Connecting multiple audio sources to single pair of passive speakers

Question

An organization I work for received an old pair of Bose speakers as a donation. The speakers themselves are passive, so they need an amplifier. Unfortunately, I can't recall the model number of the speakers, but they appear to be mid-to-late 90s. We also have multiple audio sources (DVD player, cable box, and computer) that need connected to the speakers.

My suggestion was to purchase a mixer or stereo receiver with multiple inputs so that the inputs could all be easily connected to the single pair of speakers. This would also give us control over the levels for the different audio sources.

However, someone else in the organization suggested just shoving the bare speaker wire from all of the audio sources into the speaker terminals on the amp. The amp doesn't contain a mixer or anything built-in.

Wouldn't this particular setup be potentially dangerous to the speakers? If it even would work at all? Wouldn't a mixer be the preferred solution to this type of problem?

Answer 1

+1 for Tetsujin's answer. For a full answer you will need to give more information and I presume you have checked that the speakers are in PWO. What is the rated output of the speakers - usually marked on the label. How big is the room/hall and how many people in attendance. Where are the multiple devices, and what type of output cable (if any) from each one. If everything is together, the speakers work for the venue, the device connections can be sorted, then you can run this system through a Mixer/Amp - if it is properly matched to the speaker output.
You can see that each question raises another factor, so I would advise you to ask in an Audio shop, or even a PA Rental outlet, but they will ask all the above questions and more. Good luck with it.