Looking for some tech advice. I would like to hook up my laptop to my receiver unit and play mp3 and wav thru my stereo. Has anyone done something like this to enjoy their computer stored music. Nice to have these files on HD but sound thru computer speakers doesn't sound as appealing as thru stereo speakers'. TIA for advice



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-08-25 15:47 by bv.

Works fine.

If your receiver has Bluetooth that's an even simpler connection.

I use mp3's stored on a thumbdrive (I guess that's the same as store on a laptop) and then I use powered speakers as the amp and speaker. I have 2 sets of powered speakers, one set at the laptop, and one set in another room. The powered speakers at the laptop are AudioEngine. I have an AudioEngine DAC (Digital Audio Converter) at the laptop also which has a volume knob on it. The thumb drive with the music is plugged into the laptop. The powered speakers in the other room are Emotiva brand. None of this stuff is cheap. The AudioEngine and Emotiva speakers were expensive but more or less some of the best you can get. The DAC may have been about US$200, if I can remember correctly. Hooking this stuff up was easy as I remember, and the powered speaker manufacturers, and DAC manufacturer all provide good instructions, plus instuctions for this type of thing can be found on the internet. As far as connecting a laptop to an amp or receiver, I do not know. My idea in all of this was to get rid of the stereo amp or receiver and to let the laptop, DAC, and powered speakers act as the complete stereo. I get excellent sound with all of this, in my opinion. I wish I could be more specific with this but it has been many years since I set it all up, and I do not remember all of the details.

I was mostly looking for a cable I could run from my laptop to my stere receiver and hook up to the back input

well i can't speak to newer or higher end setup ups but if you are using an older receiver or amp with composite ports (the red and white ports) on the back get yourself a cable like this amazon and connect the composite ends to the back of the receiver/amp in an open spot (aux, cd, tape etc.) then connect the other end of the cable into your laptops headphone port

turn up the volume on the laptop select the source on the receiver that corresponds to the port you've hooked the cable to and your ready to play your music

edit

the cable in the amazon link in my post is i think what you need sorry i didn't see your above post before i posted mine



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-08-24 16:01 by ProfessorWolf.

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DandelionPowderman

If your receiver has Bluetooth that's an even simpler connection.

Or use an external Bluetooth receiver, connected to the Home Stereo. No need to constantly plug/unplug cables then:


[www.Amazon.com]

If you just want to do it via a wired connection, all you need is a cable like this (assuming your computer has a headphone jack).

If you want to do something wireless, I would recommend a Wiim Pro Plus. This will allow you to stream in high quality from your computer or (I believe) connect an external hard drive with all of your files to the Wiim and then control it wirelessly.

One thing to note, when looking at any device, is the DAC (digital to analogue converter) that is has on board. This is why I recommended the Wiim Pro Plus over there other models as it features a much better DAC. It's quite a rabbit hole to go down but essentially it's the part of the device that turns those 1's and 0's into what you hear so it's an extremely important part of the chain.

I have done what this poster suggests:

"Or use an external Bluetooth receiver, connected to the Home Stereo. No need to constantly plug/unplug cables"

Works great. The Bluetooth receiver is 'permanently' connected to one of my 1987-era amp's inputs ("AUX") and all I have to do is click on the phone/computer's Bluetooth option to connect to the Bluetooth receiver that I got at Amazon.

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Irix

Quote
DandelionPowderman

If your receiver has Bluetooth that's an even simpler connection.

Or use an external Bluetooth receiver, connected to the Home Stereo. No need to constantly plug/unplug cables then:


[www.Amazon.com]

I have a version of this...works great.

What inputs do you have on your receiver?

I use laptop (or phone) to receiver via an 1/8" aux cable. Receiver has an external input dedicated for this very purpose.

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treaclefingers

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Irix

Quote
DandelionPowderman

If your receiver has Bluetooth that's an even simpler connection.

Or use an external Bluetooth receiver, connected to the Home Stereo. No need to constantly plug/unplug cables then:


[www.Amazon.com]

I have a version of this...works great.

This is an even better option, just make sure your know when you're hooked up to bluetooth

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TravelinMan

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treaclefingers

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Irix

Quote
DandelionPowderman

If your receiver has Bluetooth that's an even simpler connection.

Or use an external Bluetooth receiver, connected to the Home Stereo. No need to constantly plug/unplug cables then:


[www.Amazon.com]

I have a version of this...works great.

This is an even better option, just make sure your know when you're hooked up to bluetooth

Well, the absolute best option is to forgo the bluetooth altogether and just put on a record.

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treaclefingers

Quote
TravelinMan

Quote
treaclefingers

Quote
Irix

Quote
DandelionPowderman

If your receiver has Bluetooth that's an even simpler connection.

Or use an external Bluetooth receiver, connected to the Home Stereo. No need to constantly plug/unplug cables then:


[www.Amazon.com]

I have a version of this...works great.

This is an even better option, just make sure your know when you're hooked up to bluetooth

Well, the absolute best option is to forgo the bluetooth altogether and just put on a record.

Define "best"


For this guy he wants to play stuff from his computer