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Reverse Engineering Polk SurroundBar 360 to connect it directly to receiver

post #1 of 5
Thread Starter 
I'm trying to hook up the Polk SurroundBar 360 directly to my receiver without the dvd system (which I don't have).

Does anyone know if the SurroundBar 360 just accepts the line-level speaker signals directly out of a receiver or if it is some digital signal?

So far I ohmed out the pinouts and got the following results (single 8-pin connector):
Pin 1-2: 1.2 ohms
Pin 3-4: ~8 ohms
Pin 5-6: ~8 ohms
Pin 7-8: ~8 ohms

And all other measurements are open circuit (i.e. between Pin 1-4 or 1-7)
So I'm guessing the pin-pairs 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 are 8-ohm speaker connections (left, center, right)? I don't have a clue what Pins 1-2 are for.
Can anyone shed some light?

Update:
Speaker Layout: 8 speakers, 4 on each side.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
| • • • • • • • • |
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

speakers are paired to the pins:
Speakers 1-2 paired to pin 1-2
Speakers 3-4 paired to pin 3-4
Speakers 5-6 paired to pin 5-6
Speakers 7-8 paired to pin 7-8
post #2 of 5
Looking at the picture I would expect 7 distinct channels, not just 3(Left/Right/Center). So with an 8 pin connector there's probably a common ground and the 7 channels. You can use a 9volt battery to identify each speaker to each connection. Just google 9v speaker test for info.

Also, is that the correct picture for your soundbar?
post #3 of 5
Thread Starter 
you are correct, the picture is wrong (I'll remove it).
I opened up the speaker grill and there are 8 cones, 4 on the left and 4 on the right.
I tested the 8-pin connection with a 9-volt as well as my amp and I got the following:
Pin 1-2: no sound, had to REALLY crank the amp up to hear the sound out of speakers 1 and 2 and gome a bit of distortion along with it.
Pin 3-4: sound out of speakers 3-4
Pin 5-6: sound out of speakers 5-6
Pin 7-8: sound out of speakers 7-8

seems like the pins are direct inputs to paired speakers.
I have a hunch that speakers 1-2 (and pins 1-2) are toasted. What could cause the impedance of the speakers to go from 8ohms to ~1.2ohms?
post #4 of 5
Hi I realize this thread is 1 1/2 years old, however, i have just gotten the surroundbar as a hand me down and still in the box. I dont have the dvd/receiver. I was wondering if you could help me out, im not real savvy when it comes to electronics but i can take direction well. My goal is to hook the surrondbar to a different receiver for use. I understand the pin layout, i think, but what is used as a ground? In the plug itself, if i pull the plug off is the ground going to be "within each" pin? If you have any info on how i could do this i would greatly appreciate any and all help you can provide on this subject. sorry if all this is hard to understand... thanks
post #5 of 5
did you ever find a solution? My receiver stopped working, I'd like to use the speaker if I could.
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