Intro To Home Audio (Basics) - Part 2

If you havent already, read Intro to Home Audio (Basics) Part 1 in this section we will be covering where to place your speakers and how to integrate your computer into your home stereo.

Speaker Placement

The trick to getting a good sound out of your stereo is where you place the speakers, elevating your speakers off the ground is the first rule in getting better quality, the speakers should be elevated to the height of your ears when you sitting for standing in your optimal listening spot.

Stereo Separation

Now that your stereo is working lets move onto the next topic of how to optimize your stereos sound with proper speaker placement.Your left and right speakers should be placed a foot or two in from the corners of the room pointed toward your optimal listening spot. Stereo separation is important for giving that 'room filling' sound and depth to your music. If your stereo uses small satellite speakers and a sub woofer in its own speaker box than position the sub woofer on the floor, and speaker bracket or stands can be used to elevate the satellite speakers.

Reflection of Sound

Now the final factor to look into, is what objects are in the room and will the effect the sound. Hard surfaces like tile floors reflect sound, this is the same with large hard funiture, and rugs, carpet, couches and beds are great for absorbing sound. Obviously there is some give and take to this factor because you most likely will not go remodeling your room just to get that added quality out of your stereo, but it is an important enough factor to at least think about.

Hooking Up Your Computer Into Your Stereo

One of the most common underutilized networks people avoid hooking up is their computer to their home stereo. For the cost of a couple of dollars you can buy a "Y" cable with a 1/8" stereo jack on one side, and red and white RCA connectors on the other end. Now on the back of your stereo reciever you plug the RCA connectors into either the AUX channel or if it doesn't have that you can use the VCR, CD, or tape inputs. Now unplug your computer speakers and plug the 1/8" stereo jack into the back of your computer where your computers speakers were. Now you can stream your favorite radio stations and listen to your computers Mp3 collection on your home stereo in wonderful sound instead of the tinny sound your tiny computer speakers once played.

Video Feed to Your Television

If you want to go one step further you can buy a video card for your computer that has a TV output on it, and send the video signal of your computer to your television. This allows you to watch steaming video on your home entertainment center. The connection is made with a single RCA cable. Note: You will commonly notice video game units, DVD players and VCR's will have a cable with three RCA ends these are: red (right audio channel), white (left audio channel), and yellow (video feed).

Intro to Home Audio (Basics) Part 3>