My husband gave me his big old Sharper Image speakers and I wanted to use them with my computer. So I got online and searched how to do this. I Googled some good information but not simple enough for me to hook it up because they assumed you already knew the following:
To play speakers on your computer you need an amplifier to power the speakers. You can't just hook up speakers to your computer without one. I didn't know this.
I found an amplifier at amazon.com that cost only 27.00 made by Lepai called a Hi-Fi Stereo Power Digital amplifier. The model number of mine is LP-2020A+. It's very small and has 20w of power.
Next, you need 2 speaker wires--one for each speaker and long enough to reach from each speaker to the back of the amplifier. Each speaker wire splits into two different sides -- one silver and one copper or different colors marked on the outside wire covering. Make sure that you are consistent with the wires--the same color goes to the red and the black for each speaker you hook up to the back of the amplifier. You carefully strip the covering off to expose a little bit of the wire inside. Then you pull down the bottom plastic piece and push the wire into the small hole in the middle. The wire stays tight in the center when you let go of the plastic piece. If you don't get sound, just switch things around until you do.
Plug in the amplifier to your power source. Now, you'll need a way to hook the amplifier to your computer. You need a simple connection that has a headset end that plugs into the headset jack of the computer and the other side is 2 RCA jacks --one white and one red... both male.
When I hooked this up the first time with a simple "y" connection, it worked fine when I plugged it into my iPod. But I got a loud hum when I hooked the speakers through the amplifier to my computer using the connection cord above. I remembered seeing a gizmo for sale on the internet that you could buy that would solve the humming problem.
So I went to Radio Shack and found a helpful employee that told me about a Ground-Loop Isolator, model 270-054 (about 17.00). The cord has a D Battery sized isolator in the middle of the wires that stops the hum. There are two pieces on the card--put them together until you have one end that goes into a headphone jack and two ends that hook up to your amplifier.
When I first plugged the headphone jack side to the computer, I didn't have a hum but there was a very high pitched frequency interference that bugged me. So, I played around with the volume setting on the amplifier device and the volume on iTunes and found a setting that has neither hum nor hiss.
This works fine for someone who wants to hear podcasts and isn't a super audiophile. If you are into bass that rocks the room, buy an expensive amplifier because this one is only 20W. This is the solution that works great for me for under $50.00 without driving my husband out of the house. The vintage analog amplifiers on eBay are more expensive than the new digital ones on amazon.com. I know that audiophiles can tell the difference--I can't. It's the same basic principle whether you use a small or large amplifier.
Hope this works for you.
Renee :-)
