciate it.

 

[H2814D]

I just looked at the same model amp you purchased from Amazon and it should have been sent to you with a standard US 110vac plug, if you ordered it and actually had it shipped to a US address. What you are showing us in the picture is clearly not the right plug for the USA and it shouldn't have been shipped to you. That is a "Type G" plug, usually used in China, Ireland, and the UK. It should have come with a "Type B" plug, which what we use here. Amazon usually has easy returns. Have you tried to return this one for another one?

By the way, did you cut the power cord off of your Pioneer Stereo? It looks like it has been cut, based on the picture where a short cable is protruding from the upper right corner in the picture of the back of the unit.

Additionally, your Pioneer Stereo was manufactured in 2012, with a lot of the features (plug in receptacles, HDMI, USB, etc,) found on current models, so we would not really consider yours to be "old."

Don't give up. You got this.

 

[Martaine2005]

That plug is NOT used in the UK!.
We have similar for lighting ONLY with round pins but definitely NOT for appliances.
OUR plugs have fuses in them.

 

[H2814D]

That plug is NOT used in the UK!.
We have similar for lighting ONLY with round pins but definitely NOT for appliances.
OUR plugs have fuses in them.

The info was taken off of the Amazon website for Type G to Type B adapters. "INTERNATIONALLY COMPATIBLE: Our US to UK Plug Adapter are compatible with outlets in several countries, such as the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cyprus, Dominica, England, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Iraq, Ireland, Scotland, Qatar and United Arab Emirates"

The point was that what he received was not a US type B Plug.

 

[kellys_eye]

As said, that plug is a Chinese 'killer' plug being un-fused and, most likely, aluminium cored wire instead of copper. Totally illegal in the UK.

But the main issue is the cut-off mains cable. That usually indicates the equipment is dud/faulty. A replacement will involve opening the set and connecting a new cable (and cable with the appropriate plug - you should have one from some old appliance at home maybe?) and bringing it out the casing again.

Then we can start fault finding!

 

[H2814D]

As said, that plug is a Chinese 'killer' plug being un-fused and, most likely, aluminium cored wire instead of copper. Totally illegal in the UK.

But the main issue is the cut-off mains cable. That usually indicates the equipment is dud/faulty. A replacement will involve opening the set and connecting a new cable (and cable with the appropriate plug - you should have one from some old appliance at home maybe?) and bringing it out the casing again.

Then we can start fault finding!

I think there may be some confusion as to what the OP is trying to accomplish. His garage stereo (in the USA) was in need of replacement and he wanted to simply replace it with another receiver deck. He ordered a replacement from Amazon and was sent a unit with a type G plug on the end. These don't work in typical residential outlets in the USA, so the suggestion was made to return it for the proper plug.

The cut wire is another issue. When the OP posted a photo of the back portion of the "old" stereo system, I saw the cut plug. That is the system he is trying to replace, but I was simply curious as to why it was cut. I don't believe he is trying to fix the old one now.

 

[Raptor77]

Not trying to fix the old one. Was in an awkward position and cut the cord to get the unit down. A friend from work said that the plug on the replacement from Amazon was for a camper. Returning it, but still need a replacement

 

[Bluejets]

I. for one , still have no idea what your problem really is.
You refer to "plug it in"....but don't say what to where.....

I plug my smart phone into it to charge and listen to iheart radio.


Speakers or phone or amp or new amp for that matter.
Usb from phone to amp or to speaker tower.
Very confusing descriptions.

 

[H2814D]

I. for one , still have no idea what your problem really is.
You refer to "plug it in"....but don't say what to where.....

I plug my smart phone into it to charge and listen to iheart radio.


Speakers or phone or amp or new amp for that matter.
Usb from phone to amp or to speaker tower.
Very confusing descriptions.

I didn't think it was confusing. To summarize, he had a Pioneer stereo receiver/amp in his garage that stopped working as it had been before. He used to use it to listen to IHeart Radio (a streaming radio service app in the US) when he plugged his cell phone into the USB plug in that stereo. Since the old system stopped working as before, he started looking for a replacement system that would use his existing speakers. He found one on Amazon and ordered it. He lives in the USA. The unit arrived, however it had a Type G plug instead of a Type B plug, which is the one used in the USA. So he is simply needing the same unit he ordered from Amazon, but with the correct plug. For some reason, Amazon sent him a unit which had the wrong plug. He just needs to send it back and get a replacement. Once he gets the replacement, he will be able to again use his phone to either plug it into the new unit's USB or the new one also has Bluetooth capability, and he can connect with it that way. Does that make better sense?

He has explained why the plug was cut in post #13.

 

[H2814D]

Not trying to fix the old one. Was in an awkward position and cut the cord to get the unit down. A friend from work said that the plug on the replacement from Amazon was for a camper. Returning it, but still need a replacement

Send the unit you received from Amazon back to them and have them send you the same replacement. You can explain that the plug was not correct for the USA. They should do that for you without a problem. They obviously had one in a box that must have been misdirected to the USA and ended up in the USA warehouse for some reason.

That plug is not for a camper either. It looks similar to a camper plug, but it is not.

 

[Bluejets]

He has explained why the plug was cut in post #13.

Yes....guess one has to have their head screwed on backwards....