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bjar

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 20, 2013
232
105
Sugar land, tx
So I got some Apple pro speakers off eBay that said they were for powermac g4. However, the cable is very short and does not reach the far side of my 22 inch ADC display even with the g4 sitting next to it with enough space for the other speaker to sit between the g4 and display. I’m thinking it was for an iMac or something, I would think Apple would at least give you enough cable if the g4 were sitting on the floor. I do not want to buy another pair of speakers so was thinking of just extending the cable. What would be the best way to do this? I already cut the main cable before it splits to the 2 speakers and there is 6 tiny wires and a shielding I guess, another cable wrapped around the other 6 cables? I went to frys and bought some 6 conductor network cable. Do you guys think it would be ok to use this cable? I would solder all cables and shrink wrap them. I know power runs through this cable as well so kind of hesitant. The network cable does not have the shielding wire wrapped around the others, do I need to extend that wire as well. I will probably only extend 2 ft or so. I am not an electrician but I have done this kind of stuff before. Thanks in advance!
 

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,837
3,516
There were two sets of Pro speakers: A shorter cable set for the iMac G4 and one with a longer cable for the PowerMac G4. Shorter cable sets seem to be much more common.
 
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bjar

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 20, 2013
232
105
Sugar land, tx
There were two sets of Pro speakers: A shorter cable set for the iMac G4 and one with a longer cable for the PowerMac G4. Shorter cable sets seem to be much more common.
Yup. Pretty sure I got the iMac ones. I did not know there were different cable lengths but I bought the one that was listed as for powermac.
 
Last edited:

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,837
3,516
Yup. Pretty sure I got the iMac ones. I did not know there were different cable lengths but I bought the one that was listed as for powermac.

Here are a couple of current listings from eBay. You can see the difference in cable lengths pretty easily

iMac speakers https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/APPLE-PRO-SPEAKERS-M6531-HARMON-KARDON-G4-MAC-COMPUTER-iMAC/163513191069

PMac speakers https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Griffin-ifire-Apple-Pro-Speakers/183668043505

I would not place much store by the descriptions. Pictures tell a truer story as long as stock ones aren't used. In either case, I find the cable between the jack and the joint from which the individual speaker cables extend is far too short to be really useful on the PM G4.
 

bjar

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 20, 2013
232
105
Sugar land, tx
Here are a couple of current listings from eBay. You can see the difference in cable lengths pretty easily

iMac speakers https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/APPLE-PRO-SPEAKERS-M6531-HARMON-KARDON-G4-MAC-COMPUTER-iMAC/163513191069

PMac speakers https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Griffin-ifire-Apple-Pro-Speakers/183668043505

I would not place much store by the descriptions. Pictures tell a truer story as long as stock ones aren't used. In either case, I find the cable between the jack and the joint from which the individual speaker cables extend is far too short to be really useful on the PM G4.
Yes I see the difference now. Going to just try my extension project. If it doesn’t work oh well.
 

reddrag0n

macrumors 6502a
Oct 1, 2007
593
149
Canada
Yes I see the difference now. Going to just try my extension project. If it doesn’t work oh well.
I extended my cables by 4 feet by soldering onto the ends of the speaker cables and putting the other ends back into my speakers. i use them on my MDD and they have 5 feet of length to them now
IMG_7239.JPG IMG_7240.JPG

opening the speakers is shown in this video...
 

weckart

macrumors 603
Nov 7, 2004
5,837
3,516
Yes, this would have been my suggestion rather than split the cable along its length. I still wish there was a longer bit leading up to the Y joint from the jack.
 

bjar

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 20, 2013
232
105
Sugar land, tx
I extended my cables by 4 feet by soldering onto the ends of the speaker cables and putting the other ends back into my speakers. i use them on my MDD and they have 5 feet of length to them now
View attachment 820359 View attachment 820360

opening the speakers is shown in this video...
Nice! Probably would have been easier, but I wanted to preserve the part of the cable that you could potentially see. I cut the wire between the connector and the splitter and added about 3 feet. It was a pain and I do not recommend anyone do this. Your method is probably much better. Everything seems to be working fine though. I forgot to update this thread but will mark as resolved.
 
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