Stereo Booster for AUX Port

[firsthere]

We have a Samsung tablet that we connect to the standard Grey Wolf CD/stereo when boon-docking. The problem is, there is not enough volume even at maximum settings to hear the music very well. One of the outside speaker doesn't work when in AUX mode either, possibly not enough power?.

Does anyone know of a booster that would work inline between the Auxiliary port on the stereo and the tablet or a smart phone?

[kfergiez]

You can't boost what isn't there, you'd probably get a lot of hissing and static noise and whatnot.

I THINK you have something else going on.

1) Make sure your headphone volume is all the way up on your tablet. Most smartphones/tablets have multiple volume controls for the ringer, speaker, notifications, headphone, etc... Make sure the headphones control is turned all the way up.

2) You've selected the wrong AUX port. Most of these stereos have two+ AUX ports, one in the front, and one(s) in the back with RCA hookups. You *might* have the wrong AUX port selected and what you're hearing is some audio bleeding through from the port you're actually plugged in to. My second AUX port is buried behind a wall. While playing music, cycle through your ports and see which one is playing the loudest.

3) You've got a bad cable. Try using a different one.

4) Try a different devices. See if that helps.

5) Your stereo is damaged.

[firsthere]

The manual for the stereo shows the front Aux port to use (although there is a headphone port but it does not work on this single ended cable.)

The tablet works at home on our older stereo dual Aux jack on the back, that one does have a booster inside. There are rca type jacks under the cabinet on the TT for TV and such, possibly those might works as its fine with cd play to tv.

[kfergiez]

Can you post a photo of the port you’re plugging into?

[firsthere]

Tough shot, Slide was in......

[kfergiez]

There’s no picture.

[firsthere]

Another try...

[keegantimber]

Make sure you are using the right aux cable as well. I have a cable that will work but it is mono instead of stereo if that makes any sense. Lol. When i look at the male pin connector it only has one black ring where as the proper pin has two black rings. If you follow me...

[firsthere]

Will do!

[firsthere]

The cable has two black strips on each end.

[firsthere]

Currently researching this amp. There are several others however most are for headphones.

https://www.amazon.com/Neoteck-Headp.../dp/B01MS22YWV

[camaraderie]

I would be very reluctant to put a booster on an input as there as great potential to exceed the allowable input voltage and blow the radio. amplifiers/boosters belong on preamp output jacks or speaker wires.

[RiderBloke]

The port indicated says AV not AUX as far as I can see. There were some products that used that size port for Audio & Video and the plug had an extra ring for the video, which meant that if you used a normal plug one channel of audio could go missing. Apple did this on early iPhones. I think that may be the problem.
Look on the back of the unit for other possible inputs if you can before you spend money on a booster which may mot solve the problem.

[firsthere]

Yes I had considered that boosting the input might cause problems. Outputs for the speaker are inside the cabinet so I'll have to investigate.

Is the second ring on the cable stepped or just another black stripe?

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by kfergiez

You can't boost what isn't there, you'd probably get a lot of hissing and static noise and whatnot.

I THINK you have something else going on.

1) Make sure your headphone volume is all the way up on your tablet. Most smartphones/tablets have multiple volume controls for the ringer, speaker, notifications, headphone, etc... Make sure the headphones control is turned all the way up.

2) You've selected the wrong AUX port. Most of these stereos have two+ AUX ports, one in the front, and one(s) in the back with RCA hookups. You *might* have the wrong AUX port selected and what you're hearing is some audio bleeding through from the port you're actually plugged in to. My second AUX port is buried behind a wall. While playing music, cycle through your ports and see which one is playing the loudest.

3) You've got a bad cable. Try using a different one.

4) Try a different devices. See if that helps.

5) Your stereo is damaged.

You can put an amplifier between the iPad and the stereo BUT, you need to keep the source volume down so it doesn't overload the stereo input and distort.

I suspect (like this reply suggests) that you either haven't selected the right input into the stereo (using the high level i/p not low level) or the unit doesn't have an input for this type of signal.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by RiderBloke

The port indicated says AV not AUX as far as I can see. There were some products that used that size port for Audio & Video and the plug had an extra ring for the video, which meant that if you used a normal plug one channel of audio could go missing. Apple did this on early iPhones. I think that may be the problem.
Look on the back of the unit for other possible inputs if you can before you spend money on a booster which may mot solve the problem.

If the port is AV then it can be used. The issue is signal levels. Normally these ports need very low level signals, meaning that output from the headphone socket of your pad should be more than enough to drive it, even overdrive it. It seems there is either a lousy connection between the two devices or the gain on the i/p has been turned down (which might be automatic). Check the setting section of the radio.

[firsthere]

Good call after looking closely the port is AV, so possibly the incorrect cable? The tablet end appear the same as the cable that works on the home stereo but it is 80's vintage. ( I did replace a previous cable as it was mono until moved side to side)

I'm not sure where to look for the setting selection, The unit does switch between two modes for AV input, just used the one that worked.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by firsthere

Good call after looking closely the port is AV, so possibly the incorrect cable? The tablet end appear the same as the cable that works on the home stereo but it is 80's vintage. ( I did replace a previous cable as it was mono until moved side to side)

I'm not sure where to look for the setting selection, The unit does switch between two modes for AV input, just used the one that worked.

The AV input on the radio may need a three-core connector, ie: a triple jack. When you buy these things they usually have a stereo RCA pair for sound and another RCA connector for video on one end of the cable and a 3mm triple-jack (a two-ring & tip jack) on the other. You need one with jacks at both ends. If you can't find one of these then you may have to redo one end and fit a triple-core jack plug. You will also need to know how to use a soldering iron.

So, if you are using the headphone output on the pad then the connector will be a simple and standard (3mm I think) stereo jack, as you see on earbuds, headphones, etc.

If that doesn't work then there is another problem, one that may be a little difficult to diagnose from a distance. As I said earlier, you should check the radio's setup config (there should be some sort of menu and settings option) to make sure that the AV input is in fact turned on (sometimes smart-alec radios have unnecessary controls with illogical defaults). Also check the input level settings if available and set (say) mid point gain level for the AV input (if that is an option).

I know this is a dumb thing to point out at this stage, but check you have the radio mode set to AV. Sometimes these things have such lousy crosstalk isolation between inputs that you can hear input from another device even when it is not selected. Turn the radio down before you switch inputs and check all speakers are selected, just in case there is an issue there.

Lastly, check that radio doesn't have an input for ipods.

BTW, these radios are notorious for having the outside speaker selection fail, inside the radio. I replaced my radio with an Alpine car radio and made my own switch bank for the speakers because I got sick of the problems.

[Murbella7]

Originally Posted by firsthere

Currently researching this amp. There are several others however most are for headphones.

https://www.amazon.com/Neoteck-Headp.../dp/B01MS22YWV

I wouldn't bother with a headphone amp. They are designed to power earbuds and headphones with full dynamic range sound, not boost the gain of a signal to power an amplifier input. While it may work, it is not a cheap way to go and certainly overkill on a big scale, quality wise.

[RiderBloke]

Originally Posted by Murbella7

The AV input on the radio may need a three-core connector, ie: a triple jack. When you buy these things they usually have a stereo RCA pair for sound and another RCA connector for video on one end of the cable and a 3mm triple-jack (a two-ring & tip jack) on the other. You need one with jacks at both ends. If you can't find one of these then you may have to redo one end and fit a triple-core jack plug. You will also need to know how to use a soldering iron.



So, if you are using the headphone output on the pad then the connector will be a simple and standard (3mm I think) stereo jack, as you see on earbuds, headphones, etc.



If that doesn't work then there is another problem, one that may be a little difficult to diagnose from a distance. As I said earlier, you should check the radio's setup config (there should be some sort of menu and settings option) to make sure that the AV input is in fact turned on (sometimes smart-alec radios have unnecessary controls with illogical defaults). Also check the input level settings if available and set (say) mid point gain level for the AV input (if that is an option).



I know this is a dumb thing to point out at this stage, but check you have the radio mode set to AV. Sometimes these things have such lousy crosstalk isolation between inputs that you can hear input from another device even when it is not selected. Turn the radio down before you switch inputs and check all speakers are selected, just in case there is an issue there.



Lastly, check that radio doesn't have an input for ipods.



BTW, these radios are notorious for having the outside speaker selection fail, inside the radio. I replaced my radio with an Alpine car radio and made my own switch bank for the speakers because I got sick of the problems.

Plug in a triple jack to RCA lead; ignore yellow RCA (video); plus two RCA joiners connecting a second cable RCA to normal 8m jack for iPad etc. That will work if anything will.
(Problem with a normal plug in a triple jack is one channel of audio is often connected to video part of jack.)
I have the bits here but I’m not there to try it out. [emoji51]