Concertone Gone - New Surround Sound In

I replaced the conertone with an external surround sound receiver http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5301826

The only thing that caught me off guard was that the subwoofer with the Cat system is passive (not powered) and the receiver works best with a powered subwoofer. I happen to have one so I hooked it into the system and the sound is FAR BETTER than the conertone. It has a full sound as to where the concertone always sounded kind of "tinney" to me. I connected seperate aux switches for the bedroom and outside speakers. The only thing I have lost is the ability to run just the bedroom or outside speakers, they must play with the mains - no big deal for me.

While the receiver is not an expensive one, it works far better than the concertone and with the adjustments (and there are many) you can tune the system to the room. The ability to seperate the sound by channel adds great depth when watching a movie.

After pulling the concertone out I checked each set of wires (not that FR would cross connect anything ) and labeled them. I used splices into the wires so that I could put the system back to original when needed. Drilled a small hole between the back of the concertone area and the AV area and ran the wires thru and connected it all up.

I made the change after reading so many reports about the concertone dying, I figured I was on borrowed time. Also the heat build up when playing a DVD was very concerning to me. The CD player worked off and on with no rhyme or reason - soooooooo I just replace the system and now I have no (less) worries. I now have TV, CD, DVD,VHS, XM Radio, FM/AM Radio and Satellite DISH

Regards,

Keith

Still using Concertone, replaced TV but didn't pay attention to how to hook up to Concertone. Anyone out the got the answer would greatly appreciate help thanks
Jim & Sharron

to the Forum. What make TV did you put in? Sorry I can't help you with hookup, but I'm sure someone will chime in.

Keith, it appears to be a dead link. What kind of unit did you get. Does it mount in the same area or is it free standing. My cat is in the shop now for repairs and is getting the 4th radio installed.

Keith, I salute you...



TC

The original post by Keith is over 3 years old.

slosharron2 - Welcome to the forum. We will need more info about your Wildcat model and concertone model before anyone can help you.

Several different models of concertones out there and several different wiring configurations from Wildcat as well.

Wow, do I feel dumb.

slosharron2 wrote:Still using Concertone, replaced TV but didn't pay attention to how to hook up to Concertone. Anyone out the got the answer would greatly appreciate help thanks
Jim & Sharron

Audio out from TV to Input 2 plugs on Concertone. Change to input 2 on the radio. Have pictures somewhere I think. The plate on the wall with the plates should be hooked to Input 1. Concertone has to inputs available. I used 2.

keithbennett Maybe a dumb question but how did you power the woofer. How did you fill the hole left by the Concertone?

keithbennett wrote:I replaced the conertone with an external surround sound receiver http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5301826

The only thing that caught me off guard was that the subwoofer with the Cat system is passive (not powered) and the receiver works best with a powered subwoofer. I happen to have one so I hooked it into the system and the sound is FAR BETTER than the conertone. It has a full sound as to where the concertone always sounded kind of "tinney" to me. I connected seperate aux switches for the bedroom and outside speakers. The only thing I have lost is the ability to run just the bedroom or outside speakers, they must play with the mains - no big deal for me.

While the receiver is not an expensive one, it works far better than the concertone and with the adjustments (and there are many) you can tune the system to the room. The ability to seperate the sound by channel adds great depth when watching a movie.

After pulling the concertone out I checked each set of wires (not that FR would cross connect anything ) and labeled them. I used splices into the wires so that I could put the system back to original when needed. Drilled a small hole between the back of the concertone area and the AV area and ran the wires thru and connected it all up.

I made the change after reading so many reports about the concertone dying, I figured I was on borrowed time. Also the heat build up when playing a DVD was very concerning to me. The CD player worked off and on with no rhyme or reason - soooooooo I just replace the system and now I have no (less) worries. I now have TV, CD, DVD,VHS, XM Radio, FM/AM Radio and Satellite DISH

Regards,

Keith

Walmart no longer carries this receiver. Found it at this web site.

http://www.amazon.com/JVC-RX5060B-Audio-Video-Receiver/dp/B000FVUKEA

Seems to be no longer available.

robertz675 wrote:Wow, do I feel dumb.

You're not alone. I nearly always see a post and assume it's new.

It's been just long enough, I had completely forgotten that he'd already done this. If something hadn't been said, I'd still be clueless. My memory isn't nearly as good as my forgetory these day I suppose.

Old post or not, Keith's still my hero for coming up with a viable sloution around a Concertone.

TC

Its been over a year since Keith Bennett has logged into the forum.

So don't be surprised if you don't get an answer from him.....

Gee Robert, you sure don't look dumb. Can't feel you from here, so don't know if you feel dumb or not. I know what I feel like, though, when I'm dumb.

Seriously, your comment didn't seem dumb at all. Even if you did notice the date of keith's post, you might still expect him to be here to give a reply.

Tater

Jim and Sharron,
to the forum. Can't say much about the Concertone. We are still on our original with no problems. Doesn't mean that we won't have problems down the road, though. We are sort of expecting it, based on other problems we've read about.

Scruffy and Tater wrote:
We are still on our original with no problems.

Lucky!

Scruffy and Tater wrote:
Doesn't mean that we won't have problems down the road, though. We are sort of expecting it, based on other problems we've read about.

Knock on wood, and tape a four leaf clover to it.

TC

slosharron2 to the forum from the U.K.
Sean

I had a new Concertone installed at the factory last year and it has gone south over 4 months ago. I have look at the ones above and prefer a intall like the factory.

Keep in mind, Kieth's solution involved an AC powered unit.