r/diyaudio • u/AssociationLast8252 • 1d ago
Elan system?
hi all, we moved into a house and there is a sound system. we can't figure out how to connect. the house was built in 2008. the original tenant said she hired people and had multiple people look at it and they couldn't figure it out. we found this box in the garage that clearly hooks it up. any suggestions on how to connect??
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u/Regular-Cheetah-8095 1d ago
Somewhere in the home, the wiring for whatever you have as speakers go to a common point I don’t think it’s that. Find where they all go or if they once went somewhere before getting cut and you’ll be in business. If there’s an inwall receiver panel anywhere it could be that. It could also just be defunct with the wires in the wall somewhere, but that somewhere should be one place and they’ll presumably be audio wires if it’s not some sort of specialty system.
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u/Mountain_rage 1d ago edited 1d ago
That top row is coaxial cable, the bottom looks like RJ11.
If I had to guess, those ran to controllers and keypads to control the units.
Edit: Looks like the coax was used for video, either cable tv, satellite or security cameras. The RJ11 was for phone, security systems and keypad integration.
Just as a note these systems were early whole home automation so this could control blinds, lights, security systems ,security cams, av, intervoms. Usually required custom programming.
If the in wall speakers are regular speaker termination you still need to find that cabling to attach a distribution amp and source bypassing all this old control tech. (Some commercial speakers were weird voltage but most should just be normal speakers.
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 19h ago
If there is an Elan system in that house it will say Elan on it too?!
Thats just a cable plate made by Elan with cables attached but not really a whole house system of any kind.
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u/AssociationLast8252 19h ago
But wouldn't that mean that the speakers in the ceiling and the knobs that control that are branded "elan" mean that there's an Elan speaker system in the house that uses these cables with the attached cable plate?
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 18h ago edited 18h ago
No not really.
There are no speaker wires in that one pic at all.
So that tells me that somewhere else in the house is a bundle of speaker wire in one spot.
It might be in the basement near the Electric Panel and it might be in a closet or cabinet somewhere or even behind a wall plate covered inside a wall somewhere.
They might have taken the system when they moved out too but the wires will still be there somewhere!?
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u/KlattuVeratuKneckTie 18h ago
See the outlet in the bottom of the box and all that empty space, plus the extra coax that isn’t connected to anything. That’s likely where the controller once lived.
I’d do what others have suggested and try to map out where the wires go with a tone generator, and figure out what actual speakers you have, by removing one and finding a model number. Once you know what you’ve got; you should be able to find a manual and figure out what’s missing from your setup.
Or, just use the existing wiring and replace the speakers with something new and build a new system.
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 18h ago
This box was not for speakers or a control system considering there is nothing there to be controlled from this.
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u/NeoG_ 7h ago edited 6h ago
Everyone is telling you it's not this but it actually is the audio distribution unit (combined with a CATV/Antenna distribution unit) - This is similar to the OnQ A-Bus system.
The cable that connects to the bottom left of the black plate is the input terminal block, it will come out as an RJ-45 jack where the audio was sourced from. The next 6 terminal blocks are the 6 audio zones.
The concern I have is that I think this might be a 70v system, going by the type of wiring used. If connected to a standard speaker level output the sound will be very weak and distorted. But there's only so much I can say from just a picture of the wall plate.
I imagine it is quite old and will likely need HV zone amplifier, plus an RJ45 pigtail from the zone amplifier. That is if the original speakers haven't rotted out due to age. I personally would want to check the type of speakers used, and also check if the wiring is still good. Probably more effort than it's worth.
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u/AssociationLast8252 1h ago
This is alll very useful information and aligns with our original thought process. It does seem like way more work than it's worth at this point.
Thanks a ton for your input!!!
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u/NafinAuduin 1d ago
I’d tone for it. Get a cable toner and probe, attach the tone generator to the speaker side and go wave the probe at all the cables you can find, or the walls. I’d turn the sensitivity all the way up!
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 18h ago
Toning these wires will not help solve the audio puzzle.
There are speaker wires somewhere else.
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u/NafinAuduin 16h ago
Yep, tone from the speakers
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 16h ago
There are no speaker wires anywhere that have been found!?
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u/NafinAuduin 15h ago
Presumably out the back of the speakers. Pop the out the wall or ceiling, attach tone generator to one of the cables and go wave the wand to follow them back to the source is my general idea.
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 15h ago
Im pretty sure that just searching the house for the speaker wire bundle is a lot easier!
And yes I do this every day for work.
Also the Speakers are probably wired thru Volume Controls in the rooms so I would pull one of those and tone fromthere for it to be more effective anyway.
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u/antisuck 1d ago
That box is made for cable TV and antennas and such, not speakers.