Newb Help. Need some Recs. What should I get?

[SirStev0]

Setting up a makeshift set up in my basement.

I think all I need is an amp or receiver or whatever. I am an absolute noob at AV audio stuff. I just want a good set up for my kids. They want to blast What Up Danger and swing around like Spider-Man.
Do I need more than one speaker?

I got:
1. A real nice White Wall.
2. An old couch
3. Epson Home Cinema Full HD, 1080p, 2,500 lumens 3LCD Projector
4. Old Dell desktop with 2Tb of storage and wifi
5. Pioneer Andrew Jones Center Channel Speaker
6. Bonus have a 6 in 1 Victriola Nostalgia Record player that I guess I could connect too.

I don’t want to spend a ton because the audio is just a nice add on on my set up. Just want something simple that will last and will work.
This audio stuff is truly real low on my understanding. Any help will be massively appreciated.
Thanks. Back to lurking.

Edit/Update: I honestly don’t even know what brands to look at.. and the internet .. well, they seem divided.. I might as well be asking which is better Nvidia or AMD.

If the brand wasn’t repped in HipHop between the mid 90’s to mid 2000’s I don’t even know companies to watch out to find.

 

[IronWing]

The super cheap version:

My recommendation is that you go with a stereo receiver and a pair of speakers. What kind of output does the Dell have? The Victrola should have a headphone jack for output so if the Dell also has a headphone jack for output then the cheapest solution is to shop the thrift stores/pawn shops and look for a medium to biggish pair of speakers and a receiver that has at least two sets of RCA inputs on the back which are pairs of red and white (sometimes red and black) plugs. The RCA inputs might be labeled AUX In and Tape In which is fine as long as there are two sets. RCA inputs labeled "Phono" aren't usable for this so ignore those.


In the example above, you could hook the Dell up to the Aux pair of RCA inputs and the Victrola to the Tape Monitor In inputs. The Phono inputs can't be used as the electrical specs for Phono inputs are different than the others (a backwards compatibility thing for record players going back to the days of real Victrolas 🙂 ) .



Just about any receiver you're likely to find at a thrift/pawn shop is going to be 8Ω (ohms) and most speakers are also likely to be 8Ω so the odds of getting a mismatch are very low but you should check the back of the speakers to make sure they say 8Ω and not 4Ω.

The last pieces you'll need are speaker wire, headphone to RCA adapters, and headphone cords to connect it together. The RCA to headphone adapters look like this. You'll want two of these, one for input from the Dell and one for the Victrola.


Note the male RCA ends and the female headphone end. You'll need two male-male headphone cords to go with these.

 

[SirStev0]

The super cheap version:

My recommendation is that you go with a stereo receiver and a pair of speakers. What kind of output does the Dell have? The Victrola should have a headphone jack for output so if the Dell also has a headphone jack for output then the cheapest solution is to shop the thrift stores/pawn shops and look for a medium to biggish pair of speakers and a receiver that has at least two sets of RCA inputs on the back which are pairs of red and white (sometimes red and black) plugs. The RCA inputs might be labeled AUX In and Tape In which is fine as long as there are two sets. RCA inputs labeled "Phono" aren't usable for this so ignore those.

View attachment 38944
In the example above, you could hook the Dell up to the Aux pair of RCA inputs and the Victrola to the Tape Monitor In inputs. The Phono inputs can't be used as the electrical specs for Phono inputs are different than the others (a backwards compatibility thing for record players going back to the days of real Victrolas 🙂 ) .



Just about any receiver you're likely to find at a thrift/pawn shop is going to be 8Ω (ohms) and most speakers are also likely to be 8Ω so the odds of getting a mismatch are very low but you should check the back of the speakers to make sure they say 8Ω and not 4Ω.

The last pieces you'll need are speaker wire, headphone to RCA adapters, and headphone cords to connect it together. The RCA to headphone adapters look like this. You'll want two of these, one for input from the Dell and one for the Victrola.

View attachment 38942
Note the male RCA ends and the female headphone end. You'll need two male-male headphone cords to go with these.

View attachment 38943

My first move was to hit the goodwill and a few antique/second hand stores and I completely struck out. Our Goodwill apparently decided to stop carrying electronics and furniture since the Rona started (they also moved locations). I used to see tons of that stuff there but nothing.

I also am nervous about getting a system that’s overly complex. I kinda wish I had a nice simple plug and play sound bar set up or something. If I didn’t have that brand new out of the box Pioneer Center Channel speaker I probably would.

 

[Stiff Clamp]

Is $228 too much?? ( + $14 extra for speaker wire, + whatever interconnecting cables needed as IronWing listed )

I think a budget brand that's still respectable is Dayton.

This pair of speakers sells for $70 + $8 shipping on Amazon. Only 4" drivers though, which means no real bass, AFAIC.

Dayton Audio MK402X 4" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker Pair

Yamaha and Sony make a basic 2-channel (stereo) receiver going for $150 on Amazon.

The Sony has a phono input for the record player, if it uses a magnetic cartridge for output. If NOT, simply use the regular line-in plugs to hook-up the record player.

Sony STRDH190 2-ch Home Stereo Receiver with Phono Inputs & Bluetooth
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TB1P7XJ/

 

[Stiff Clamp]

Don't know how to incorporate that center channel Pioneer speaker you have. Don't think it's possible with a stereo receiver .... as is being recommended here.