Connecting a Sterio to a Computer ?

TARE

Ok, I'm gona buy a new sterio for my room and i what to hook it up to my computer so i can play mp3's though the sterio speakers.

So i'd like to know what feature i need on the sterio and the best way to connect it to the sound card.

I have a 3.5mm audio cable up stairs that was used to connect my old Aztec Lancing (I think thats what they where called) to the sound card, will this do ? or is there a better way.

Also, would anyone happen to know a online shop that sells sterio systems or just a site with a listing of sterios with spec's and pictures.

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Thats a big B a small o and a big B.......

Illkillya

i hooked up my laptop to my brothers stereo system at home..
he has a big expensive onkyo amp thing and i dunno how it really worked, so i bought this cable for a few quid that plugs into the headphones place in the computers, and i plugged the other 2 terminals into the amp.

The quality is great, it goes really loud, but it only comes out of one speaker.. i think thats my sound card (yamaha DS-XG).

i don't think its plugged into the right place in the amp either.. i think the place i plugged it into was designed for tapes (is that analogue?) but it was the only way i could get it to work.

its very handy, becuase theres a dsl outlet on the wall next to the stereo, so my laptop is always on the intenet while its connected to the speakers, so i can download mp3's and play them there and then

TARE

That's the sort of thing I what to do but i'd like both speakers to work. I can get a new sound card in necessary. O have a Sound blaster 16 in the computer i what to connect it up too.

phobos

I think I should be able to help you with this one, being a programmer & DJ.

When you are buying a hi-fi you need an aplifier that has an auxillary connection at the back. Now that's if you simply want to play the MP3s from your PC and hear them through the hi-fi. You don't need to got out and get another sound card, your SB16 will do fine. On most hi-fi's today you will get the AUX connection, but in some shady systems you will have a phono connection. This is not the same thing and works on a different frequency so it will not work. So make sure you make it clear to the sales guy that you want an auxillary connection and NOT phono. Phono is for a record player and Auxillary (or AUX) is for anything like a VCR/TV or PC etc.

The type of cable you need is jack to phono lead. I know this sounds stupid but just make sure you get the correct length to work with your setup. This cable will have a (red & a white jack on one end) and (a single jack on the other). The red & white connect to the back of your hi-fi and the single jack will connect to your speaker out(or line-out if you have one) on the back of your sound card. If you connect it out of your headphone jack you will only get one channel and it will be mono, hense the one speaker thing.

The difference between speaker out and line out is that; with speaker out you can control the sound levels using both your PC wavetable settings and amplifier. The line-out option will only let you adjust the sound with the amplifier, but funnily enough I recommend this option, because you could blow your speakers if you have your PC wavetable settings too high in conjuntion with the sound turned up on the amp.

Any more questions, just ask.

;-phobos-)
PS: There is a digital option also, but it would require a new sound card.

Lenny

What watt are those speakers and amps you just priced there?

llatsni

I just found out they have an Irish Web-Site now http://www.richersounds.ie which is good.

They have lots of 30-40W amps for about 100 quid. Most 100 quid speakers are around the 100-120W mark.

phobos

Now Tare that's all well and good for playing stuff from your PC, but what if you want to record it?

What I recommend you do is...(assuming you still want a complete system as opposed to simply an amp). Make sure it has an MiniDisc separate on it. Oh yeah BTW, hifi's come in different flavours. You can get what is called a mini-system, which is a hi-fi with all the features, but smaller. The individual components cannot be separated. Then there's a micro system, which is similar in size to the mini-system, but has bugger all features and is usually cheaper (crap, keep away from them). Then you can go out and get a complete hi-fi separates system. This is the best option for quality, but is obviously the most expensive. What I would do if I was going out to buy stuff for a PC is, do what llatsni said, and also get a MiniDisc separate (Sony ones are kewl). That way you can record your MP3's directly on to MD as well as listening to them out of a killer sound system.

But if you want to record them in digital format you will have to get a new sound card, such as a SB Live (Ask Kharn, Humour Mod, he has one). They have optic ports so you can transmit audio between sound card and MD deck in digital format, with no loss of quality. The sound difference between a digital recording and analogue one, is hardly noticable on a personal MD player, but when you bang it out through a hi-fi, the difference can be more defined.

;-phobos-)

llatsni

Tare - what phobos said in English!

Go into Richer Sounds (between Millenium and Ha'penny bridge on South Keys).

Buy the following:

1x Stereo Amplifier (cambridge or such), £100
1x Set of TANNOY speakers (real nice), £100
1x Big length of good quality speaker cable, £10
1x Phono to Stereo Jack Cable (a sweet one), £20

Get them to show you how to connect the lot.

It will be beautiful, really.

TARE

llatsni i went into Richer Sounds there yesterday and had a look but as phobos said I want a complete system as opposed to simply an amp but i have fallen in love with these Tannoy 90 watt book shelf speakers (130 quid) i saw in there, they where sooooo nice.

I've heard good quility book shelf speakers before, you can really notice the difference when you turn it up nice and load, especially the bass

But anyways, Phobos i like this idea of recording. The ideal system I'd get now would be a Mini hi-fi with 'all the features' and them lovely Tannoy speakers. Of course i'd have to pay though my nose for this but is there anyway i can get a Hi-Fi system with out speakers so that i can hook them Tannoy speakers up to it.

Also, phobos i have a SB Live on the family PC but it ain't got a optical port, would this be a differn't version or something ?

Thanks laods for the addvice lads, i have a much better idea of what i want now still looking though

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Thats a big B a small o and a big B.......

TARE

llatsni i went into Richer Sounds there yesterday and had a look but as phobos said I want a complete system as opposed to simply an amp but i have fallen in love with these Tannoy 90 watt book shelf speakers (130 quid) i saw in there, they where sooooo nice.

I've heard good quility book shelf speakers before, you can really notice the difference when you turn it up nice and load, especially the bass

But anyways, Phobos i like this idea of recording. The ideal system I'd get now would be a Mini hi-fi with 'all the features' and them lovely Tannoy speakers. Of course i'd have to pay though my nose for this but is there anyway i can get a Hi-Fi system with out speakers so that i can hook them Tannoy speakers up to it.

Also, phobos i have a SB Live on the family PC but it ain't got a optical port, would this be a differn't version or something ?

Thanks laods for the addvice lads, i have a much better idea of what i want now still looking though

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Thats a big B a small o and a big B.......

phobos

Tare,

Even though MDs have been around for the past couple of years I still don't think they have taken off as much as they should have. This is why we aren't seeing enough of them in Hi-fi's. But just because everyone else doesn't have an MD unit, doesn't me you shouldn't. So taking that in to consideration, the retail stores seem to charge an arm and a leg for mini units that have a MD player/recorder built in. So watch them on that. Remember Sony are making the best MD units out there @ the moment, so I would stick with them (speaking from personal experience).

Now there's the matter of the speakers. Mini-systems tend to come as a package, ie their components would look silly on their own. So TBH I don't think the shop will sell you the hi-fi without the speakers. Separate speakers are usually for Hi-Fi separates systems. Also when buying speakers you have to make sure they can handle the output wattage from your amp. You don't want to connect them up, play some music and then BANG! (there goes your new speakers). Speakers should be able to handle 1.5 - 2 x times the output of your amp to be on the safe side.

But remember when you go in to hi-fi shops tell the sales guys exactly what you intend to use the system for. I find hi-fi ppl to be better trained than computer sales staff. I know a guy here in Galway and he is a bloody wizard when it comes to audio gear and also one of my friends is a radio DJ, so he knows his s h i t also .

_CreeD_

Tannoy Mercury M2/2.5? Excellent entry level speakers.
Actually you can put together a good separates system for less money than a Midi of equivalent quality. ie. You could get a midi system with Minidisk for ~250 if you look around, the only reason you wouldn't be able to put together a separates system with the same functionality for that amount is that you'd be hard pushed to find any components of cheap/crap enough build to sound the same - hopefully that made sense.... Anyway, separates are also more economic in the long run as you can add components and upgrade without having to thrash your whole system.

As for minidisk, it outsells tape in europe at something like 10-1, nearly everyone I know has one (Whether as a walkman or separate), so they have caught on pretty well.

Amp/Speaker wattage is not that clear cut. While keeping your amp wattage well below that of your speaker capacity may seem safer, it is actually more common to damage speakers by using an underpowered amp as it cannot maintain a stable signal under the excess load often demanded by higher capacity/lower sensitivity speakers.
Most people seem to think Watts on a speaker refer to loudness/power, which is not true, it's actually just the amount of power they should handle. 2 things that define the loudness are the Sensitivity of the speakers and the Power (watts) of the amp. The impedance of the speakers is also important as the lower it is, the louder your amp can run them (lower impedance=higher current from the same amp), but it will also run your amp harder.
Basically get an amp that can run much louder than you need, this will allow it to playback your preffered volumes without stressing itself or the speakers.
babbling, sorry.

Basically if it was me I'd go with a decent Ilatsni's recommendation (The NAD 310 being my sub 100 amp of choice if you can still find one). It makes a lot more sense than a midi system.

As for the SBlive, the standalone cards all use COAX only (Electrical), you need to get a LiveDrive (Included with the Platinum bundle) to get Optical out. While all portable MD's for some stupid reason use Optical, a Separate unit whould have a coax connection aswell, so you just need to get a RTS to Phono digital lead to hook them up.
Coax is actually held to be better than Optical for hifi (Optical is only really good for long runs of cable as it won't suffer from EM interference and attenuation)
Bear in mind that even with a digital connection Mindisk, like MP3, uses lossy compression, it throws away bits of the music it thinks you won't hear. So you do lose quality when transferring to it, but from a PC it ain't too noticable. The quality on a decent player/recorder is pretty close to MP3.


[This message has been edited by _CreeD_ (edited 11-08-2001).]