Computer Speakers Shared W/ TV

[z0rk]

Hey Everyone,

My name is dan, and I am new to this whole world of audio set up.

I'm a college student preparing to move into my own room (first time EVER having my own room since I was four years old) and I was hoping to set it up with a nice, yet cheap, audio system. I currently have a laptop with an Audigy ZS 2 PCMIA card leading out to a 5.1 system I took from my dads "old" desktop (its not really that old...). Unfortunately, I do not know the sound system's make and model because it is in storage.

I was hoping to be able to run this system between both my tv and computer, making it so that both devices can enjoy the power of this system without having to plug and unplug wires everytime I switch. Is this feasible? What tools/devices do I need? What would the cost be?

The tv I am using has a digital out line (orange) in the back... seems standard with other tvs.

 

[MDS]

There are a few considerations like whether you will have a cable box or just use the TV as the cable tuner, whether you will have other devices to connect as well, and what type of connections are necessary for the speakers (computer speaker systems are sometimes a bit different than regular speakers).

But in general, you just need a receiver - assuming you can connect the speakers to it. The laptop just becomes another input to the receiver.

If you just have the TV and the laptop it would go something like this:
1. Cable from wall to the TV.
2. Analog and digital outs from the TV to the receiver.
3. Laptop audio to the receiver.
4. Speakers connected to the receiver.

You'd then just select the input on the receiver for either TV or Laptop.

 

[z0rk]

Thanks that information was helpful.

The cable is provided by the school, so I will be using the tv as a tuner. Could you point me in the direction of a good receiver if you know any? Are there receivers made specifically for this type of situation?

Like I said, I an a newbie too this stuff.

 

[MDS]

Any receiver will do the trick and it just depends on your budget and brand preference (if you have one). You indicated that the TV has a digital audio out so you'll need a receiver with digital inputs (which is all of those made in the last 5 years or so) so you can get Dolby Digital from cable.

My preference is Onkyo and since your requirements are simple at this point, you could even look at their 3xx series. They have all of the main features necessary but none of the more advanced options one would need for a more complicated setup. Brand new they are only $200 or so.

 

[Adam]

Amazon is selling last year's Onkyo 504 for $170 (in black). Seems like a great price to me. I've read only good things about Onkyo's 500 series for the past few years.

As for your set-up, I couldn't tell from reading your description if (a) you need a receiver or (b) you can easily use one with your speakers. It would be helpful to know if your computer speakers take analog inputs, a digital input, or either. I've owned two sets of 5.1 computer speakers. One set could accept a coax digital input along with an analog input. If yours can, then you could run the TV directly to it. My latest set takes three analog inputs (look like headphone plugs), one for front left/right, one for rear left/right, and one for center/sub...but no digital input. I'll bet that your TV also has analog audio outputs, so you should be able to connect it to your speakers either way (except the TV analog out is probably just stereo or prologic, not 5.1).

Both of my computer speaker sets ran the connections through the subwoofer that contained the amplifier for each system. To use all of the speakers from either of those with a receiver would require me to splice some wires and open up the subwoofer to get to the driver. I actually have done that with one of the systems, and it wasn't very hard for me to do.

Good luck.