Cd player speaker hookup

Greetings….
I am new to the forum, and I have a question, probably a dumb question, so bear with me
I have a home that I have recently acquired, and the previous owner (whom I never met) was a classical music fan, and had sound (speakers) throughout the house.
My question is if I want to install a cd player (I’m old) can I just plug and play?
Can I just hook up the cd player to the existing wiring? ( I don’t have a picture of the wiring) but it looks like the typical red, black. Or do I need a receiver or?
Sorry for the stupidity.
Thanks!
Sandy

 

Welome to the forum.

You will need an amplifier or a receiver, as CD players output only a line level signal, insufficient to drive loudspeakers. If there are loudspeakers throughout the house, then you will have to work out how they are wired, as you will have to make sure that the amplifier, or more likely amplifiers plural, can drive the loudspeakers correctly.

As you're asking this question, I think this is a job for an installer who knows what they're doing.

S

 

Thank you…

 

No problem, your question makes sense! The red and black wires are for the speakers, but you can’t plug a CD player directly into them. You’ll need a receiver or amplifier to power the speakers and connect your CD player.

Here’s what to do:

1. Get a receiver/amplifier to connect the CD player and power the speakers.
2. Hook up the CD player to the receiver with RCA cables (red and white plugs).
3. Connect the speaker wires to the receiver (red to red, black to black).

Once you have a receiver, everything will work! Let me know if you need more help.

 

Not necessarily! If the 'speakers are all in parallel, that will present a severe load that will likely fry any receiver. It's also possible that the 'speakers, if lots of them, could be set for 100v working. It's also possible that somewhere in the house there is a distribution box or switching box that selects what 'speakers are connected. One can't on a forum like this advise on the many possibilities without examining the installation.

That's why I said that the best course of action is to find a local installer that can examine what is there, and advise.

S.

 

Thanks again gentlemen….very helpful!
Sandy