Connecting laptop to an Old-school speaker

polar_foxx · 01-26-2009, 01:19 PM

Hello,

I've recently moved into my new room and one of the things I'd really like to see in it is a big old-school speaker.

... obviously I'd like to use it too, so i need to find a way to hook it up to my laptop with as few cables and external devices as possible. In the end it should look something like this:

I'm very bad with HiFi terminology and even worse when it comes to understanding how it works, so please be patient with me.. :)

What do I need to make my 'setup' happen?
I've been told that I would need a power-amplifier to drive my speaker. I wouldn't like that... Aren't speakers with integrated amps at least a relatively common thing? Do they have a special name?

Can such speakers be connected to my laptop only with the aid of wires? What kind of cables would I need?

I'm planning to buy the speaker second-hand and I'm not willing to pay more than 100euros for it. (actually, around 50 euros is an even better estimate)..

I'd really appreciate if you shared your opinions about this with me. Is it a dumb idea, or do you think it can be done?

**magnethead** · 01-27-2009, 09:24 AM

it's doable. You're looking for a powered PA or concert speaker and a 1/8" male to 1/4" male patch cord. Typical powered PA/concert speakers will have a 4" round piezo or 4x12" horn tweeter and a 10" mid woofer...some will have a 5 or 6" mid range.

01-26-2009, 01:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
polar_foxx Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1 OS: Win XP, SP3	Connecting laptop to an Old-school speaker Hello, I've recently moved into my new room and one of the things I'd really like to see in it is a big old-school speaker. ... obviously I'd like to use it too, so i need to find a way to hook it up to my laptop with as few cables and external devices as possible. In the end it should look something like this: I'm very bad with HiFi terminology and even worse when it comes to understanding how it works, so please be patient with me.. :) What do I need to make my 'setup' happen? I've been told that I would need a power-amplifier to drive my speaker. I wouldn't like that... Aren't speakers with integrated amps at least a relatively common thing? Do they have a special name? Can such speakers be connected to my laptop only with the aid of wires? What kind of cables would I need? I'm planning to buy the speaker second-hand and I'm not willing to pay more than 100euros for it. (actually, around 50 euros is an even better estimate).. I'd really appreciate if you shared your opinions about this with me. Is it a dumb idea, or do you think it can be done?

01-27-2009, 09:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
magnethead Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Texas, USA Posts: 3,568 OS: Vista ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Connecting laptop to an Old-school speaker it's doable. You're looking for a powered PA or concert speaker and a 1/8" male to 1/4" male patch cord. Typical powered PA/concert speakers will have a 4" round piezo or 4x12" horn tweeter and a 10" mid woofer...some will have a 5 or 6" mid range. __________________ For proper support: what are you running? graphics, cpu, m/board, ram, PSU brand wattage PCI-E requires 26 amps at 12 volts. That's a 650W PSU. Power Supply Info and Selection . Info on thermal compounds & application . TEST PSU USING MULTI-METER . Bench Testing Your System Last edited by magnethead; 01-27-2009 at 09:25 AM.