Speaker / Audio Stuff

[Nime]

So currently I have my speakers running through an audio box that I want to get rid of because it barely works with Win7 and doesn't work perfectly with Vista either.

My speakers use XLR cables but can also use 1/4" cables.

Anyways, what is the best way to connect my speakers to my computer? Should I just get a sound card or something and just use whatever output the card has and use converter cables? Is there some better way to do it?


Yup.
Love ya!

[bananahammock]

I'll attach my usual disclaimer since I have no idea what you know/don't know about audio.

What handles amplification and how does the current box connect to your comp.? I'm assuming it's USB only because straight output using a 1/8" stereo cable wouldn't be affected by the OS in any way.

Only reason (for the average consumer) to buy a soundcard is if your motherboard lacks on-board audio. If you don't have on-board, get a $30-$50 soundcard. Now, you'll need something to amplify the signal from the soundcard. If you're only rocking two speaker cabinets, get a cheap stereo amp from a garage sale/flea market/sell off. Again, limit yourself to the $30-$50 range. Hookups are straightforward but are dependant on the amp. Expect to need a 1/8" stereo to RCA cable. Just take apart one end of the XLR cable and attach the raw leads for the speakers, save the parts and you won't need anything fancy there either.

I may have missed the mark completely on this. If so, I'll just go fuck myself.

[Nime]

That seems about right. I'll see what I come up with.


Oh, and the box uses Firewire. Because it's that cool.

[fireknight43]

Yeah banana said it all, just ask for a pre-amp box. Pre-amp box being the box that controls: audio, highs, lows and mids.

[bananahammock]

Actually, he doesn't really need a preamp at all, just something to amplify the signals from the soundcard before they hit the speakers.

Soundcards don't put out much, just enough for headphones. If he hooked direct or even through a preamp, any signal reaching the speakers would be barely audible and would sound like someone talking in another room.

Don't get me wrong, you'll get some benefits from a preamp but in some cases you can do it with the soundcard driver or software EQ's. Cabinet speakers generally handle the full range anyways because they have a woofer, mid and tweeter with proper low, band and high pass filters on-board. You just wouldn't get any control over the sound scape. If you score a home theater amp (the ideal solution) it will have pots or dials for all that shit anyway.

Any I should've figured it for Firewire. The better USB.

[Nime]

In an interesting turn of events, the lovely company that made my audio box finally released Win7 drivers (last time I had checked was about a month ago).

Only problem to deal with now is minor static I've always been getting. Now that I have no real intentions of changing my setup anymore, I should try to find a remedy for this.

[bananahammock]

Use headphones to isolate the noise before or after the digital-to-analog conversion circuitry (DAC). If you plug in headphones and still get noise, it's likely the DAC or amplification circuitry (you're buggered). If there's no noise with headphones, try swapping cables around if you've got some spare XLRs.

It's also possible the XLR outputs use their own seperate amplified circuit so the headphone test won't do fuck all. Hmmm. Try changing the cable configuration and disregard everything else I've ever said.

You know what this calls for? Not a Bud Light, I know that fucking much. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mooney Suzuki.