Sony Blu Ray System- Compatible?

[N00B_person]

Hello all,

My Dad and I have just bought a new htpc system with a 5.1 sound card the he said he was going to buy. He has now completely gone over what he said and is planning to use the speakers that he had on an old blu ray player (now broken) instead. The catch being that the plugs on these old speakers are completely incompatible, and instead of buying new ones, has decided to go for snipping the connections off and replacing them with the jacks necessary for a 5.1 sound card, super ghetto style.

I have told him in every way I can that this is not a good idea, and that it could drastically decrease quality. I need to know if his idea is really worth it, considering that it seems he really doesn't want to buy new ones.

any ideas?

[xox]

It's fine. It won't reduce quality. I make custom jacks all the time and honestly, no difference. It's not super ghetto, it's what most people do.

[Sharif]

can you please give more info into to what your converting the plugs to

just for curiosity 

[N00B_person]

It's fine. It won't reduce quality. I make custom jacks all the time and honestly, no difference. It's not super ghetto, it's what most people do.

oh really? that's a good sign in which case could you point me in the right direction for some 5.1 jacks? i'll need a total of 6 for all the speakers. this sentence kinda answers Sharif's question as well.

[Sharif]

oh really? that's a good sign in which case could you point me in the right direction for some 5.1 jacks? i'll need a total of 6 for all the speakers. this sentence kinda answers Sharif's question as well.

the reason  i am curious is becasue i have been meaning to buy a dvd 5.1 system but they are not compatible with the sound card

[xox]

oh really? that's a good sign in which case could you point me in the right direction for some 5.1 jacks? i'll need a total of 6 for all the speakers. this sentence kinda answers Sharif's question as well.

I have no idea what a '5.1 jack' is, but I assume that the sound card in question will use 3.5mm jack sockets. In which case, you can get them here:

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/35mm-metal-stereo-plug-fj99h

 

You can also buy mono plugs from there as well, but your sound card will probably be in stereo. You will have to do things like wire the rear speakers into one plug and then the front speakers into another. Then, you'll have to set up the speech speaker and the subwoofer.

 

To complete the job well, you'll need a soldering iron and solder, both can be purchased cheaply from any good hardware shop. Amazon is also a good outlet for purchasing them. I'd recommend a 30w one.

 

If you have any other questions in the future about this, post in this topic and I'll be happy to respond, I'll follow it from now on for you.

 

RE: the speakers, do you have a surround sound amplifier for the speakers? The sound card may not be able to drive them.

[N00B_person]

I have no idea what a '5.1 jack' is, but I assume that the sound card in question will use 3.5mm jack sockets. In which case, you can get them here:

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/35mm-metal-stereo-plug-fj99h

 

You can also buy mono plugs from there as well, but your sound card will probably be in stereo. You will have to do things like wire the rear speakers into one plug and then the front speakers into another. Then, you'll have to set up the speech speaker and the subwoofer.

 

To complete the job well, you'll need a soldering iron and solder, both can be purchased cheaply from any good hardware shop. Amazon is also a good outlet for purchasing them. I'd recommend a 30w one.

 

If you have any other questions in the future about this, post in this topic and I'll be happy to respond, I'll follow it from now on for you.

 

RE: the speakers, do you have a surround sound amplifier for the speakers? The sound card may not be able to drive them.

um, no? The soundcard I have is the Creative OEM Soundblaster Z card. Nothing ever said that the speakers would need an amp.

[dalekphalm]

um, no? The soundcard I have is the Creative OEM Soundblaster Z card. Nothing ever said that the speakers would need an amp.

A more simple solution, assuming your old speakers are using "Banana Plugs" - also known as RCA or Composite connectors, is to get a 2 RCA Female to 1 3.5mm Male adapter, such as this:

https://files.cablewholesale.com/hires/30s1-01360.jpg

 

No soldering or splicing of wires is needed. SURE you'll get slightly better audio quality by soldering new connectors on, but the difference will not likely be noticeable.

 

Also, what is the wattage of each speaker and the sub? Preferably the RMS wattage (not peak) if you can find the info.

 

Most soundcards, including the Soundblaster Z, do not come with an amp. That's totally fine for small low powered speakers, but for big surround setups, you're definitely going to be missing out on quality, and especially loudness. These things will not be able to be powered too loudly without heavy distortion or an amp.

 

You have a couple choices really:

1. Don't use an amp. You can always get one later if you don't like the sound - but you also won't know what you'll be missing.

2. Get 3 small stereo amps (Basically just inputs and outputs for two channel connections). Benefit: Cheap - also they don't take up a lot of space compared to a receiver style amp. Downside, 3 boxes instead of one, more cables and stacking/clutter. No central volume on the amp side of things (You'd have 3 master volumes instead of just one).

3. Get a proper 5.1 receiver/amp. This will be the most expensive, but also the overall best route. You'll have multiple inputs so you can plug in other devices aside from the Soundcard if you wanted. You just need to make sure it has the inputs you need and has the power (watts per channel) to handle the speakers.

[N00B_person]

alrighty, thank you all for your advice. I will have a look at my system and see what is needed. I will be back ONLY IF there's no luck. till then! (Hope not)