need a speaker recommendation for use with TV & for streaming music

nikko

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Sep 12, 2000
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Let me start by saying that I am a total newbie to home theater, home audio and all that stuff.

What I would like is to have one set of speakers, preferably no more than 2 satellite speakers and a subwoofer, that I can use with my new LCD TV and also be able to stream music to from my computer. If I had to give priority to one function over the other, it would definitely be music. I really don't want to spend more than $200 if possible. Obviously I'm not going to get anything state-of-the-art for that. Also, I don't need something with a lot of volume. I live in an apartment with thin walls, so I'll probably never have it much more than halfway up anyway. I just want something with good, full sound.

Though I haven't got it set up yet, I intend to stream music to these speakers via an Apple Airport Express. I don't have a receiver and don't intend to get one, so I'd be curious to know what options I would have for connecting the speakers for use with both the TV and the Airport Express. What inputs/outputs should I be looking for when looking

For what it's worth, I really like the sound and appearance of the Klipsch iFi, but I have no use for the iPod dock portion, so I don't know if that makes any sense as an option. It has a stereo mini auxiliary input and a stereo mini line input for what that's worth.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
 

nikko

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Sep 12, 2000
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Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Klipsh iFi would be an excellent choice if you can get that for $200.

Hook one of the inputs up with the TV and the other to your airport.

This seems familiar.... :p
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=27&threadid=1964341&enterthread=y

Hehe. Yes, it's me again. At the time I only had the Airport to worry about, now I've got the LCD that I want to hook up too. Just wasn't sure the two hookups on the iFi would do the trick. Do you know anything about the Klipsch GMX A 2.1 Personal Audio System or Klipsch ProMedia GMX D-5.1? How does they compare to the iFi? What do I need to make use of the digital sound on the GMX D-5.1?

Thanks again for any help you can pass along.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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The iFi set would be superior to either of those for music.

The Promedia sets are supposed to be better than the GMX sets even.

The GMX-D 5.1 is a bit goofy in that it only has a digital input afaik. You'll only get real surround sound from a DD / (DTS?) source.

If iFi is an option, that's the best music option :thumbsup:
 

nikko

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Sep 12, 2000
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If iFi is an option, that's the best music option :thumbsup:

Hey there. Well, I took your advice, since it's kinda what I wanted to do anyway, and bought an iFi. Now for some follow-up stupid questions. What kind of cables do I need to buy to connect my TV and airport express to the iFi? It looks like the airport express has a 3.5mm mini-Audio jack. According to the Klipsch website, the iFi has a "Stereo mini auxiliary input and a Stereo mini line input". Are those the same as a 3.5 mm mini-audio jack? Also, my TV has all sorts of inputs/outputs. Which one should I be connecting the iFI to to on the TV end?

Second to last question. I noticed the auxilary input is on the docking station, but the mini line input is on the back of the subwoofer. If I only used the mini line input, could I forgo using the dock? I realize that means I would only have use of either my TV or Airport Express. I'm just wondering if that's an option.

Finally, I have a question about the wires that connect from the satellite speakers to the subwoofer. I'm not sure if I matched up the + and - ends correctly. How can I check? Or rather, what would happen if you they were hooked up incorrectly?


Thanks again for all your help. I swear I'll stop bugging you after this.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

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Aug 6, 2001
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Yeah, the 3.5mm should be the same size as the connection you need for the iFi.

Hopefully your TV has a couple RCA connections in back that are red and white with a label of "Audio OUT".
If so, you'll just need a cable that does this
https://www.cablesforless.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2043

If it doesn't have that, we can figure out your best course of action.

It could get messy with the wiring if you try to get both inputs plugged into the same spot on the speakers. I'm not sure if the iFi set lets you run it without the iPod dock attached. If it does and you're not missing out on any controls or anything, then that would certainly be an option.

For the polarity... most speaker wires will give you some indication (a line or something?) on one of the wires to make it easy to tell which one is + and which is -.

Do yours have that?

If they are wired out of phase (meaning you have one hooked up with +/+ and -/- while the other speaker you switched them and got +/- and -/+) then you'd get some kind of funky sound where it might not really seem to be coming from anywhere. This is a technique that's sometimes used on surround speakers that want to fill a whole room with sound without being localized. It's not what you want to happen for stereo speakers though since you want to maintain the soundstage of recordings.
 

nikko

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Sep 12, 2000
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Ok, I got the cables and plugged them in. I plugged the Airport Express into the line input (which is on the back of the subwoofer) and tried it out. Worked great. On to the TV. I get reception through a Tivo and have it connected to my TV via RCA cables. So I unplugged the red and white jacks from the back of the TV and the Tivo. I plugged the RCA ends of a cable like the one you recommended into my Tivo and the other end into the back of the docking station where the auxilary input is. Immediately, the iFi cut stopped streaming the music and started streaming the audio signal from my Tivo. So I guess I need to keep the RCA audio cables plugged into my Tivo AND TV and then use the RCA ends of the splitter cable as an audio output from my TV to the iFi. I'm open to other suggestions too.

 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

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I'm kind of confused about how the TV / Tivo is set up.

I haven't played with the iFi so I'm not sure how the input works as far as which inputs are active when and how you select between them.

Is it working how you have it now?

I think you should have the Tivo plugged into your TV and then plug the adapter into the Audio OUT of your TV. It sounds like that's how you might have it set up now.
 

nikko

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Sep 12, 2000
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Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello


I think you should have the Tivo plugged into your TV and then plug the adapter into the Audio OUT of your TV. It sounds like that's how you might have it set up now.

I did just set it up like that. The problem is that if the TV and iTunes are both going, it plays both streams at the same time. Most of the time I won't have them both going, but sometimes I will. Muting the TV doesn't help. It just apparently mutes the speakers on the set itself, not the audio output signal. So I'm wondering if maybe I should buy a used very basic receiver. I mean, I should be able to switch between the TV audio and the Airport audio if I have them both hooked up a receiver and the adapter plugged into the receiver, right? Any reason that wouldn't work?

Thanks again for your help. You're a patient soul.