How do I replace home stereo with my PC?

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POISND U

New Member
Total nO0b ova here....


I recently joined the digital age and bought an ipod so I can stop lugging around a 300+ CD collection.

I have an old JVC reciever running through some 15 year old Bose Accoustimass sub and 2 tweeters. Sounds MUCH better than you'd expect. I enjoy blasting good, old fashioned speed metal and playing guitar with said metal. Like, loud enough to REALLY piss off my neighbors and I live in an apartment with very well-deadened accoustics.

My PC is a off-the-shelf Gateway SX2800. Is it possible to get similar OR BETTER volume and sound quality from my PC? What would it take (just speakers? sound card? external amp? etc.) to get the same or better quality and volume?

Thanx in advance!
 
POISND U said:
Total nO0b ova here....


I recently joined the digital age and bought an ipod so I can stop lugging around a 300+ CD collection.

I have an old JVC reciever running through some 15 year old Bose Accoustimass sub and 2 tweeters. Sounds MUCH better than you'd expect. I enjoy blasting good, old fashioned speed metal and playing guitar with said metal. Like, loud enough to REALLY piss off my neighbors and I live in an apartment with very well-deadened accoustics.

My PC is a off-the-shelf Gateway SX2800. Is it possible to get similar OR BETTER volume and sound quality from my PC? What would it take (just speakers? sound card? external amp? etc.) to get the same or better quality and volume?

Thanx in advance!
Click to expand...

If you have decent audio from the computers sound card you can patch the line out into your JVC. Granted you will only have stereo sound but the JVC will be able to drive the levels a lot better than just running off of the sound card outputs. Even high end sound cards are going to run at the most 2 or 3 watts per channel RMS (I'm sure there may be some audiofile stuff that I'm not aware of that run higher power but I haven't seen it yet).

You can get amplified speaker systems that run fairly good wattage in their output but these sorts of high end speaker systems get pretty pricey to get really good amplification.

What it really comes down to is how much you want to spend. Do you want good clean sound at a decent level or do you really want to rattle the walls?

It works the same way. High end computing power can get costly, same goes for high power sound.

An aside: I run my media PC through a mid 80's vintage JVC super A amp. Stereo sound but I can rattle the walls with it.
 
Your JVC probably has some spare inputs. I would get a decent sound card (maybe not the one above) and run the left/right stereo channels to your JVC. I did the same with my grandma's old stereo at my cottage from my laptop. Make sure in the sound card configuration (if you choose to go without a new card) you have the quality set to the max.
 
The JVC receiver really isn't too bad. Like viper110110 says, use a spare AUX input and a decent soundcard to feed the JVC. I definitely and strongly recommend, however, ditching the Bose stuff and getting some real speakers from someone like Klipsch, Boston Acoustics, JBL, etc. or some older Advents or ARs.

What do I use? When I'm not using a pair of Advent Powered Partners speakers, I'll pipe my Diamond card's sound to a 100wpc Yamaha integrated amp (from 1977) feeding standmount KEF speakers.
http://reviews.cnet.com/separate-speakers/kef-coda-8-left/1707-7869_7-30112570.html?tag=mncol;lst
 
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schw32m said:
If you have decent audio from the computers sound card you can patch the line out into your JVC. Granted you will only have stereo sound but the JVC will be able to drive the levels a lot better than just running off of the sound card outputs. Even high end sound cards are going to run at the most 2 or 3 watts per channel RMS (I'm sure there may be some audiofile stuff that I'm not aware of that run higher power but I haven't seen it yet).
Click to expand...

A soundcard simply outputs at a consumer line level of -10DbV (ie, just an unbalanced signal), which is the same as any other piece of consumer equipment. Plug a CD deck, a record player, a tape, minidisk, or computer into your JVC, they will (should) all have very similar output levels. It's the job of the amplifier to produce the power and volume, not the soundcard.
 
PunterCam said:
A soundcard simply outputs at a consumer line level of -10DbV (ie, just an unbalanced signal), which is the same as any other piece of consumer equipment. Plug a CD deck, a record player, a tape, minidisk, or computer into your JVC, they will (should) all have very similar output levels. It's the job of the amplifier to produce the power and volume, not the soundcard.
Click to expand...

Didn't I just say that?
 
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=240-137
buy one of those youre running 2.1 sound so it will make no difference only using one computer output

plug the rcas into an input on the receiver/amp switch to that input on the amp and listen to the sound that's it

idk why everyone is complicating it and shit lol

if you want better sound quality out of the computer than yes you would probably be better off buying an aftermarket sound card though if your jvc has an optical input buy one with an optical output and youre set

tweak your settings and eq to what you like and youre done

I do this with every computer I've owned
and your speakers are fine dont listen to the peopel saying ditch the bose

bose is still one of the greats unless youre switching out for some harmon kardons than youre fine
 
PunterCam said:
A soundcard simply outputs at a consumer line level of -10DbV (ie, just an unbalanced signal), which is the same as any other piece of consumer equipment. Plug a CD deck, a record player, a tape, minidisk, or computer into your JVC, they will (should) all have very similar output levels. It's the job of the amplifier to produce the power and volume, not the soundcard.
Click to expand...

wrong tape decks cdplayers mp3 players phones w/e do not have the same output levels in the least bit you have to take into account THD actual voltage output of the headphone jacks and the ohm range the amplifiers on the unit is capable of handling
 
dark666apoc said:
wrong tape decks cdplayers mp3 players phones w/e do not have the same output levels in the least bit you have to take into account THD actual voltage output of the headphone jacks and the ohm range the amplifiers on the unit is capable of handling
Click to expand...

We're not talking about headphone outputs though, we're talking about line outputs, which are pretty much standardised... I think.

And schw32m, I've not idea why I quoted you. I probably thought you were talking about driving speakers directly from line level, which produces almost no sound, but it was hours ago, and I don't really pay much attention to anything.
 
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