Help with speakers..

Post by Supadrood

So after going in loft at my parents house, i came across some of my old speakers from a CD player i had years ago (old unit blew, kept speakers for some reason..)

So back on track, I've had an idea to turn my 2x 100w speakers into something i can hook up to a PC mainly for music, whats the best way to use them to their full potential without sound becoming distorted? My PC is using on-board sound card.

Out of boredom, i did wire them directly to an old pair of PC speakers which was collecting dust (chopped off the speaker with a wire, and wired them directly to the speaker with the sound controls), but as you can guess the sound is fine till I crank the volume up past a certain point. Now i know this isn't the correct way to do it, but boredom sucks...

Any tips to bring out their full potential?

Thanks in advance,

Supa

Post by rageahol

Ok, speakers have a few important parameters. The most important generally are the power they're rated for (in watts), and their impedance (in ohms). For the rated power, just make sure not to put too much power into them, i.e. don't drive them with a 500W amp at full volume. For the impedance, you have to make sure that the speakers have an equal or greater impedance compared to the output impedance of your amplifier. You get the most power going into the speakers when the output impedance is equal to the speaker impedance.

Another thing is, the way humans perceive loudness isn't linear, a tenfold increase in output power will only sound like a twofold increase in volume.

Now, the reason your old PC speakers are distorting is probably because some amplifier stage is clipping, I'd doubt they have enough power to cause the speakers themselves to distort.

You could try looking for an old hi-fi or PA power amplifier, and use your sound card speaker out as the input to that. Remember to match impedance and not turn it up too high if it's a good deal more powerful than your speakers can handle!

Help with speakers..

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