There once was a time that we had to use a PC speaker to hear sound effects in games. Some games even offered small digitised voice effects, which we were impressed with at the time. The next stage was adlib soundcards which could handle midi sounds. They were still fairly weak, but they were a huge improvement on what we were once used to.

Since that time, soundcards have evolved into a very important feature in any computer. The sound quality which comes out of even the cheapest cards is good enough to listen to music or to watch a movie. Why not take full advantage of this technology and hook it up to your sound system to get your MP3’s pumping.

Current PC speakers on the market sound quite good, but they will never be able to recreate the awesome sound you can get out of your main sound system. It shouldn’t cost you more than a few dollars to setup. Even if you don’t want to set this up for permanent use, it is worth keeping in mind for parties as it will be appreciated by your guests. I haven’t bothered with PC speakers for years as it is easier for me to connect my computer to my sound system.

This article will show you how to connect your computers soundcard to your sound system. I have already written an article explaining “How-to: Connect your PC to your television and stereo”, but I placed a large emphasis on the video side of things and many of the comments are related to audio. This article will only cover audio. I hope you will be amazed how easy it is.

Pretty much every computer, whether it laptop or a desktop, will have some type of audio out on them. In the case of a desktop computer, it will probably be the same connector as you use to plug in your PC speakers. In a laptop, you may need to use the headphone jack. Both will work well. We just need the correct cables to get the signal from your computers 3.5” plug to the input for the sound system.

Types of plugs and cables

Optical\Toslink\SPDIF\Coaxial: If you have both a digital plug on your computer and on your sound system, this is the way to go if your are setting this up permanently. There are a number of cable types which will send a digital signal. Toslink (Optical) and Coaxial (SPDIF) are shown to the right.

The sound quality should be superior to using any other type of cable. Digital cables are quite sensitive, and don’t like to be treated like I treat my other cables, so I wouldn’t bother with this type of cable for one off parties and the like.

When I was writing this article I thought I should setup my system with a digital cable instead of the traditional cables listed below. I was able to confirm that the sound quality is superior with my Toslink cable in my TV/sound setup. There were other advantages too. If I played a DVD with DTS sound, the receiver would automatically switch to DTS mode. This saves me from having to play with the remote, and I had never experienced the DTS sound in my system before. It is definitely going to stay as part of my system now.

There is one problem with connecting your computer up this way. Most receivers will only have one or two optical ports and there is a good chance your CD or DVD player is connected to this port. You might have to weigh up what is important to you. I have taken the step to use my computer as my sole audio/video source.

Line Out: This is the port we would normally connect to our PC speakers. It is normally green in colour and they are designed to get the audio signal from our computer to some type of amplifier. This is an analogue signal, but it does the trick and is great for most scenarios. The signal level is not strong enough to drive speakers themselves. This will usually be a 3.5” plug.

Both headphone and line-out should use the same cable as the picture on the right. Alternatively, you can get an adaptor which will convert 3.5” stereo to RCA, which you would then plug an RCA cable into. The result is the same.

Headphone: The headphone jack is normally used to plug in headphones. They are usually pink in colour and are the same size as a line-out. The only difference is that they send out a much stronger signal. For most laptops, this is your only option. It will work fine, but you should be careful to start with your volume low so that you don’t overdrive your amp and speakers. This will usually be a 3.5” plug.

RCA: This is the main type of connector you will find on the back of your receiver. Normally you will have one red and one white input which represent left and right audio. For surround sound you need to use multiple pairs. It starts to become a bit of a nightmare.

Quality of Cables

I have never really felt that cable quality is very important. I have a bog standard sound system, and a fairly bog standard sound card. Using expensive cables will not make my setup noticeably better. It is more important to use the right type of cable.

An expensive sound system, something that you need a loan for, may well sound a bit better with expensive cables. For most people, the sound quality difference is not noticeable, especially if you are playing ripped movies or MP3’s because the quality has already deteriorated a fair bit as part of the compression. It takes a trained ear to really know what you are missing out on.

The moral of the story; If you don’t want it to cost you much, don’t spend much. If you have a fancy sound system, you probably have the money for the expensive cables so why not get them? It really doesn’t matter all that much.

How to connect your computer to a sound system

Below are some various methods for connecting up your computer. They are probably more detailed than they need to be. I suggest to turn off the computer and sound system for precautionary reasons, but if you are careful and do it all at low volume, you should get away with leaving your equipment on. As far as I am concerned, do this with caution, and remember I am trying to help you.

Connecting your computer to your sound system with an Toslink/SPDIF cable

Newer soundcards and audio equipment are sometimes being fitted with digital/optical ports. Not only do they sound better than any other option mentioned in this article, they are easier to setup. All you need is the one cable. This one cable will transport a digital surround sound signal straight into your sound system.

(If you see the port physically on your computer, but it is not in your device manager, you may need to enable it in the BIOS. This is a fairly uncommon scenario.)

Ensure your computer and sound system have an Optical out and then follow these steps.

1. Make sure that the volume on your computer is turned down.
2. Turn the volume down on your sound system.
3. Make sure your sound system is turned off.
4. Plug one end of the Toslink cable into your computer
5. Plug the other end of the Toslink cable into your sound system

You will have to play with the sound settings a little to get your programs to use the digital output. Windows will let you change your default audio device to the digital out. Keep in mind that in the settings of most individual programs, you can over-ride the Windows default device. You may want your MP3 player to go out the digital port and your Windows system sounds to come out your PC speakers. This may be an option to keep in mind. Windows sounds generally sound weak through a good sound system.

To configure your system to use the digital out by default, in Vista:

Go into your Control Panel and
Select Sounds
Click the Playback tab
Right click on your optical output (SPDIF)
Select “Set as default”

This is possible in XP also. The settings are very similar to the settings above.

1. Start playing a song out of your computer.
2. Turn on your sound system.
3. Ensure your sound system is on the correct channel

Start adjusting the volume upwards on both your sound system and your computer. If you turn your computer all the way up, you may get a bit of distortion. It is best to turn your computer up to around 80% and let your sound system do the rest. You may want to compare the volume to a CD, and adjust your computer output accordingly.

Have some fun and play a movie. See if you can get some nice surround sound happening.

Connecting a laptop to a sound system with traditional RCA cables

Laptops will almost always have a headphone jack. You will want to get your hands on a 3.5” stereo to dual mono RCA cable as mentioned above and then follow these steps.

1. Make sure that the volume on your laptop is turned down.
2. Turn the volume down on your sound system.
3. Make sure your sound system is turned off.
4. Plug the 3.5” stereo plug into your headphone jack (pink).
5. Plug the two RCA plugs into your sound system
6. Start playing a song out of your computer. You probably will not hear anything out of your laptops speakers as they will be disabled when something is plugged into the headphone port.
7. Turn on your sound system.
8. Ensure your sound system is on the correct channel

Start adjusting the volume upwards on both your stereo and laptop. If you turn your laptop all the way up, you may get a bit of distortion. It is best to turn it up half way and let your sound system do the rest. You may want to compare the volume to a CD, and adjust your laptop accordingly.

You should now have your laptops audio coming out your sound systems speakers in wonderful stereo. Can you hear that bass?

It is good to leave the cable connected to your sound system as a permanent fixture, so when you want to attach your laptop on future occasions, all you need to do is plug in the headphone jack and select the channel.

Connecting your desktop computer to a sound system with traditional RCA cables

Desktop computers will almost always have a sound board of some type, either using a sound card or an on board chip. You will want to get your hands on a 3.5” stereo to dual mono RCA cable as mentioned above and then follow these steps.

1. Make sure that the volume on your computer is turned down.
2. Turn the volume down on your sound system.
3. Make sure your sound system is turned off.
4. Plug the 3.5” stereo plug into your line-out jack (green).
5. Plug the two RCA plugs into your sound system
6. Start playing a song out of your computer.
7. Turn on your sound system.
8. Ensure your sound system is on the correct channel

Start adjusting the volume upwards on both your sound system and your computer. If you turn your computer all the way up, you may get a bit of distortion. It is best to turn it up to around 80%and let your sound system do the rest. You may want to compare the volume to a CD, and adjust your computer output accordingly.

You should now have your computers audio coming out of your sound systems speakers in wonderful stereo.

Connecting your laptop or desktop computer to your sound system with surround sound

This is also quite easy to achieve. Often, your sound system can convert a stereo or digital signal into a surround system using it’s internal processors. You are probably best to send the signal out of your computer in stereo and letting the receiver do its job.

If you want the computer to do the processing, make sure you have a few spare cables.

The theory is the same as above, just replicated a few times over. Ensure you have a sound card capable of surround sound. The best way to find this out is to look on the back of your computer and see if you have a few spare 3.5” plugs. These will be stereo pairs, one for your rear left and rear right, and the other for your sub and centre speakers. Your sound system will require a surround input. It gets messy, but it is possible.

The final step is to change the speaker settings on your computer to use a surround setting instead of the default stereo. If you want to try this and are having troubles, leave a comment and I will give you more information. I can’t see it coming up too often (I think).

Conclusion

I hope you have had success in connecting your computer up to your sound system. The next step is to get the video signal of your computer to your television.

Please stick around and check out some other articles at Inspect My Gadget. Thanks for reading.