How do I use these speakers?
I’ve never heard of them in particular before, but any bookshelf speaker is surely an upgrade over a run of the mill computer speaker. So to answer your question:Yes, you will need an amplifier.It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, any speaker amplifier will do. If you don’t consider yourself a complete sound quality nut, get the cheapest one you can find. Amazon and local yard sales are always good bets. I wouldn’t venture much more then 100 or 150 watts for a set of speakers like this or you risk dmaging them from too much power. A cheap amplifier that would suit your needs perfectly would could be one of these:Amazon.com: Pyle PFA200 60-Watt Class-T Hi-Fi Audio Amplifier with Adapter: Home Audio & TheaterAmazon.com: Pyle Home PCA3 150-Watt Stereo Mini Power Amplifier: ElectronicsThose are what we like to call “Speaker Wire”. I know, amazing, right? They’re going to connect your speakers to an amplifier.In the back of the speaker, you’ll notice that the red and black binding posts unscrew. There should be a small hole inside the metal post like this, put the wire through the hole and screw the knob down to hold it in there.Connect the red side on the back of the left speaker to the red “left” plug on the back of your amplifier. They might take a few different forms. They could look like this (binding posts in the middle of the picture):or like this (red and black flaps to the right of center):In either case, make sure both ends of the wires you took a picture of are well twisted like this, before plugging it into the speaker and amplifier:Now that you have the speakers hooked up, I’m going to assume you want to listen to something that has a headphone plug on it, whether that be your computer or cell phone.You’re going to need a cable like this (3.5mm to RCA) to connect it to your newly acquired amplifier. Amazon.com: 3.5mm 9.8ft Stereo Mini Jack To 2 Male RCA Plug Adapter Audio Black Cable: Home Audio & TheaterLucky for you they can be had for around a dollar! Plug one end into what you want to listen to, the other into a set of red and white plugs on the back of your new amplifier, set what it is you want to listen to just below 100% volume and you should be good to go!
Which PC speaker setup should I get?
Ahh yes the time has come for me to upgrade yet another small bit of my PC. This time it's the speakers. I own and use a set of good, but old Encore P-204 speakers. They used to be quite top-notch, but technology advances and since I haven't paid much attention to the periferals lately, I'm quite behind. I'm basically looking for high quality sound and I'm willing to spend up to 100 dollars. I already have some choices which are basically random speakers from a tech store nearby that match my price (I don't plan on buying on e-bay or anything so I'm pretty much limited to my surroundings) I'd just like some opinions from people who know their way around speakers so I end up with the best I can buy with that amount of money. These are some of the speakers that are available, the others are pretty much very similar: http://www.sonicgear.com.sg/?id=2&pcid=1... http://www.sonicgear.com.sg/?id=2&bcid=6... http://www.acmepro.eu/en/catalog/speaker... These are all 2.1 speakers, but since I only owned 2.0 so far I don't know are the added sub woofers any good, what's the overall quality? Thanks in advance I know this may be a lot xD Just making sure that I manage to get the best I can, I value music highly and I'd really like to get the best sound quality, especially for classical works. P.S. I don't have any special sound card installed, basically stock quality AMD card. Does it play any role in getting new speakers, considering the ones I'm looking at?
What type of speakers should I set at home to get a sound like a movie hall while listening to music? I tried a few 5.1 systems but no punch. Do I have to get single full range speakers or speakers of different frequency ranges?
This depends on your range.If you are looking something under 10k then go for F&D 6000U. I am using this at my home and believe me this is more then satisfying. I love these.Arorund 20k you can check Logitech z906. These provide you the dolby surround sound. This is the one I am aming for in future.
How should I set up my speakers?
The speakers you have connected to your computer are active speakers. This means they have their own amplification.The extra speakers you want to connect are not active. This means they do not “work on their own” they need an external amplifier. What you need to do to connect such speakers is simple. You get a splitter cable like soYou connect the splitter to your computer sound card stereo output. You connect the cable from your existing speakers to it.You connect a Mini Plug to 2 RCA Jack Adapter to the second female jack from the splitter (one was used for the active speakers remember?)You now connect the two RCA cables to an external amplifierAnd after you have done all that you can connect the new passive speakers to the external amplifierYou can simplify this by connecting another active pair of speakers to the splitter instead of using passive speakers with external amplification.Hope this helps. Have fun.
Can I connect 2 sets of speakers to the same output on a Focusrite 2i2 soundcard?
Yes you can. If speakers and sub are active it will work fine. If the sound card was amplified you would have impedance issues. With active speakers and active subwoofer, the “side effects” are minimal (it will degrade the signal a bit but you will probably not even notice it). It wont do any harm to any of the electronics. Just get a splitter cable. Ideally you'd use a distribution amp so you don't load down the outputs. Short of that you could use a good transformer iso'd spliter or a passive splitter or take the cheap way out and use a Y-cord...that 'should' work, not a problem with a line level signal. If the output can handle 1K load you should be fine. You can split an audio output, balanced or not, to feed multiple inputs, as long as the resulting load impedance (from the parallel input impedances) is within the signal source's capability.Should have gone for the 2I4 :) (has more outputs)I think the 2I2 only has balanced outputs. You may have to change to unbalanced. This is not the most correct way to do it but it is the most common.If you do that you will no longer have balanced output and if either the speakers or the sub only accept balanced signals you should get a balanced splitter box. If you connect one output to two units with different types of inputs strange things may happen.I have never tried to split a balanced signal with a T cable but in theory, it should work provided both the sub and the speakers have balanced input. If not, you have the two options above. In home audio only the higher end gear has balanced signals and I never worked much with pro audio apart from building pro audio speakers (studio dedicated speakers).Wait for other people to help you out on this one if you want.There was a website with very good tutorials on balanced signals. It is no longer online but thanks to Wayback Machine, you can “travel in time” to 2009 and check it out hereGood luck
Do all speakers need to be the same size and carry the same frequency range in a home theater set up?
Okay, to give you a direct answer to your question, no. The most important criteria for a good HT set-up is that all speakers are properly voice-matched. This is usually done by designing the home theater around the same tweeter and mid/bass drivers in each speaker and all speakers crossed over at the same point. The bass driver (be it in a 3-way design or a dedicated powered subwoofer), depending upon how low it is crossed over, the subwoofer is virtually omni-directional sound and doesn't need to be in all speakers. Ideally, having 5 of the same speaker would easily address any potential issues with the balance of loudness, radiation pattern, tonal balance, and power handling, discounting from a seamless transition throught the surround sound speaker system, but may not be as practical financially or space-wise and placement convenience. CERWIN VEGA CE-710 . . . . . . . . . . 95 dB @ 1m/2.83v (adjust fronts to "0 dB") CE-708 . . . . . . . . . . 90 dB @ 1m.2.83v (adjust rears to "+5 dB") CE-75C . . . . . . . . . . 91 dB @ 1m/2.83v (adjust center to "+4 dB") You will need to experiment with the placement, crossover points, and volume of your subwoofer, but I would start out by placing in a corner behind one of the front speakers, and setting the variable crossover (you may need to adjust the phase to either 0º or 180º) to the center channel's F3 which is 60 Hz and perhaps make the appropriate adjustments from there if needed. Set your receiver to run all of your speakers full range (or BIG, depending upon how your receiver describes it's set-up in the on-screen menu -consult your receiver's owner's manual for assistance). Your speaker should work well as that they appear to be properly voiced, although since each speaker's sensitivity is different, you will need to make loudness adjustments for each speaker to create the appropriate balance. More help can be found at Crutchfield... H a p p y H o m e T h e a t e r i n g !
HOW TO HOOK UP A KLM AN-1001b SPEAKER?
This speaker is probably set up for an optional bi-wire connection. This means that you can get a pair of bi-wired speaker cables (i.e. one set of +/- connectors on the amplifier/receiver end, and two sets of +/- connectors on the speaker end). These connectors are also used for bi-amping (using two amplifiers -one for the high frequencies [the top set of +/- speaker posts] and one for the low frequencies [the bottom +/- set of speaker posts]). There should be a jumper in between each set of connectors to bridge them (the highs and the lows together) when you are not bi-wiring or bi-amping the speakers. You would only take them off if you are going to use bi-wired speaker cables, or two sets of speaker cables for bi-amping. Bi-wiring usually makes the speakers perform better, and bi-amping can as well if you match the amplifiers properly. If you are not bi-wiring or bi-amping the speakers, leave the bridging bars in place and connect the speaker cables to the top set of +/- speaker posts (unless the manufacturer recommends different). E-mail me anytime if you need any additional help. H a p p y L i s t e n i n g !
For the home theater should I get all speakers from the same Brand?
The important factor is the performance of the loudspeaker. For ease of installation, getting the same type of speakers would be easier. But it is not necessary. The performance specifications are the same for all speaker. What would matter in priority order is 1) frequency response (evenness), 2) Amplifier load (how much of a load the speaker puts on an amp 8 ohm or 4 ohm nominal), 3) Perhaps distortion (but for loudspeakers this number is usually much higher than the amp powering the speakers and usually isn’t much of a concern.kThe speakers should be “similar in quality,” regarding the list above. This doesn’t mean they will be the same cost. ELAC for instance makes both very expensive speakers, and lower cost speakers, but all their speakers sound fantastic.
4 Speakers, 4 Tweakers and a subwoofer?
You can buy 5 -channel amps that have 4 channels for the speakers, and 1 mono high power channel for a sub. It's probably the best way to power that set up cheaply.....Unless you want to buy separate amps to show it off. Jerry C is correct too, if your deck only has two RCA preouts, then use 1 set for the speakers (and get a piggyback RCA cable to run to the other mid's channel), and use 1 set for the sub (either labeled sub woofer, or rear). If it only has 1 set of preouts....use two piggy backs. I would recommend getting a deck with 3 pairs of pre-outs though.