Embarassingly Audiophytic

[zheepeez]

Audiophytic... audophyistic... audiophyist... something.

Hello all, I'm the ubiquitous 17 year old sitting in front of a laptop, listening to mp3's and wondering just how to make this music sound better...

Well, kinda...

I've gotten pretty interested recently in improving my experience with audio, although I'm a long, long way from becoming what you'd call an "audiophile" (fleh, geeks, i say, with an upturned nose). I've been an avid music enthusiast for a while, amassing quite a collection of both digital music and vinyls, and experimenting (read: playing around with) a bit of software and hardware. That being said, I'm still pretty much new to all this (although it IS fun)

Anyway, life stories aside, I need a bit of advice. I'm looking at ways of attaching my laptop to my parents' stereo set (which, compared to my speaker set, is kind of a Holy Grail), and more particularly of setting up a media server to do so. I can operate the media software itself through a USB remote through the Theater Mode on my audio software, but I'm unsure of how to connect the laptop and stereo. I can easily and cheaply get audio jack to RCA cables, but is this the best of doing it? I can also get an FM transmitter (similar to the type popular for use with iPods and car stereos), and I'm aware that wireless, WiFi or Bluetooth solutions exist. Which is the best in terms of cost? I don't want to be connecting a laptop to a stereo system if its not going to be optimal (and, of course, I don't want to have to sell myself on the streets to afford it).

Any advice? (wow, that took a long time to say)... Thanks all

 

[MDS]

The easiest and simplest solution is go to Radio Shack and purchase a cable with a 3.5mm stereo mini plug on one end and 2 RCA connectors on the other end. Plug the mini into the line-out of the sound card and the RCA connectors into any input on the stereo. I would assume the parents don't want the laptop in the entertainment center at all times so you'd want to be able to connect and disconnect quickly; if the stereo has front panel audio inputs just use them.

You could also use a digital coax if the sound card has a digital out and the stereo has a digital input.

An FM transmitter like the ones sold as iPod accessories for the car could work too but most use batteries and they will die in a few hours. I know because I used my sister's extensively to listen to the music on her iPod and had to change batteries every few hours. The FM transmitter solution will cost under $50 but that is still a lot more than a single cable which will run about $5.

There are multiple ways to use WiFi but none of them are cheap (at least I wouldn't have considered $300ish cheap when I was 17).

 

[mtrycrafts]

Audiophytic... audophyistic... audiophyist... something.

Hello all, I'm the ubiquitous 17 year old sitting in front of a laptop, listening to mp3's and wondering just how to make this music sound better...

Well, kinda...

I've gotten pretty interested recently in improving my experience with audio, although I'm a long, long way from becoming what you'd call an "audiophile" (fleh, geeks, i say, with an upturned nose). I've been an avid music enthusiast for a while, amassing quite a collection of both digital music and vinyls, and experimenting (read: playing around with) a bit of software and hardware. That being said, I'm still pretty much new to all this (although it IS fun)

Anyway, life stories aside, I need a bit of advice. I'm looking at ways of attaching my laptop to my parents' stereo set (which, compared to my speaker set, is kind of a Holy Grail), and more particularly of setting up a media server to do so. I can operate the media software itself through a USB remote through the Theater Mode on my audio software, but I'm unsure of how to connect the laptop and stereo. I can easily and cheaply get audio jack to RCA cables, but is this the best of doing it? I can also get an FM transmitter (similar to the type popular for use with iPods and car stereos), and I'm aware that wireless, WiFi or Bluetooth solutions exist. Which is the best in terms of cost? I don't want to be connecting a laptop to a stereo system if its not going to be optimal (and, of course, I don't want to have to sell myself on the streets to afford it).

Any advice? (wow, that took a long time to say)... Thanks all

If you don't have a Radio Shack down there in Aukland, or near you, a local electronics store should have those cables MDS suggested