OT: Computer to home stereo

Just wondering how those of you with your computers hooked up to your home stereos did it. Is there a minijack to rca adapter? Do I need a seperate junction box type thing? My home stereo has no microphone jack for some odd reason, though I have half a dozen rca inputs available. -- Brian Fox http://www.geocities.com/~foxman Pobody's Nerfect Warranty void if tagline removed.

I have a pioneer stereo and I use the rca plugs and hooked them up to the "aux" on the back of my stereo, lol got 150 watt floor speakers on either side of the monitor, also you will get a huge increase in benefit if you get the special sounds pack made for people like us who have stereos!! Nascar 3 with new stereo sound pak rules!! You gotta try em, two varietes-------- [link lost in import] (The original, I think the best one) and the new one and others for gpl and nl at [link lost in import] AND one more thing, Turn that damn volume up!!!! I got my walls and floor shaking. It is awesome feeling to be racing at talladega and come by the pits going 200mph. The whole room shakes ***ly when blowing by the pits with several cars in their pitstalls! What a rush!! -- "To finish a race first, you first must finish the race" ----Mark Martin g_major on TEN Team STR OSCAR Member http://drive.to/racehard --Personal webpage

Don't feel alone, right now I don't even have room for the stereo in my computer room. I think I'm going to have to move out the old totally-way-out-of-tune piano. I don't have a subwoofer for the upstairs stereo, just 2 Boston Accoustics 8" and 2 Polk Audio 4". I'm assuming that's good enough for a small room, hehe. All this for a 200mmx and I can't afford to upgrade until later this year=( -- Brian Fox http://www.geocities.com/~foxman Pobody's Nerfect Warranty void if tagline removed.

First of all that Monitor button on your stereo does have a purpose the easy part is getting the computer sound to your stereo. Usually its just a mini Y converter. Do a line out from your stereo to the line in on your sound card. Then loop it back to the tape/monitor plugs on your stereo. Pushing the monitor button plays the mixed sound of whatever is playing on your stereo w/ your computer sound. > I just got a mini jack to RCA. Attached it to my Aux (RCA jack) on my stereo > from my SB live sound card and it rocks! Only problem is that my stereo is > to the left of my desk. I wish it was behind me. (yes I'm in a small area so > moving things around would be tough) > > Just wondering how those of you with your computers hooked up to your home > > stereos did it. Is there a minijack to rca adapter? Do I need a seperate

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> > junction box type thing? My home stereo has no microphone jack for some > odd > > reason, though I have half a dozen rca inputs available. > > -- > > Brian Fox > > http://www.geocities.com/~foxman > > Pobody's Nerfect > > Warranty void if tagline removed.

I just got a mini jack to RCA. Attached it to my Aux (RCA jack) on my stereo from my SB live sound card and it rocks! Only problem is that my stereo is to the left of my desk. I wish it was behind me. (yes I'm in a small area so moving things around would be tough)

>Just wondering how those of you with your computers hooked up to your home >stereos did it. Is there a minijack to rca adapter? Do I need a seperate >junction box type thing? My home stereo has no microphone jack for some odd >reason, though I have half a dozen rca inputs available. Although I'm not running my computer to my stereo, it wouldn't be very hard. Just run the 1/4" output from your computer to the RCA inputs of your stereo. I assume you have inputs for an AUX device, or something like that... Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Own Grand Prix Legends? Goto http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

I tried the soundpacks with my computer speakers and tiny subwoofer, I wasn't impressed. Are they better for home stereo use? Right now I'm using the stereo sound files for the cars that used to be at http://www.nmia.com/~chaser/sounds/gpl.htm . He has since put up new sounds at a higher rpm which makes you mess with the ini files, I haven't had time to try them, but the old ones were good. I'm not sure if I could go back to the mono sounds which is what I thought the soundpak sounds were. But, I'll go download the soundpak again and give it a try when and if I make space in the computer room for the stereo=) -- Brian Fox http://www.geocities.com/~foxman Pobody's Nerfect Warranty void if tagline removed.

I just did a "botch job", got an old pair of headphones (with the correct minijack on the end), a spare pair of stereo input leads (is this "rca"?) and wired them together with a couple of them little plastic connectors. Plugged into computer line-out and stereo "AUX" input, discovered the left channel came out of the right speaker and vice-versa, swapped them round and hey presto! 60W of Ferrari V12. Guess it would give any qualified electrician a heart attack but it works fine. HTH --

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> > Just wondering how those of you with your computers hooked up to your home > > stereos did it. Is there a minijack to rca adapter? Do I need a seperate > > junction box type thing? My home stereo has no microphone jack for some > odd > > reason, though I have half a dozen rca inputs available. > I just did a "botch job", got an old pair of headphones (with the correct > minijack on the end), a spare pair of stereo input leads (is this "rca"?) > and wired them together with a couple of them little plastic connectors. > Plugged into computer line-out and stereo "AUX" input, discovered the left > channel came out of the right speaker and vice-versa, swapped them round and > hey presto! 60W of Ferrari V12. Guess it would give any qualified > electrician a heart attack but it works fine.

Hehe, I used to connect my PC to my home-stereo until I moved where I live now, where such setup is pretty difficult. I must say that to use a real stereo system with the PC gives a lot richer sound than any "multimedia-speaker". When me and my flatmates get our home network with a old 486 with linux as a ISDN router working I will move my computer to my home-cinema room. Then I will try GPL on my 32" widescreen TV with my Harman/Kardon surround amp :) -- Olav K. Malmin remove spam when replying

I have ALTEC lansing five speaker system with sub woofer hooked up to my Diamond Monster 300. This is a real good setup. Better than my stereo ever was. Real good range. Hawk

: I have ALTEC lansing five speaker system with sub woofer hooked up to my Diamond : Monster 300. This is a real good setup. Better than my stereo ever was. Real : good range. It seems to me a good stereo doesn't do the job for games, and a good game sound system doesn't do the job for music. Games need much more bass than anyone (outside the dance hall) wants to hear for music, hence the sub. Stephen

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> : I have ALTEC lansing five speaker system with sub woofer hooked up to my Diamond > : Monster 300. This is a real good setup. Better than my stereo ever was. Real > : good range. > It seems to me a good stereo doesn't do the job for games, and a good game > sound system doesn't do the job for music. Games need much more bass than > anyone (outside the dance hall) wants to hear for music, hence the sub.

A good stereo does the job no matter input :) It probably depends on what you call a good stereo. When I used to connect my PC to my ten year old NAD 3100 and JBL 3 way speakers it rocked the house much more than my Creative 4 speaker and subwoofer system does. -- Olav K. Malmin remove spam when replying

:> :> :> : I have ALTEC lansing five speaker system with sub woofer hooked up to my Diamond :> : Monster 300. This is a real good setup. Better than my stereo ever was. Real :> : good range. :> :> It seems to me a good stereo doesn't do the job for games, and a good game :> sound system doesn't do the job for music. Games need much more bass than :> anyone (outside the dance hall) wants to hear for music, hence the sub. :> : A good stereo does the job no matter input :) It probably depends on what you : call a good stereo. When I used to connect my PC to my ten year old NAD 3100 : and JBL 3 way speakers it rocked the house much more than my Creative 4 : speaker and subwoofer system does. True. Scratch the first line of my response. My stereo is set up more for jazz and classical, so for me imaging is top priority over big, boomy bass. I don't play games through it, partly because the neighbours would complain, and partly because the stereo highlights any quality problems with the input signal. All those GPL clicks and pops (yeah, it's the sound card, I know) are quite irritating through a clean system. I also don't ant a computer in my music room. Personal preference. Others might have the opposite priority - they don't want music in their computer room! :) Stephen

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> :> > :> > :> : I have ALTEC lansing five speaker system with sub woofer hooked up to my Diamond > :> : Monster 300. This is a real good setup. Better than my stereo ever was. Real > :> : good range. > :> > :> It seems to me a good stereo doesn't do the job for games, and a good game > :> sound system doesn't do the job for music. Games need much more bass than > :> anyone (outside the dance hall) wants to hear for music, hence the sub. > :> > : A good stereo does the job no matter input :) It probably depends on what you > : call a good stereo. When I used to connect my PC to my ten year old NAD 3100 > : and JBL 3 way speakers it rocked the house much more than my Creative 4 > : speaker and subwoofer system does. > True. Scratch the first line of my response. My stereo is set up more > for jazz and classical, so for me imaging is top priority over big, boomy > bass.

Very understandable. I don't play games through it, partly because the neighbours would True, but a good "multimedia"-system would also do that :) All those GPL clicks and pops (yeah, it's the That is the main reason I stopped using my stereo, it just wouldn't fit. And it is also very difficult to mix a home-theatre setup with a computer. Maybe I should get myself a Playstation :) I just can't stand using my computer with a wrong stereo image. It just wouldn't be right to hear the engine of the Ferrari coming from a side wall, like left only. btw: Do anyone else almost laugh to death each time you see a 400 W multimedia active speaker system for the PC ? From some tiny boxes. It's like the Hi-Fi adverti***t from the 80's all over again. -- Olav K. Malmin remove spam when replying

: btw: Do anyone else almost laugh to death each time you see a 400 W multimedia : active speaker system for the PC ? From some tiny boxes. It's like the : Hi-Fi adverti***t from the 80's all over again. Every time I open up a computer system at work and pick out the speakers I chuckle. The first test is always the feel in your hands. The average computer speakers weigh about... what... 500g? In comparison, my B&Ws seem to be individual black holes, judging by their mass. Of course, the whole "multimedia" thing starts some heavy debates in the stereo newsgroups when all the Bose owners get touchy if anyone makes jokes about their "system". :) Stephen

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> : btw: Do anyone else almost laugh to death each time you see a 400 W multimedia > : active speaker system for the PC ? From some tiny boxes. It's like the > : Hi-Fi adverti***t from the 80's all over again. > Every time I open up a computer system at work and pick out the speakers I > chuckle. The first test is always the feel in your hands. The average > computer speakers weigh about... what... 500g? In comparison, my B&Ws > seem to be individual black holes, judging by their mass.

Have you ever knocked on the wood on the B&W matrix speakers ? It sounds like they are one big solid block of wood rather than a box filled with air. Well, a sub-satelite system works very well if it's quality like Bose, I was very positively surprised when I heard it first time some years ago. -- Olav K. Malmin remove spam when replying

Oh man!! this is the only way to go.. I've been experimenting with a few different PC to stereo amp setups, so I would really appreciate any tips out there on quality setups.... (my connection is pretty much the same as you guys, Y-connector: Rca jacks into one speaker line... works okay -- that to AUX or Video input.. and then out...) I set up my two 3-4 ft high home speakers ( a 12" woofer, and mid in each) to the left and the right of my chair. The bass that came through when I would punch it in GPL was unreal!!!!! You've got to try this if you haven't already. It was much more satisfying to hear the click of the shifter, the gravel in the road and the roar of the V12 Ferrari engine...... good gravy..! I even got to a point where I drug in my recliner chair from the living room so I would have that "full, immersive experience".... laying down practically... too fun. Anyhow, I finally bought a SB Live soundcard with surround sound support, and I sprung for a 5 speaker set to see if I could get an even cooler sound.......... no luck so far... matter of fact, it's looking like the stereo amp is the only way to go. I'm going to have to figure out how to use the 5 speaker support with the amp.... and then it'll be perfect. Any suggestions on how to do this right?? Since the SB Live has seperate out jacks for each speaker......hmmmm.....? Not to mention games like Thief and Half-Life are incredible with good sound,,,,, only trouble is.... I live in an apartment and so its tough to turn it up as high as it needs to go.. GPL rules with engines blaring! see you at Spa Rae

I used a Y-adapter,,, two RCA jacks (female) to one (skinnier) jack that fits into the soundcard, I don't know what you call it... Then I just ran the two RCA jacks to the Aux input, or Video input on my amp... it worked great! The best part is, you can use huge speakers, more speakers, and have high ampage... I'm curious about how to do it better though... I've got a SB Live soundcard with 5 speaker surround support..... I'd like to set up my amp so that it could handle this, without screwing up the quality.. Rae

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> >Just wondering how those of you with your computers hooked up to your home > >stereos did it. Is there a minijack to rca adapter? Do I need a seperate > >junction box type thing? My home stereo has no microphone jack for some odd > >reason, though I have half a dozen rca inputs available. > I used a Y-adapter,,, two RCA jacks (female) to one (skinnier) jack > that fits into the soundcard, I don't know what you call it... > Then I just ran the two RCA jacks to the Aux input, or Video input on > my amp... it worked great! The best part is, you can use huge > speakers, more speakers, and have high ampage... > I'm curious about how to do it better though... I've got a SB Live > soundcard with 5 speaker surround support..... I'd like to set up my > amp so that it could handle this, without screwing up the quality..

You can set the SB live to two-channel surround output and use the Dolby Surround mode on your amp. If you don't have that you can use two stereo amps and use the front and back outputs from the SB live. I don't think you can use Dolby Digital decoding, even if my SB Live Player has digital output. -- Olav K. Malmin remove spam when replying

Suggestion - do NOT drive the Ferrari with the volume turned up. You might have to replace a few windows...<g> Eldred -- Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999 Own Grand Prix Legends? Goto http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc Never argue with an idiot. He brings you down to his level, then beats you with experience... Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

>: I have ALTEC lansing five speaker system with sub woofer hooked up to my >:Diamond Monster 300. This is a real good setup. Better than my stereo ever was. >:Real good range. >It seems to me a good stereo doesn't do the job for games, and a good game >sound system doesn't do the job for music. Games need much more bass than >anyone (outside the dance hall) wants to hear for music, hence the sub. I'm running about one horsepower of amplification right now. A 100 watt per channel surround sound amp runs the four main speakers. A 120 watt per channel stereo amp (which I suspect is greatly underrated) powers the two twelve inch subwoofers residing beneath my toochas. The seperate volume and tone controls on the two amps make it possible to come up with any sound you like. Plus, most of this stuff was just sitting around collecting dust anyway, I'm a stereo nut and had all but the surround amp already. Don McCorkle

To get even more off topic. I was just at a friends playing gpl on a four speaker system and he added a bit of time delay to the rear speakers, WOW, what an effect ! the sound of the engines was bouncing of the buildings of Monaco. cg.aol.com>:

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>>: I have ALTEC lansing five speaker system with sub woofer hooked up to my >>:Diamond Monster 300. This is a real good setup. Better than my stereo ever >was. >>:Real good range. >>It seems to me a good stereo doesn't do the job for games, and a good game >>sound system doesn't do the job for music. Games need much more bass than >>anyone (outside the dance hall) wants to hear for music, hence the sub. >I'm running about one horsepower of amplification right now. A 100 watt per >channel surround sound amp runs the four main speakers. A 120 watt per

channel >stereo amp (which I suspect is greatly underrated) powers the two twelve inch >subwoofers residing beneath my toochas. The seperate volume and tone controls >on the two amps make it possible to come up with any sound you like. Plus, >most of this stuff was just sitting around collecting dust anyway, I'm a stereo >nut and had all but the surround amp already. >Don McCorkle -- Don Scurlock Vancouver,B.C.

Some modern AV amps have a 5 channel input designed for a DVD with separate Dolby Digital decoder, one of these should work just fine with a Soundblaster Live except for not having a separate centre channel input from the soundcard, thus you'd have to lose the centre channel. I'm thinking of taking this route myself. -- Ian Parker UKGPL League http://members.xoom.com/ukgpl == > > >Just wondering how those of you with your computers hooked up to your home > > >stereos did it. Is there a minijack to rca adapter? Do I need a seperate > > >junction box type thing? My home stereo has no microphone jack for some odd > > >reason, though I have half a dozen rca inputs available. > > I used a Y-adapter,,, two RCA jacks (female) to one (skinnier) jack > > that fits into the soundcard, I don't know what you call it... > > Then I just ran the two RCA jacks to the Aux input, or Video input on > > my amp... it worked great! The best part is, you can use huge > > speakers, more speakers, and have high ampage... > > I'm curious about how to do it better though... I've got a SB Live > > soundcard with 5 speaker surround support..... I'd like to set up my > > amp so that it could handle this, without screwing up the quality.. > You can set the SB live to two-channel surround output and use the Dolby > Surround mode on your amp. If you don't have that you can use two stereo > amps and use the front and back outputs from the SB live. > I don't think you can use Dolby Digital decoding, even if my SB Live Player > has digital output. > -- > Olav K. Malmin > remove spam when replying

amp :) I thought this would be a great idea too--I've got a 50" Mitsubishi connected to a high-end audio system. I found that the sound, as others have commented, is much better when it's pumped through the high-quality electronics. This is especially true of the subwoofer, which absolutely crushes the little ones that are common with computers. (But note that even a 1200W sub is not THAT much louder than a 50W one... the difference is the nature of the sound, rather than the amount of it.) I did have some trouble with fighting over access--when I was racing, nobody could watch the big TV! (And the racket from the living room made life, well, Ferrari-like in the kitchen...) But the thing that killed this for me was that the display on the TV is nowhere near as good as it is on the computer monitor. I can run my TV at a maximum of 848x480--interlaced. The monitor runs 1280x1024 very easily, and it's spread over only 20" instead of 50". As a result, it's DRASTICALLY less sharp, and it's actually much harder to see some of my braking markers, etc. Plus it was very difficult to get the wheel in a chair that was lined up with the TV... So in the end, I'm back to my monitor and headphones, until my home office gets put back together and I can have speakers again. Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.