12V Triggers - What cable do I need? - Blu-ray Forum

JJ · 04-22-2009, 06:02 AM

To connect from preamp to amplifier. All I've been able to find are that they look similar to phono plugs. What do I need exactly, and where do I find them? Thanks in advance.

SRTCraig · 04-22-2009, 06:45 AM

3.5mm stereo plugs. Ipods use them to connect to stereos...

cembros · 04-22-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SRTCraig

3.5mm stereo plugs. Ipods use them to connect to stereos...

ya u can pick them up from radio shack for like two three bucks

cembros · 04-22-2009, 07:11 AM

what amp r u getting, just curious

AlabamaBoy · 04-22-2009, 01:49 PM

You should check your manuals. My Yamaha and Panamax only worked with a mono 3.5mm cable (not stereo). My Emo amp works with either. You can pick them up for $4.99 at RadioShack or online for $2.00.

JJ · 04-22-2009, 02:00 PM

Ah, see? I know they looked the same, but wanted to be sure. I never would've thought those cables would also be triggers.

And if all goes well, cembros, a B&K Reference 2220 2-ch and a Outlaw 2200 Monoblock.

Johk · 04-22-2009, 02:17 PM

On my part, I got a 3.5 mm TRS plug mono cable since the stereo one I had lying at home did not work.

solarrdadd · 04-27-2009, 09:53 PM

Howdy, I am looking for some help from anyone who has an Onkyo 805 receiver and any Emotiva amp (mine is the XPA-5) I just got my amp today (sweet!) I am using the mono cable from the Onkyo out to the Amp and inside the Onkyo amp the capability for the 12v out has been activated. However, when the Onkyo is turned on, the amp is not. On the inside door of the Onkyo there are two buttons that say zone 2 & 3 pressing zone 2 and selecting "source" turns on the amp via the 12v trigger but there are two problems with that. I am running 7.1 and in the Onkyo manual, when using zone 2, you will lose the two surround back channels limiting you to 5.1 only, the other thing is the amp stays on after turning off the Onkyo and the only way to turn the amp off is to eithe rswitch it off by switching zone 2 off or by pressing the buttons on the physical receiver and selecting off for the zone. I talked to the folks at Emotiva and they were supprised as was I. they recommended to put this on their forum to see if anyone with this receiver had the same issue and what they did to overcome it. they also recommended to get a 12v dc plug in power supply with center pin positive, plug the output into the amp trigger in port then plug the power supply into the Onkyo's switched outlet to get the amp to turn on and off with the receiver. I'd like to open this up to anyone with similar equipment that faced similar issues and what they did to overcome this. I suspect most of you were not running 7.1 have no such issues, it's really only people running 7.1 that would really have the problem of the surround backs being lost.

09camaro · 04-27-2009, 11:52 PM

From what I've read, your trigger only works off zone 2. Your best bet is to
get the reccommended "wall-wart" from Radio Shack to plug into your receiver's
switched outlet. Mine is 9vDC 800mA and works great with my Marantz sr4002
and Emotiva XPA-3, as it lacked a DC trigger.

solarrdadd · 04-28-2009, 01:46 AM

thanks for your reply, of course i found another thing that is wrong with the Onkyo, the switched receptacle on the back, isn't switched anymore; it stays on constantly! I am told by others with this receiver that a hard reset back to factory new default will put the receptacle back to a "switch condition" i already do have the external plug-in 12v source for the receiver once i get the reset taken care of. i'm glad i decided to do with this what i do with everything like this, test out things before going through a full install, cabling and the whole 9 and then finding out something doesn't or won't work right! Oh, did i mention how FRAKK'N HEAVY that amp is!?! glad I already had my kids cause that thing ruined me! I think it's heavier than advertised!

09camaro · 04-28-2009, 02:42 AM

Hate you're having so much trouble with the Onkyo. The xpa-5 was out
of stock when I decided to order, so I just went with the 3 to power my
front stage. Good luck with getting everything sorted out, and enjoy the
amp!

haw1144 · 04-28-2009, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

thanks for your reply, of course i found another thing that is wrong with the Onkyo, the switched receptacle on the back, isn't switched anymore; it stays on constantly! I am told by others with this receiver that a hard reset back to factory new default will put the receptacle back to a "switch condition" i already do have the external plug-in 12v source for the receiver once i get the reset taken care of. i'm glad i decided to do with this what i do with everything like this, test out things before going through a full install, cabling and the whole 9 and then finding out something doesn't or won't work right! Oh, did i mention how FRAKK'N HEAVY that amp is!?! glad I already had my kids cause that thing ruined me! I think it's heavier than advertised!

If it stays on constantly, you really have no choice =/ I use the wall wort from the switched outlet on the back of my Onkyo to the MPS-2... works great. The MPS-2 also has signal sensing auto-turn on also... does your XPA-5 have that at all?

vega2K · 05-10-2009, 12:14 AM

I should be getting my first separate amp next week (Parasound 2205AT 220watts x 5 channels). I read the manual and it shows bare wires (pos and neg) for the 12V trigger. My receiver is a Pioneer Elite 94TXH which has the 3.5mm plug for the trigger. I know that I can simply strip one end of a mono cable and terminate the ends appropriately. The only problem I see is how do I know which wire is negative and which is positive (I assume they are not color coded red/black)? Is there a way/trick to check this before I connect the cable?

D · 05-10-2009, 01:50 AM

You can pick up a multi-meter at radioshack as well. Set it to DC Voltage to check the polarity. Be careful not to short out trigger output on receiver.

solarrdadd · 05-10-2009, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vega2K

I should be getting my first separate amp next week (Parasound 2205AT 220watts x 5 channels). I read the manual and it shows bare wires (pos and neg) for the 12V trigger. My receiver is a Pioneer Elite 94TXH which has the 3.5mm plug for the trigger. I know that I can simply strip one end of a mono cable and terminate the ends appropriately. The only problem I see is how do I know which wire is negative and which is positive (I assume they are not color coded red/black)? Is there a way/trick to check this before I connect the cable?

why take the chance? it's only 2 - 4 $ to buy a mono or stereo 3.5mm cable (what ever type your amp/pre-amp/receiver recommends) If you short out your trigger you may damage both pieces of equipment and possibly void your warrenty then what? You've got a pretty nice set-up too, Don't take chances with your stuff!

vega2K · 05-10-2009, 02:13 AM

db01 - The multi-meter is probably my best bet. Since the trigger on the amp can be as low as 9 volts DC, I can try the multi-meter with a 9 volt battery instead of checking while it is connected to the receiver. Thanks for the suggestion.

solarrdadd - The problem is that as far as I know, there is no cable that I can buy that goes from a 3.5mm plug on one end and bare wires at the other end. I do seem to remember that my car GPS came with a cable with bare black and white wires at one end which are used to tap into the Parking Brake (a safety feature which I doubt most people use). If this is a mono 3.5mm, then I'm set. I will check and report back in case someone else has a similar problem.

Thanks to all.

D · 05-10-2009, 04:02 AM

You should be fine. Best of luck. They have a small credit card size one that's not too expensive, and works well.

tlmaclennan · 05-10-2009, 05:17 AM

What are 12V triggers for, if someone may kindly inform me?

EDIT: Nevermind, looked it up myself.

D · 05-10-2009, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlmaclennan

What are 12V triggers for, if someone may kindly inform me?

EDIT: Nevermind, looked it up myself.

Sorry, logged off after last post.

solarrdadd · 05-10-2009, 08:34 PM

I did get a 12v 500ah power supply from radio shack and it works perfectly. I also found out that there was a setting in the Onkyo's menu that had been enabled and that is what kept the power receptacle on the back of the receiver on constantly. I disabled it and now everything works perfect. I plugged the 12v power supply into the 120v switched outlet on the back of the Onkyo and plugged it's output into the XPA-5, now when I start the receiver up, the amp powers up too, it also shuts off when the receiver is turned off. so, all is well! thanks to everyone who helped.

04-22-2009, 06:02 AM	#1
JJ Blu-ray Count Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Miami, FL Home Theater Gallery:99 4K collection:619 Blu-ray collection:1293 DVD collection:31 Digital collection:5 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:203	12V Triggers - What cable do I need? To connect from preamp to amplifier. All I've been able to find are that they look similar to phono plugs. What do I need exactly, and where do I find them? Thanks in advance.

04-27-2009, 09:53 PM	#8
solarrdadd Blu-ray Prince Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Virginia Home Theater Gallery:255 4K collection:209 Blu-ray collection:1344 DVD collection:4 Blu-ray reviews: 42 Trading Score:316	Onkyo/Emotiva 12v trigger troubles Howdy, I am looking for some help from anyone who has an Onkyo 805 receiver and any Emotiva amp (mine is the XPA-5) I just got my amp today (sweet!) I am using the mono cable from the Onkyo out to the Amp and inside the Onkyo amp the capability for the 12v out has been activated. However, when the Onkyo is turned on, the amp is not. On the inside door of the Onkyo there are two buttons that say zone 2 & 3 pressing zone 2 and selecting "source" turns on the amp via the 12v trigger but there are two problems with that. I am running 7.1 and in the Onkyo manual, when using zone 2, you will lose the two surround back channels limiting you to 5.1 only, the other thing is the amp stays on after turning off the Onkyo and the only way to turn the amp off is to eithe rswitch it off by switching zone 2 off or by pressing the buttons on the physical receiver and selecting off for the zone. I talked to the folks at Emotiva and they were supprised as was I. they recommended to put this on their forum to see if anyone with this receiver had the same issue and what they did to overcome it. they also recommended to get a 12v dc plug in power supply with center pin positive, plug the output into the amp trigger in port then plug the power supply into the Onkyo's switched outlet to get the amp to turn on and off with the receiver. I'd like to open this up to anyone with similar equipment that faced similar issues and what they did to overcome this. I suspect most of you were not running 7.1 have no such issues, it's really only people running 7.1 that would really have the problem of the surround backs being lost.

05-10-2009, 05:17 AM	#18
tlmaclennan Senior Member Member since:Dec 2008 Location:Garden Grove, CA Home Theater Gallery:21 Blu-ray collection:121 Trading Score:1	What are 12V triggers for, if someone may kindly inform me? EDIT: Nevermind, looked it up myself. Last edited by tlmaclennan; 05-10-2009 at 05:27 AM.

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04-22-2009, 06:45 AM	#2
SRTCraig Active Member Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Near middle earth Home Theater Gallery:10	3.5mm stereo plugs. Ipods use them to connect to stereos...

04-22-2009, 07:11 AM	#4
cembros Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Blu-ray collection:456 Trading Score:4	what amp r u getting, just curious

04-22-2009, 01:49 PM	#5
AlabamaBoy Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Home Theater Gallery:1	You should check your manuals. My Yamaha and Panamax only worked with a mono 3.5mm cable (not stereo). My Emo amp works with either. You can pick them up for $4.99 at RadioShack or online for $2.00.

04-22-2009, 02:00 PM	#6
JJ Blu-ray Count Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Miami, FL Home Theater Gallery:99 4K collection:619 Blu-ray collection:1293 DVD collection:31 Digital collection:5 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:203	Ah, see? I know they looked the same, but wanted to be sure. I never would've thought those cables would also be triggers. And if all goes well, cembros, a B&K Reference 2220 2-ch and a Outlaw 2200 Monoblock.

04-22-2009, 02:17 PM	#7
Johk Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Blu-ray collection:645 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:2	On my part, I got a 3.5 mm TRS plug mono cable since the stereo one I had lying at home did not work.

04-27-2009, 11:52 PM	#9
09camaro Active Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Oneonta, Alabama Trading Score:1	From what I've read, your trigger only works off zone 2. Your best bet is to get the reccommended "wall-wart" from Radio Shack to plug into your receiver's switched outlet. Mine is 9vDC 800mA and works great with my Marantz sr4002 and Emotiva XPA-3, as it lacked a DC trigger.

04-28-2009, 01:46 AM	#10
solarrdadd Blu-ray Prince Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Virginia Home Theater Gallery:255 4K collection:209 Blu-ray collection:1344 DVD collection:4 Blu-ray reviews: 42 Trading Score:316	thanks for your reply, of course i found another thing that is wrong with the Onkyo, the switched receptacle on the back, isn't switched anymore; it stays on constantly! I am told by others with this receiver that a hard reset back to factory new default will put the receptacle back to a "switch condition" i already do have the external plug-in 12v source for the receiver once i get the reset taken care of. i'm glad i decided to do with this what i do with everything like this, test out things before going through a full install, cabling and the whole 9 and then finding out something doesn't or won't work right! Oh, did i mention how FRAKK'N HEAVY that amp is!?! glad I already had my kids cause that thing ruined me! I think it's heavier than advertised!

04-28-2009, 02:42 AM	#11
09camaro Active Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Oneonta, Alabama Trading Score:1	Hate you're having so much trouble with the Onkyo. The xpa-5 was out of stock when I decided to order, so I just went with the 3 to power my front stage. Good luck with getting everything sorted out, and enjoy the amp!

05-10-2009, 12:14 AM	#13
vega2K Blu-ray Samurai Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jan 2009 Home Theater Gallery:68 Blu-ray collection:345 Trading Score:228	I should be getting my first separate amp next week (Parasound 2205AT 220watts x 5 channels). I read the manual and it shows bare wires (pos and neg) for the 12V trigger. My receiver is a Pioneer Elite 94TXH which has the 3.5mm plug for the trigger. I know that I can simply strip one end of a mono cable and terminate the ends appropriately. The only problem I see is how do I know which wire is negative and which is positive (I assume they are not color coded red/black)? Is there a way/trick to check this before I connect the cable?

05-10-2009, 01:50 AM	#14
D Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Roaming the Highlands Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray reviews:1	You can pick up a multi-meter at radioshack as well. Set it to DC Voltage to check the polarity. Be careful not to short out trigger output on receiver.

05-10-2009, 02:13 AM	#16
vega2K Blu-ray Samurai Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jan 2009 Home Theater Gallery:68 Blu-ray collection:345 Trading Score:228	db01 - The multi-meter is probably my best bet. Since the trigger on the amp can be as low as 9 volts DC, I can try the multi-meter with a 9 volt battery instead of checking while it is connected to the receiver. Thanks for the suggestion. solarrdadd - The problem is that as far as I know, there is no cable that I can buy that goes from a 3.5mm plug on one end and bare wires at the other end. I do seem to remember that my car GPS came with a cable with bare black and white wires at one end which are used to tap into the Parking Brake (a safety feature which I doubt most people use). If this is a mono 3.5mm, then I'm set. I will check and report back in case someone else has a similar problem. Thanks to all.

05-10-2009, 04:02 AM	#17
D Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Feb 2008 Location:Roaming the Highlands Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray reviews:1	You should be fine. Best of luck. They have a small credit card size one that's not too expensive, and works well.

05-10-2009, 08:34 PM	#20
solarrdadd Blu-ray Prince Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Virginia Home Theater Gallery:255 4K collection:209 Blu-ray collection:1344 DVD collection:4 Blu-ray reviews: 42 Trading Score:316	I did get a 12v 500ah power supply from radio shack and it works perfectly. I also found out that there was a setting in the Onkyo's menu that had been enabled and that is what kept the power receptacle on the back of the receiver on constantly. I disabled it and now everything works perfect. I plugged the 12v power supply into the 120v switched outlet on the back of the Onkyo and plugged it's output into the XPA-5, now when I start the receiver up, the amp powers up too, it also shuts off when the receiver is turned off. so, all is well! thanks to everyone who helped.

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