BIC Speaker Question

[lazybowang]

Hey everyone,

This might be a retarded questions, but I have been looking into purchasing a pair of speakers for my college dorm room. A friend of mine recommeded bookshelf speakers because they are "better for the money" than regular computer speakers.

I have been looking to purchase the BIC DV60si at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/BIC-America-DV62si-Bookshelf-Speakers/dp/B00006JPDI
Now there is one big problem... I use my laptop/ipod for music. Being the audio retard that I am, is there even anyway to hook up bookshelf speakers to a laptop? (I am willing to spend ~$50 extra if there is any extraneous equipment required)

If you have recommendations I am always open to ideas. My budget for this is around $150 give or take 20.

Thanks!

 

[Geno]

You'll need some sort of amplifier - an inexpensive stereo receiver or integrated amp would work. There are lots of new/used units like that around in your price range.

 

[Seth=L]

Try Ebay, or pawn shops. Good things to look for are older stereo or dolby pro logic receivers, lots of them go for under $50 on Ebay.

 

[lazybowang]

So what exactly is the purpose of the receiver in this case? Am I simply amplifying the signal or is a receiver required to bring the sound from the laptop?

Sorry I am a bit confused because this is my first time purchasing an actual non-computer speaker.

 

[Seth=L]

Am I simply amplifying the signal or is a receiver required to bring the sound from the laptop?

Ha, ha, it is actually doing a little of both. If you really wanted too (bad idea) you could just get an amplifier. If you did this you would need to rely completely on the computer for volume control and other adjustments. Since amplifiers are at a fixed output (high level) any possible noise from the computer, such as startup pops, will be fully amplified and very loud. Plus, separate amplifiers are more expensive than receivers in most all cases.

A receiver will allow you to control the volume from it as well as the computer. It will also allow switching between other potential components such as a TV, CD player, game console, or DVD player.

In order to connect the computer to the receiver you will need a 1/8" plug to RCA stereo adapter. One end looks like a headphone cord and the other end will have red and white RCA jacks to connect the receiver.

So the receiver powers the speakers, as they don't have built in amplification, and controls the volume and what component is selected. If you have ever used a boom box or one of those mini-systems with the Radio, CD player, and tape deck all combined into one it has an receiver inside of it, generally speaking. The major components of a sound system are its source (Radio, CD player, DVD player, Computer), the preamp (part of the receiver that controls volume, adjustments, and switching), an amplifier (amplifies the signal for use with speakers), and of course the speakers.

Good luck, I hope I didn't make you more confused.

 

[auujay]

Amps can have volume controls

Ha, ha, it is actually doing a little of both. If you really wanted too (bad idea) you could just get an amplifier. If you did this you would need to rely completely on the computer for volume control and other adjustments. Since amplifiers are at a fixed output (high level) any possible noise from the computer, such as startup pops, will be fully amplified and very loud. Plus, separate amplifiers are more expensive than receivers in most all cases.

Actually, many amps have volume controls. The main thing a reciever will get you over a pure amplifier is the ability to route inputs. So if you had an amp you would hook that up to your computer (and your speakers of course), this way you get your computer sounds through the speakrs. However if you had a reciever you could hook your computer up as one of the many inputs, you could also hook up a CD player, a tape deck, as many inputs as the reciever supports. An AV reciever will get you all this, plus some support for routing video signals as well.

In your situation either a cheap reciever will work, or an amp. I ran my 62si's from an AudioSource AMP One/A which was hooked up to my computer when I was in college.

The advatange of a dedicated amp is that you are not wasteing your money on features you will not be using. Say you spend $100 on an amp, if you spend that same $100 on a reciever the "amp" section of it will probably be lower quality (since they also have to pay for all those other features). However a reciever will be more flexible and allow you to grow your system in the future. Those BIC speakers are pretty efficient so any decent amp should power them fine. My AudioSource amp is 80W/channel and in my room the volume is usually set at 50%, 75% is simply too loud.

Either way you will probably need a 1/8" to RCA adaptor to get the sounds from your computer to your amp/reciever.

AudioSource is only one of many choices but a quick seach turns up the AMP 100 runs about $80. However if you are really on a budget, used is the way to go, check out craigslist or ebay.