Find the ground pin and go from there. For example, if pin 2 is ground on both speakers, you'll have to connect the pin 1 to pin 1 and so on.

I took apart some ACS450 speakers in Feb 24. They do have glue around the entire assembly, so I got it apart using a plastic spudger. It took a while as I had to go carefully.

The ACS500 is different to the 450 as it has Pro-Logic I think? Anyway, you can probably go pin-to-pin on those speaker connections as the wiring is unlikely to be complicated. I didn’t get photos of the DIN plug circuit but I do have a pic of the 450’s internal connector and wiring. To be 100% sure you will need to crack yours open though. Keep us posted, there isn’t much info out there on these speakers.

Thank you for the pics. I know now I will not be dealing with any plastic clips. Looks like the "platforms" are what glued and holding it together.

JD

I I was able to get it apart. Unfortunately I broke the power pcb with the pry tool. I am posting a pic to show others that if you use a pry tool go up at least 2 inches from the base of the speakers to avoid doing what I did. It looks like the trace that I broke is a ground trace and I will just solder a jumper wire over the break.

The Dolby board is huge. I now know what two DIN pins go the the "lower" center speakers on the satellite . I will rewire my DIN wire and see what happens. Will post when I get it working or either blow it up . 🤣.

Hello! First time posting... This thread in particular brought me here.

I just purchased a set of ACS500's with the ACS250 sub. they're... functional. But they're WAY more "used" condition than the seller let on, and although it doesn't blow me away, I can definitely smell tobacco/tar built up. I may make a restoration thread. Upon getting into them one of the wires is broken, which is odd to me. Is there a good way of getting the separator flaps out?

tehdrewsus wrote on 2025-01-15, 18:51:

Is there a good way of getting the separator flaps out?

The rear part of the "flaps" was glued with silicone. The front part looks like they used epoxy so no way of removing the entire flap but no need too anyway really.

Could you please put a ohm meter on both ends of the DIN cable and tell me what pins are what? Like is pin 1 on one side pin 1 on the other side and so forth. A standard MIDI DIN cable will no work with these speakers and I think they crossed a wire in the cable or something.

Doombringer4u2nv wrote on 2025-01-18, 14:09:

tehdrewsus wrote on 2025-01-15, 18:51:

Is there a good way of getting the separator flaps out?

The rear part of the "flaps" was glued with silicone. The front part looks like they used epoxy so no way of removing the entire flap but no need too anyway really.

After 25+ years, they came apart without too much of a fuss. I removed them so I could remove the speakers without cutting wires and having to re solder. on to more testing though. these don't work near as well as the seller let on... go figure.

For what it's worth, I've tested the ACS450 speaker cable and it's wired straight through. While it's not impossible, I wonder if A-L would have created a special cable for the ACS500, given these were a mass produced speaker with common parts to the ACS400 and other sets. Certainly none of the pictured speaker interconnect cables in ACS500 sold listings have special markings. Hopefully tehdrewsus has a multimeter!

To finish the post. The DIN cable is pin to pin on the ACS 500. No crossover wires. The aftermarket replacement cable I was sent did have a cross as why it didn't work. I was sent the wrong cable and it cause the frustration.

dominusprog wrote on 2025-01-05, 05:32:

Find the ground pin and go from there. For example, if pin 2 is ground on both speakers, you'll have to connect the pin 1 to pin 1 and so on.

I know it's an old topic, but be careful with this.
Many amplifier are in a "bridge" configuration.
This mean the speaker is connected to 2 active pins of the amplifier component, out of phase 180 °C. Not between one active pin (via a capacitor) and the ground.
I've been playing with electronic for about 30 years, and I don't know any other way to identify pins other than opening the device and check inside.

IIRC, for some triphonic system like the ACS45-2, there's a 4 amplifiers component. 2 output are bridged for the bass, and 2 are used via a capacitor for the satellites. But it's something you can't guess, you have to open it and check.

Anybody knows, why the left side sound in stereo mode is very muffled on these and starts to play the sound with a quiet drum tap in the beginning of the sample in windows 11 sound test?
Its like a fast radio crackle lasting for half a second always. It is audible on all the speakers in both L R towers. Always right at the beginning. Sounds like a recorded audio of a lame "drum sample" muffled, crackling once at begin. Did I mess up the cabling?

I'm trying to turn the CENTER to the left and all I get is a weak sound on the left always, but the right is super strong.
Win11 sound test:
Volume 48.
Left channel 48
Right channel 48
1. When I turn CENTER entirely to the RIGHT the crackling "left side" muffle sounds at the center.
2. Turning CENTER all the way to the LEFT, the test sound plays way outside to the RIGHT
3. When I turn the SURROUND knob entirely to the LEFT, then the stereo_LEFT test sound does NOT crackle anymore, but is super low volume. And the stereo Right sound test is normally loud.
4. Turning the CENTER knob all the way to the RIGHT the low-volume crackling sound returns.
5. Both speaker towers are working tho.. when I listen to music. Both towers appear to be quite loud and the voice remains more or less in the center. 🙁

Jesus, it still works! Just the volume potmeter is dirty. Adjusting the volume I pushed the volume knob weakly and and yanked it in some directions and now the full stereo sound is back. Like its sensitive because of 27 years of dirt on it, but it still works full stereo! WOW!!!

Jeez its so strange hearing full stereo in movies after so many years of that potmeter getting dirty and becoming
15%left---85%RiGHT "skewed surround--mono".

Now its back to full stereo. I don't need the stupid surround, its just scares me. Stereo is perfectly OK! 😁 😁 😁
😁

mercy wrote on 2026-03-11, 21:39:

Jeez its so strange hearing full stereo in movies after so many years of that potmeter getting dirty and becoming 15%left---85% […]
Show full quote

Jeez its so strange hearing full stereo in movies after so many years of that potmeter getting dirty and becoming
15%left---85%RiGHT "skewed surround--mono".

Now its back to full stereo. I don't need the stupid surround, its just scares me. Stereo is perfectly OK! 😁 😁 😁
😁

I would recommend spraying some contact cleaner into the potentiometers and reflowing the pot/switch pcb connections if you have that capability, otherwise the issue might come back pretty soon