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hooking bookshelves up to pc?

post #1 of 14
4/2/08 at 1:22pm
Thread Starter 
decent starters, polk 150's for example. what exactly would i need to hook them up to my laptop but to get the best sound out of them? could i use my total bithead?
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post #2 of 14
4/2/08 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by unseen View Post
decent starters, polk 150's for example. what exactly would i need to hook them up to my laptop but to get the best sound out of them? could i use my total bithead?
The reccomended minimum amp power for these speakers (R150) is 20 watts per channel, you can prpbably get away with 10wpc but it is unlikely that the total bithead can pump that much out.

Just nab a Vintage amp or receiver from ebay for a few quid that will do the trick, loads of them around.
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post #3 of 14
4/2/08 at 2:51pm
There's a couple of threads about vintage amps that have good headphone jacks. I got a NAD 3155 from Goodwill for $10. It sounds great and is my best headphone amp.

Shipping can be expensive on eBay. Most of the vintage amps can be heavy. It will probably cost a minimum of $50 shipped for an inexpensive amp. If that's out of your price range, or even within, I'd check craigslist, thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales, etc. You can get pretty good deals and you don't have to pay shipping. With craigslist and yard sales, you might even be able to hook it up and listen before buying.
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post #4 of 14
4/2/08 at 9:24pm
Could always check out the new NuForce Icon ... looks very promising!
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post #5 of 14
4/3/08 at 11:56pm
Thread Starter 
thanks guys. also what sorts of ICs am i gonna need? figure i can take care of those online. if i find what seems to be a proper amp i'll link it here for input.
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post #6 of 14
4/4/08 at 12:07am
A headphone amp isn't going to cut it for powering bookshelves.

You could try the Sonic T Amp, probably the best Price/Performance amp available.
Parts Express:Sonic Impact 5065 Gen 2 T-Amp with Power Supply

For a more expensive solution ($200ish), you could look at either AV123's new X-Amp, or NuForce's Icon. Both are supposed to be fantastic.

The SI TAmp only needs a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable to connect it to the laptop, and of course speaker wire to connect to the speakesr. X-Amp most likely needs a RCA to 3.5mm to connect to laptop. Icon can connect to laptop via USB (DAC, recommended) or RCA to 3.5mm.
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post #7 of 14
4/4/08 at 2:53am
Thread Starter 
i totally spaced needing a DAC too as my tbh serves both purposes. any solid amp/dac combos i should look at or should i just do them separately? recommendations there?
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post #8 of 14
4/4/08 at 4:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by unseen View Post
i totally spaced needing a DAC too as my tbh serves both purposes. any solid amp/dac combos i should look at or should i just do them separately? recommendations there?
The only DAC/amp combos in the speaker world are home theater receivers and preamplifiers, which are probably overkill in your case. You can still use the DAC section of the Total Bithead by plugging its output into an integrated amplifier or power amplifier, though the signal will still pass through the headphone amp section (there's no line output on the TBH). But since it does have a volume knob, you could use it as a preamplifier, directly to a power amp. That might be interesting.
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post #9 of 14
4/4/08 at 4:40am
I'd go with a pair of Insignias and a Trends TA-10.1 T-amp with your bithead as the DAC
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post #10 of 14
4/4/08 at 9:36am
Insignias are junk. There are much better bookshelves available, such as infinity primus.
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post #11 of 14
4/6/08 at 5:54pm
Thread Starter 
i think i'm going with the sonic impact t-amp. very affordable, and seems fitting for the budget rig i'm going for. that most likely with the polks and the tbh as the dac, decent enough just for small bedroom listening, right?

will i also be able to use the sonic with headphones too? if so, would you imagine music sounds better with the sonic/tbh as opposed to just the tbh by itself?
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post #12 of 14
4/6/08 at 8:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by unseen View Post
i think i'm going with the sonic impact t-amp. very affordable, and seems fitting for the budget rig i'm going for. that most likely with the polks and the tbh as the dac, decent enough just for small bedroom listening, right?
Yep, the T-Amp is a nice budget integrated amp.

Quote:
Originally Posted by unseen
will i also be able to use the sonic with headphones too? if so, would you imagine music sounds better with the sonic/tbh as opposed to just the tbh by itself?
The Gen 2 T-Amp has a headphone amp, but reports say that it's not good. You're better off with the TBH for headphones, since that's its purpose.
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post #13 of 14
4/7/08 at 7:18pm
over the polk r150s, i would actually (if you dont mind it) go with harman int'ls ebay store which has infinity primus factory refurbs up for auction all the time, and they go for around 30-70 depending on which model it is. the primus are very well regarded budget speakers and i wish i had known about them before i had purchased my r150s. it's also nice that they're front ported so you have more options for placement, especially on a desk.

that being said, i drive my r150s with a marantz 1060 and they are quite nice for what i paid.
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post #14 of 14
4/8/08 at 10:31am
I'm using a pair of Onix Reference .5 monitor speakers and a Tamp gen2 to power them. I had a pair of av123 x-ls that were great, but a bit on the large size for the room I had on my desk. av123 just came out with elt525's and they are supposed to be a sizable upgrade from my ref .5's... which I feel are a bit nicer than the highly acclaimed x-ls.

The tamp drives them nicely, but I'm waiting in line for the new Gizmo to come out, a 25wpc digital amp with sub crossover and plan to give it a try. I got in on the introductory pricing of <$100
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