Hello M. T.............I have not installed a home 5.1 surround sound system.........to much technology for the cave ............but I am ( well not me actually doing the work ) almost finished building a surround room in our new studio........as far as connecting your old CD player to your new one via " jumper cables ".....this may work as long as it is running through the amp on your system which is what makes a system 5.1 ...........its the amplifier..... 5 discreet channels with bass management......which would lead me to suggest that as long as you connect the existing speaker wires to the new system you will be fine.................plus you will have to run an additional number of sets for the new speakers ........as an aside ........their are many great new titles of music coming out on SACD and DVD audio.............a friend of mine before his death re-mastered Abbey Road as well as Queens Night at the Opera for surround ( the world lost a great set of ears )...........anyway ....your everyday CD's will play on a surround system .......but of course not in surround .......just old style stereo........to get the full benefits of surround I would suggest picking up a DVD or SACD of your favorite artist.....how bout Frank Sinatra with the Count Basie Orchestra live at the Sands or Neil Young Harvest.....but I digress.......standard CD's within the next three years (if we are still here ) will go the way of the cassette..........good luck getting your system in and enjoy a whole new audio world..............happy Yule to everyone.........and if you enjoy latin regional music go out and purchase a copy Venciendo Barreras by Los Vencedores Del Norte ( had to get in a plug  ).............on a completely unrelated note............short this market...........not just yet............but very shortly............March ............it will happen sooner..........but you wont even have to pay attention...............you know...................I dont..................woof woof..............Peace..............LOVE and Rock and Roll..................Wolf E Wolfington .............audiologist extrordanaire

Wolf:

 

 Too many moons have waxed and waned since your howl was last heard--or read--on this board!  Many thanks for your comments and may you and yours have a most pleasurable Christmas as well as a prosperous New Year.

 

All the best!

 

Mav

 

 

Give me the brand and model of your system and I will get back to you.

Panasonic SC-HT39325 

 

550 watts..  The tool man Tim Taylor (Tim Allen) would would be proud!

 

DVD VCR  seperate receiver,.. 5 speakers.... no popcorn... ya would of thought they'd toss it in! 

Assuming this is close to the system you have purchased, the ansewr to the question of whether you can hook up your existing CD unit would be yes providing it has audio outputs to be hooked up to another system or amplifier.  You would use the AUX input.

I noticed you have the ability with this unit to plat MP3s.  That would allow you to make CDs on your computer (with a burner) and play them on this unit.  I get about 200 songs on each CD in the MP3 format.  That would more than make up for the multiple discs.

As far as hooking up the surround speakers using the wire you have run, there should be no problem doing that.  I can't tell if the speakers have terminals or if they have wire connected to them.  Eitehr way just connect your wires at each end, or splice as necessary.  The surround speakers do not take a lot of power, so the wire you have (those I noticed sticking out of the wall) will be just fine.

Any questions in the future, just ask.

-R-