What components do I need.

[CMacDaddy]

I've never put together a speaker setup before, so Can someone please tell me if I'm missing anything.

If I'm going computer based, I'd need...
compy
soundcard
ICs?
reciever
wires (currently my speakers dont have the thin black and red speaker wires... where can i get new ones?)
speakers

if going dedicated source, I'd need
CD player
ICs
reciever
(more IC's to connect MP3 player to it)
wires
speakers

I've seen something called a DAC? but hopefully i wont need that right?

Also, would a home theatre/amp be fine for use with headphones?

 

[viviorunitia4]

You have all the required things listed. If you get an integrated or a reciever, you will most likely be able to do both computer and CDP
Quote:

I've seen something called a DAC? but hopefully i wont need that right?

DAC's are nice, but not a necessity. Nearly any source you buy will have DAC's in it already. (unless it's a transport)The only reason for an external DAC is to bypass the DAC's and output stage in a source, producing better sound

Quote:

wires (currently my speakers dont have the thin black and red speaker wires... where can i get new ones?)

You can get some cheap thicker wire at radioshack...

Quote:

Also, would a home theatre/amp be fine for use with headphones?

Most home theater recievers have a headphone jack, but it's not very high quality. An external headphone amp will run you around $100 and produce better sound

If you're just going for a stereo setup, then you can get a good stereo integrated and good speakers
If you're planning on doing home theater, then you won't be able to spend as much on all the components. You can get a decent HT setup for around $1000. Don't buy a Home Theater in a Box... they're not too good
That's just my 2 cents
Hope all this helps...
Edit: if you post your budget, others here will most likely give you recommendations of what to buy.

 

[CMacDaddy]

thanks for the help. I already have some fairly old Infinity r3000 speakers, so I'll probably just stick with them and a fairly decent reciever.

Budget seems to be about $150 at the moment but I may be convinced for more, although I dont know how good these speakers are.

 

[CMacDaddy]

haha, who am i kidding, to someone talking of dropping a grand for a "decent" setup, my budget must seem the lowest of the low, but NO way i'm putting that kinda money into a dorm room (too much risk to break/get stolen) and i'm not getting enough scholarship to shell that out right now anyway. lol

 

[viviorunitia4]

you could probably find a good used integrated amp on audiogon or ebay in your budget, but I don't really know which ones to suggest. I would think that any of the major hi-fi brands (rotel, nad...) would be good. Or, you could just run out to best buy or the electronics chain store closest to you and buy a stereo amp for that much. For cables, just go to radioshack and buy the 10-12 gauge megacable and some inexpensive IC's

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMacDaddy If I'm going computer based, I'd need... ICs? ...

If you don't already have the soundcard, I own a Terratec EWX 2496 which I enjoy a lot ($120). It sounds like you wouldn't mind saving some money on this system, though. For the ultimate bang-for-buck soundcard, many recommend a Chaintech AV-710, $25.49 with shipping from www.newegg.com

To plug your soundcard into your receiver, you'll need an IC. The analog audio output jack on the back of your soundcard will most likely be either a stereo mini jack or an RCA pair or jacks. On the back of your receiver, you'll most likely have an RCA pair of jacks into which to input this analog audio. A very good place to get the mini-to-RCA or RCA-to-RCA IC to make this connection is Headphile www.headphile.com Since this is going to be near a computer, I recommend a shielded IC, the Headphile CPU Series IC.

 

[lan]

At this budget I'd just stick with the Panasonic digital receiver (XR-25). It easily simplifies the system. All you'd need is a soundcard, a glass toslink optical cable and the receiver. Then you don't have to worry about the quality of DAC and interconnects because they are out of the equation. Just get some thick speaker cable from Home Depot or Radio Shack. For the CD player, you can also use a glass toslink to the receiver since it has multiple digital inputs. FOr soundcard the chaintech av710 is the best bang for buck but the emu 0404 will have a better digital out. I wouldn't use a modern receiver for headphone output. But you might want to live with it until you can fund a cheap headphone amp.

 

[sbulack]

My favorite source for glass toslink optical digital cables is http://www.av-cables.net/digitalaudi...o-toslink.html
I find the build quality of the cable (cable termination) to be better than the ones from Newark Electronic. At Newark Electronic, the cable is $7 less, but the shipping is $3 more. The additional $4 paid at av-cables.net is seen in the cable, IMO.