Multi room sound from PC (Solved)

[ddp]

My current setup is a PC with 2 Altec Lansing speakers and a Woofer which is powered.

Can I unplug the speakers from the PC, plug in a switching unit then plug the speakers back in and also have a set of speakers (unpowered)in other rooms that can be selected from the switching unit.

ps. Bluetooth is not an option, distance to far.

Regards

DDP

[Plastic Nev]

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help.

 

The reason speakers are powered is because the output from the normal computer sound system is not of any great power and in fact unpowered speakers can damage the computer sound system.

When a speaker system is powered, in actual fact it has an amplifier inside the speakers.

So, providing you use powered speakers and not unpowered you can do as you wish, but those speakers in other rooms must be powered ones.

 

Nev.

[ddp]

Hi Nev

 

Thanks for your reply, which now brings another problem for me

I was thinking of putting ceiling speakers in three different rooms but they were all unpowered, but now looking at ceiling speakers with an amplifier is going way over my budget

 

I'am not really into high quality i was just looking for a low cost way of having reasonable quality sound in different rooms

 

Any ideas would be grateful

 

ddp

[Plastic Nev]

One reasonable quality stereo amplifier is possibly all you would need, connect the output from the sound or speakers port on the computer to the amplifier input, then from the amplifier use your switch to switch to the different speakers in different rooms. I wouldn't personally try to find a new stereo amplifier, you may be surprised at what you may find in second hand shops, working and fairly cheap if cost is a problem.

I actually have a complete stereo system, originally made as a complete record, CD, cassette tape, and radio player unit that is hooked to the computer and the sound quality is excellent. Though I don't need it to play in other rooms so just one set of speakers.

 

Nev.

[ddp]

Thanks for the advice, just got a second hand JVC amplifier for £23. i'll wait to I get it and then match the right speakers for the different rooms to it and give it a try

I assume I cannot put the powered speakers that I have on the computer at the moment through the amplifier

 

Cheers

ddp

[Plastic Nev]

If the amplifier has a high impedance head phone socket, then yes you can put them on through that, you may have to either change the plug to the larger 6mm size if it has that size headphone socket, or obtain an adapter plug.

 

Otherwise don't put the powered speakers onto the amplifiers ordinary speaker connections.

 

Nev.

[ddp]

I'am back after just tried to connect an amplifier to my computer, no joy then plugged the computer speakers back in and no sound

After doing some investigating i found that the speakers had vanished from the volume mixer devices in the taskbar and plugging the speakers back in to the computer does no good, the only way i got it back was to do a restore from an earlier point

Any ideas

ddp

[Plastic Nev]

This might be due to impedance problems, the amplifier input may be too high or too low for the speaker output port on the computer.

Try the amplifier connected instead to the headphone port on the computer, that one is usually set up for higher impedance.

Also which input port did you use on the amplifier? If it has one, I would say to use "line in" and not a microphone input.

In fact if there is a line in on the amplifier, then use the line out port on the computer.

 

Let us know what happens please.

 

Nev.

[ddp]

Hi Nev

Just tried plugging the amp into the computer headphone socket and BINGO it works perfect and sounds pretty good.

I can go ahead and fit speakers into other rooms now and if I want sound in the computer room I just switch off the amp and use the computer speakers

Thanks for all your help

 

ddp

[Plastic Nev]

Hi ddp, thanks for letting us know and glad to hear all is working well.

 

Nev.