Article: No signal should be running through anything while you hook up speakers. Examine the wire and take note of any differences between coloring on either half. Is one half of the insulation colored red, and the other black? Is the insulation clear with subtle differences in the colors of the wire beneath? This information will be useful later. Then use wire cutters or scissors to trim away the insulation around the first inch of each wire. This should leave you with a length of exposed wire at the end of each section. Keep the ends of all the wires separated throughout this process. Bend the exposed sections away from each other in a Y shape before connecting them to anything. Make sure the metal at the end of each exposed section is twisted to a point for easy insertion. Some speakers come with wire sticking out of a hole in the back of the cabinet. Others have a row of little sockets for you to connect wires to. It should match a row of sockets on the back of your amplifier which looks something like this: It is important to keep things consistent throughout this step on a couple of different levels.  Look for "L" and "R" to indicate the left and right speakers. Be certain you are wiring the speaker on the right side of your rig to the socket labeled "R" on the back of your amplifier. Same goes for left and "L". Take advantage of the color coding on the sockets when connecting wires. This will help you to make sure the polarity (+ vs - charge) is consistent throughout your rig. It does not matter which end of the wire you use for black or red, only that you remain consistent. This is usually done using the colored switches somewhere along the outside of each socket. Confirm that each wire is leading from red to red and black to black. You should do this before giving power to the system. It never hurts to be extra sure since wiring inconsistencies can ruin your equipment. A fully connected rig looks like this: This will prevent people from tripping over them and accidentally ripping the wires out of their sockets.
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Make sure all your components are completely unplugged. Prepare your wires for connection. Split the wire down the center for a couple of inches. Determine how the wires are to be connected to the speakers. Insert the wires into the corresponding sockets. Fasten the connected wires into place. Make sure you hide the wires or tape them to the floor.