Yes, it is possible to link speaker wires to aux leads. Still, you need to figure out if the signals need to be amplified to play audio at higher volumes and through more prominent speakers you’ll be connecting to.
At a glance, most folks might not see all that much of a difference between speaker wires and auxiliary (aux) leads.
After all, aren’t we just talking about two different kinds of cables that transport sound signals from a source to a set of speakers for playback?
Sure, maybe in the grand scheme of things – but there’s a world of difference between speaker wires and auxiliary leads, which is why they have two completely different connections in the first place!
Even still, is it possible to configure speaker wires so that they can be hooked up to auxiliary leads and then jacked into our favorite speakers or receivers?
Link Speaker to AUX – Simple way
Firstly, you should check your speaker doesn’t have an AUX input port, as most entry-level speakers (Mainly Bluetooth) have a connection port in the device’s rear.
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you already have checked for this, so in the next section, we’ll show you how to hopefully connect up the two wires if there is no input already installed in the speaker.
Connecting Speakers Wires to Aux Leads Isn’t Easy
Before you even think about connecting speaker wires to auxiliary leads, you need to consider a couple of things.
First, the signal will be amplified from the speakers before it hits the auxiliary lead.
Signals that are traveling across speaker wire (generally) aren’t going to be amplified at all, whereas signals that run through auxiliary leads almost always need a bit of a boost – especially if you are hoping to play your audio back on more prominent speakers or at higher volumes.
Suppose you were to simply splice speaker wires to auxiliary leads and cross your fingers, hoping for the best. In that case, you’d end up with a weak signal that either didn’t work or was barely audible.
The second thing you need to think about is how solid your wiring skills are in the first place.
Speaker wire is probably the easiest of all cables to work within the electrical signal world.
Still, connecting speaker wire to auxiliary jacks is never quite as straightforward as most people think.
Get the splice wrong, and you’ll have a poor connection, and the sound signals won’t be able to transfer over as efficiently. That’s going to cripple your results, too.
In the video below, J Robling explains how to convert and connect speaker wires to aux:
How To Possibly Connect Speaker Wires To Aux Leads?
If you are going to go down this road, though, you’ll need to make sure that you have the following:
- Working with high-quality speaker wire
- Connected to a high-powered (or amplified) source and
- Can create clean, consistent, and strong connections between the speaker wire and the auxiliary inputs themselves
The amplification of the signal coming through those speaker wires before you hit your auxiliary leads is mission-critical.
If you don’t have enough “juice” pushing your signal across those speaker wires, even the best wiring job in the world is going to result in sound that is super low-quality and super soft.
So it really won’t even be worth the effort.
At the same time, it’s important not to go overboard with amplification, either. Push a lot of extra juice over your speaker wire, and you’ll end up creating impedance issues that will distort your sound, too.
A quick and painless solution to all this is simply to use “active speakers”.
The speakers will have a tiny amplifier built right into them, handling the heavy lifting of amplifying your signal so that you don’t have to worry about dialing it in yourself.
That’s a great approach if you’re going to be splicing speaker wire to aux leads!
Paying a Professional to Link Speaker Wires to Aux Leads
Suppose you don’t feel comfortable conducting the wiring or are just confused.
In this case, you could pay a local audio electrician a visit who should fix the matter for you in no time.
According to “Which trusted traders”, it takes the average electrician 0.5 – 1 hour to repair wires.
It’s likely to take them less than this, but they are likely to charge at half-hour or hour intervals.
US average hourly rate of an Electrician: $24
UK average hourly rate of an electrician: £30
Based on these hourly rates, you should expect to pay up to $50 (or £60) for linking speaker wires to auxiliary leads, which takes a maximum of 1 hour to complete the work.
Although, I would suspect it could be less.
Link Speaker Wires to Aux Leads in Your Car
Your car will almost always have speaker wires connect to some form of receivers such as a radio or head unit built into your vehicle.
Speaker wires will be connected to this unless they are routed via an amplifier.
Most cars will have an AUX input, although newer cars are fading out this technology.
In an extreme scenario, you could change out the head unit with one that has an AUX port or buy an FM Transmitter that you can plug into the cigarette lighter.
This will allow you to plug the AUX lead into the Transmitter.
You can then connect to a specific radio wavelength to play your tunes via your device.
Suppose you’re interested in installing a new car stereo. In that case, we have an article about how to long it will take to install a car stereo and how much it will cost for a professional to install the radio for you.
Final Thoughts
While it is possible to link speaker wires to aux leads, several considerations need to be made to avoid disappointment.
If you aren’t comfortable conducting the DIY task, you should consult a local electrician qualified in the field.
