How to connect passive speakers to an amplifier. Choosing an amplifier, cable and connecting speakers

If passive speakers are used to output sound from a TV or computer, the system must have a special power amplifier. For the implementation of the connection procedure, the number of channels does not matter - both stereo and 5.1 or 7.1 systems are connected in exactly the same way.

The amplifier is used in passive sound output systems, the speakers of which do not have built-in amplifiers in their design. Without a third-party amplifier, in this case, the sound quality will deteriorate, and due to a mismatch between the resistances of the speakers and the microcircuit that plays sound files, the sound card in the device may burn out.

Standard amplifiers are designed for stereo systems consisting of two speakers or two speakers and a subwoofer. They are connected to the amplifier by connecting it to the speakers using two RCA audio cables. If you need to amplify the sound for playback in 5.1 or 7.1 systems, you will need to combine several amplifiers into a single system or use an AV receiver.

Amplifier or receiver?

The receiver is, in essence, the same amplifier, only improved. It has a radio receiver and a device for decoding and distributing a multi-channel signal of different standards. For watching movies, a receiver would be the best choice, although you can use a separate decoder and separate amplifiers for each of the channels. If the speakers will be used to listen to high-quality music, on which the attention is focused more, you may need higher-quality equipment that creates less distortion. Here the choice is based on financial capabilities and the sensitivity of the ears - the standard system is quite enough. In order for all equipment to have an adequate cost, the price of the receiver should be no more than 100% of the cost of the speakers themselves.

Amplifier selection

When choosing a power amplifier, you need to pay attention to a number of its important characteristics:

maximum power;
operating power;
the distortion coefficient of the pure signal coming out of the microcircuit of the device that outputs sound to the speakers;
the number of available channels (usually 5.1 or 7.1);
a set of audio stream formats that can be processed by the device;
the number of audio inputs and, accordingly, the range of equipment available for connection.

You can, of course, rely on hearing, but in this case, the accuracy will not be very high, especially if you do not have enough experience. It is better to consider the following points:

the amplifier must have an impedance corresponding to the impedance of the speakers - a mismatch of values \u200b\u200bcan lead to a variety of consequences, from a simple deterioration in sound quality to a complete inoperability of the system;
the power of the amplifier must be at least a third of the maximum power of the available sound equipment;
the thickness of the wires for connecting speakers to the amplifier should be at least 1.5 mm2, the more the better.
Audio equipment can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including:
playback of music files of different quality;
playing video files;
recording, editing and mixing of music tracks.

In the latter case, obviously, the equipment must be of the highest quality so that the amount of distortion in the audio stream is minimized.

The use of equipment for other purposes does not necessarily imply complete sound purity. Some distortion when converting sound receiver is quite acceptable. Moreover, various types of distortions can decorate or spoil music, depending on its genre. Ideally, of course, distortion should not occur in the path of the chain amplifier - cable - speakers.

A set of connectors on the body of the receiver

A complete home theater receiver allows you to connect not only audio output, but also images. So it has the following interfaces:

connector for analog stereo sound - tulip, or RCA;
various connectors for digital audio - S / PDIF, multi-channel RCA, HDMI;
S-video;
scart.

For analog signals, component cables are best suited - tulips, and for digital signals - universal HDMI.

How to connect speakers to the amplifier

If you are using a passive sound system with a subwoofer, you will need a two-channel power amplifier. If there are a lot of speakers, you will have to use a four-channel amplifier. Do not connect both a subwoofer and an amplifier to a two-channel amplifier at the same time, as the power will become too large and the device may burn out.

Speakers are connected to the amplifier with special wires. Usually it is RCA, or a tulip, consisting of two cables - red and white for different channels. They are connected on one side to the speakers, on the other - to the corresponding connectors on the amplifier case. Then the amplifier is connected by cable to a device that outputs sound - a radio tape recorder, a computer or a TV. Remember that you can connect either two front speakers or one subwoofer to a two-channel amplifier, but not all of them.

You can connect 4 speakers or 2 speakers and a subwoofer to the 4-channel power amplifier. To connect speakers to the correct connectors, you need to focus on the labels of the audio inputs - the front connectors are called Front Left and Front Right for the left and right speakers, respectively, and the rear ones are Rear Left and Rear Right. If you also need to connect a subwoofer, then you should connect it to the connectors for the rear speakers, and in any case, the front speakers are connected to the front connectors.

As follows from the above, it will not work to fully connect a multi-channel system with an amplifier. You will either have to use separate amplifiers for each channel + audio signal decoder, or an AV receiver, which is more expensive, but provides better sound from a full-fledged high-quality sound system, such as a home theater.

Remember the safety of using all electronic devices. Do not turn on the sound system in the network until you have fully checked the correct connection of all electrical cables. Before assembling a sound system from speakers and an amplifier, you should study the user manual for both devices in order to fully understand the purpose of all connectors and understand all the markings on the speaker and amplifier cases.

After that, of course, assembling the system will not be any problem - just a few minutes to connect all the cables and you can start playing high-quality sound.

To watch a movie with sound or listen to your favorite music on your computer, you need to connect speakers or headphones to it. Let's figure out how to connect speakers to your computer. The connection method depends on the type of sound-producing devices - wired or wireless.

Wired speakers can be both very inexpensive and advanced music centers. Wires can get in the way on the table, but such devices reproduce sound without problems even on older PCs.

How to connect speakers to your home computer or laptop:

Place the speakers on the table. For harmonious sound reproduction, place the right and left parts correctly - they are usually marked by the manufacturer in the marking with the letters R and L, respectively. If there are no signs on the right hand, put the speaker from which the power wire comes.
Plug the power cord into a power outlet, if you have miniature USB speakers, connect them via a USB cable.
Directly connecting speakers to your computer, start from the right side. Insert the cable tulips into the speaker connectors, matching the colors of the sockets - place white in the port with a white stroke, red - with a red stroke.
Insert the third end of the wire into the computer's audio jack located on the back or front panel. The corresponding socket is highlighted in green.
Connect the right speaker to the left one using the wire in two tulips.
It remains to turn on the music to check the performance of the devices.

Together with the speakers, you can also use a microphone, transmitting an audio signal from it. How to connect a microphone to a computer and at the same time output sound to the speakers - insert the cable from the microphone into the correct jack on the computer. It is highlighted in pink and marked with an image of a microphone or a signature mic.

Problem solving

If there is no sound on the PC after connecting, it means one of the following problems:

The sound is turned off in the settings - click on the speaker icon in the tray and look at the volume level. If set to 0 or muted, just turn up the volume.
If the speakers themselves have a physical mute button, press it to wake up the device.
Check that the wires are connected correctly by checking the colors on the sockets and plugs.
In the "Device Manager" check the card drivers, if there are problems, reinstall them.

Music Center

If you have a music center at home, you can easily output sound from your computer to it without spending money on buying additional speakers. How to connect the music center itself to the computer:

you will need a special wire, at one end of which there is a minijack 3.5 connector, at the other - a white and red tulip;
insert tulips into the sockets of the musical center of the corresponding color;
put the other end into the PC audio output marked in green;
turn on the center, select AUX mode - playback from an external source.

You can output sound to a 5.1 speaker system in the same way, observing the colors of the plugs. But the computer must have a discrete sound card installed, with an increased number of connectors. In addition to the usual outputs for the microphone and front speakers, it has inputs for additional speakers and a subwoofer, digital S/PDIF.

Wireless

Wireless speakers are connected via Bluetooth. On laptops, the Bluetooth interface is usually built in by the manufacturer, but for a computer, you will most likely need an adapter - a small device in the form of a USB flash drive that is inserted into the USB port. Here's how to connect bluetooth speakers to your computer:

turn on the speakers;
on the column, hold down the button to connect to the network;
press the key combination Fn + F4 or Fn with another function button marked with a wireless icon;
in Windows 10, click on the networks icon in the tray, turn on Bluetooth in the menu;
in Windows 7, find and activate the plug-in speaker in the Devices and Printers section of the Start menu.

Also, in any version of Windows, you can open the "Device Manager" and click on the Bluetooth section. In the module properties, select "Enable". A wireless connection icon will appear in the tray, click on it and go to the "Add device" mode. The computer will find the source of the audio signal and offer to connect to the equipment.

If no sound is heard after connecting, check the bluetooth drivers. You can update them through the "Device Manager". Some manufacturers protect the connection of speakers with a password - you must enter it when connecting to a PC. The required combination is given in the documents for the device, if you lost it, try simple sequences like 0000.

Sound settings

After successfully connecting the acoustics, you just have to adjust the sound settings. How to set up speakers on a computer in Windows: right-click on the volume icon in the tray, go to "Sounds". On the "Playback" tab, check that the correct device for audio transmission is selected - your speakers. To always stream music to your speakers, click Default at the bottom.

In the same window, additional tools are available that will help in case of problems. Right click on your speakers, select "Test" from the submenu to test the devices. Also from here you can turn off the equipment.

Conclusion

We figured out how to quickly connect different types of speakers to your computer - from simple inexpensive ones to wireless and music centers. It is not difficult to output the sound, the main thing is to observe the colors of the plugs and sockets. To connect Bluetooth speakers to a PC, you need a wireless adapter.

Check the specifications of your speakers to determine the correct power range for your amplifier. In all loudspeaker systems, the maximum noise power is a function of the thermal power of the voice coil. Care should be taken not to overload any amplifier, as this can cause output signal overload, which leads to clipping or distortion of the output signal. Overloading for a long time can damage your speakers. As a general rule, a higher wattage amp running at high volume without distortion will cause less damage to your speaker system than a lower wattage amp with constant output clipping. Also keep in mind that a powerful amplifier running less than 90% of its maximum output power will usually produce better sound than a less powerful amplifier that has difficulty reaching 100% load. An amplifier with insufficient output power will not achieve maximum speaker performance. You can often tell immediately how good an amplifier is at handling difficult-to-load speakers by looking at its power ratings at 4Ω and 8Ω. The higher this ratio to 2:1, the better. it characterizes the ability to give current to the load.

The Yamaha A-S3000 amplifier's large toroidal transformer delivers plenty of clean, low-noise current. The internal circuitry of the left and right channels has been deliberately placed as far apart as possible to reduce inter-channel interference while maintaining the integrity of each channel's output to your speakers.

Choosing a speaker cable

Always use high quality cables that are affordable for your budget. The high quality audio signals from the amplifier to the loudspeaker are very demanding on the cable. A wide dynamic range and bandwidth must be provided at the same time as being able to carry at least 10 A peak currents without any signal loss or degradation. This explains why the quality of sound reproduced by loudspeakers is so dependent on the physical properties of the cables with which they are connected to the amplifier. We recommend that you always use cables of the same length for connecting left and right speakers. Keep in mind that cable design can affect sound quality, so be prepared to experiment to find the cable that's perfect for your hearing and audio system.

In order to minimize the influence of the cables on the frequency response to the point of being imperceptible to the ear, the cable impedance at all frequencies (with positive and negative conductors connected in series) must be kept as low as possible, and certainly less than 0.1Ω. At low frequencies, the DC resistance of the cable is the dominant factor, and you must choose a size large enough to achieve the required impedance for all lengths of cable you intend to use. At medium and high frequencies, the inductive component of the impedance dominates. These and other properties influence cable design features that are becoming more and more important.

How thick should the cable be?

The thickness of the wire is determined by the American Standard Index (AWG). The smaller the gauge index, the thicker the cable. Thicker wire provides less current resistance. Thick wire (12 or 14 gauge) is recommended for long wires and powerful amplifiers with low impedance speakers (4 or 6 ohms). For relatively short runs (less than 15 meters) and 8 ohm speakers, 16 gauge wire is usually sufficient. It is cost-effective and easy to work with such a cable.
Ask our consultant to recommend the right one for your system.

Relative thickness of wires of different gauge. (not actual size)

If you decide to connect your wire without, use a wire stripper to strip about 1 cm of insulation from the ends of each wire, exposing the bare strands of the cable. Carefully twist the exposed wire strands of each wire so that the strands do not get tangled. Loose strands can come into contact with another wire in the cable and cause a short circuit, potentially damaging your amplifier.

When connecting a speaker cable to an AV receiver, we recommend that you first install on the ends of the cable. Connecting a bare cable to the screw terminals of modern receivers is not the easiest and most pleasant process, and with cables with a banana plug, you just need to remove the center cap from the screw terminal of the AV receiver and insert the cable with a banana plug into the hole. This method ensures quick and convenient connection and disconnection of wires from the AV receiver.

From left to right: bare wire, male "needle" connectors, spade connectors, banana connectors, double banana connector.

The most elementary way to remove insulation requires nothing more than a sharp knife. However, it is extremely difficult to remove the outer sheath of the cable with a knife without damaging the insulation of the conductors. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you use a special cable stripping tool.

Connecting speakers.

To avoid possible damage to your speaker system, make sure the power to the amplifier is turned off before connecting or disconnecting any cables. Before turning on the power, double check that the connections are secure and correct polarity.

Speaker terminals

Grid

The protective mesh (grill) of the acoustic system has a high acoustic transparency. However, to ensure maximum clarity of sound, the audiophile may wish to slightly improve the sound quality by removing grids while listening. The mesh is held in place with pins or hidden magnets for an attractive look.

Protective grids of modern speakers are fixed on magnets

Body care

The cabinet of the speakers should only be cleaned with a dry cloth or a small amount of silicone-free furniture polish.

If you wish to use a cleaning spray, first remove the grille by gently pulling on the frame. Spray the wiping cloth, not the cabinet. Test the effect of the aerosol first on a small area of the surface, because. some substances may cause discoloration. Avoid abrasive, acidic, alkaline or antibacterial agents. Avoid getting detergents on the fabric of the protective grille, because. it may leave stains. The mesh fabric can be cleaned with a regular clothes brush or with a vacuum cleaner attachment. When putting the grills (grills) back in place, make sure that the pins are exactly aligned with the receiving holes in the cabinet before pushing them down. Avoid touching the speaker cones, especially the tweeters, as this may damage them.

It is very convenient to listen to music or watch a movie on a personal PC. The absence of annoying ads and the ability to stop watching a movie at any time is a significant advantage over watching TV. And the presence of special programs allows you to communicate with friends and relatives at any time of the day. But in order to be able to transmit sound, the computer must be equipped with speakers. It is sometimes very difficult for users who have nothing to do with technology to connect audio equipment. In our article, we will look at how to connect speakers to a computer without an amplifier.

The presence of two RCA inputs, the so-called tulips, at the speakers allows you to connect using a Mini jack audio cable (3.5 mm jack) to 2 RCA. The mini jack must be connected to a sound card with a green output when used as front speakers or as a stereo pair. Or you can use a 2 RCA-2 RCA audio cable and a mini jack adapter that works on 2 RCA inputs.

Each column has 2 terminals. In this case, you can completely use the cable from any headphones with a 3.5 mm mini Jack. For this:

Carefully cut off the speakers and carefully strip the wire.
After that, connect the stripped ends to the terminals, and mini Jack to the sound card.

Important! If you want to find a use for a decent music center, then it is best to purchase an inexpensive stereo amplifier, which will fully justify your costs.

With a similar method of connecting speakers to a computer, you will not be able to achieve a high-quality sound effect due to the low power rating - the output will be only a few watts. But this option is fully justified, since in any case, for the functioning of a passive speaker, you need to connect an amplifier. Otherwise, the speakers would simply gather dust on the shelves or, as unnecessary, they would have to be thrown into the trash.

How to connect active speakers 5.1 to a computer?

Before you start connecting speakers to your computer, you need to carefully study the capabilities of the audio card. To do this, you need to figure out how many inputs your PC sound card has. Having learned the number of "sockets" from the computer, you can connect. When connecting 5.1 speakers, you will have to use several sockets.

How to connect old active speakers to a computer without an amplifier:

We select a green cable from the speakers, which is a signal cable.
We connect it to the audio output connector, which is located on the back of the system unit and has exactly the same green tint.
We turn on the computer.
We turn on the speakers in the network and check the sound.

Important! If there are no sound levers in the speakers, then you should find a subsection on the control panel that is responsible for audio devices and sounds.

After that, turn on the “sound”.
Already in the panel we adjust the volume.

How to connect active 5.1 speakers to an old computer?

If your PC is an old modification and a little outdated, then the connection process is slightly different from the previous method. To connect active speakers 5.1, you must perform the following steps:

We connect the cables to the connectors. To do this, on the volume control module, you need to navigate by colors.
We make the connection of power, subwoofer, speakers, while paying attention to the polarity of the connectors.
We connect cables of the corresponding color scheme to the computer connectors.
Connect the front speaker cable to the green output.
Connect the rear speaker cables to the blue connector.
Connect the subwoofer cable to the pink input.
If necessary, we also connect a microphone to the pink connector.
We set up the computer by selecting the six-channel mode.

How to connect a speaker system to a computer?

In principle, it is not difficult to connect ordinary speakers to a computer, but connecting a speaker system can cause many difficulties for many users. In such a situation, there are several methods for solving this problem.

How to connect speakers to a computer without an amplifier? - First you need to determine the number of outputs or sockets that the sound card has in your computer.

7.1 system For modern built-in sound cards, it is possible to use 7.1 acoustics, which are marked with colored sockets on the motherboard.

Each color has its own purpose:

green output related to the front or so-called front speakers;
orange plug supports center channel and subwoofer;
black socket - for rear or rear speakers;
the gray output is directed to the side speakers, or they are also called surround speakers;
a blue jack is used for a line input, which can be used, for example, for a player, electro-acoustic guitar;
the pink output carries out the work of the microphone.

System 5.1

To connect 5.1 speakers, you will have to use several sockets that have the appropriate shades - green, orange and black. Here's how to connect passive speakers and a 5.1 subwoofer to your computer from an acoustic center:

On the rear panel of the system unit, we connect a cable with a green plug to the audio output connector, also green.
Based on the colors, we connect the remaining cables to the corresponding connectors on the sound card control module.

Important! During the process of connecting the cable to the sound card, the program displays which type of speaker corresponds to a particular socket. As a result, all three of the above connectors must be used.

We connect the subwoofer and speakers with an RCA-RCA cable, while connecting one end of the cable to the subwoofer, since most often it contains an amplifier. The other end is connected to the appropriate speaker.

Important! Lest you be mistaken, each RCA output on the subwoofer is labeled based on the type of speaker.

We set up the computer, while choosing the six-channel mode and using the sound card driver application, the Windows sound control panel.

Important! If you have a 7.1 speaker system, you will have to additionally use the gray connector on the motherboard to use the side speakers.

As a last resort, you can use the instructions for the motherboard, especially when you have to connect the headphone and microphone jacks on the front panel of the system unit of a computer device.

Connecting speakers to a computer via S/PDIF (digital output)

When you connect 5.1 speakers via SPDIF, you will need to prepare an SPDIF cable. For this purpose, you can use both optical and coaxial cables:

For coaxial - SPDIF inputs and outputs are made on RCA connectors. The digital signal is transmitted over a conventional cable with the appropriate connectors. The device that receives the pickup pulses filters them out, but there is still the possibility of losing some of the data.

Optical SPDIF uses an optical cable to transmit data. The inputs and outputs are made on Toslink type connectors, closed with plugs. Their presence helps to determine the interface type very quickly. In addition, Creative sound cards also use an optical interface using a mini Toslink cable. An optical cable does not respond to magnetic fields, since data is transmitted in the form of light pulses. Therefore, there is an opinion that the optical digital data transmission interface has much better protection from external influences than the coaxial one. Satellite receivers use the optical type of SPDIF interface.

Important! When choosing the type of connection, it is necessary to take into account the type of interface for connecting external signal sources on the amplifier case of the speaker system used. To do this, you need to use the cable to the digital output on the motherboard and connect it to the desired digital input connector on the speaker system. In the interface of the audio card, you should change the output port, while changing the analog signal to digital. Unless, of course, the driver does not have the ability to determine the connection to the digital output itself.

How to connect speakers for games?

How to connect passive speakers to a computer without an amplifier? Games are capable of outputting sound directly, without the use of various compressions. Therefore, there is still no way to create a larger stereo sound from the game via S / PDIF.

To correct this shortcoming, you need to purchase a sound card that can support Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect. These technologies have the ability to instantly encode multi-channel audio from a 5.1 or 7.1 game into a Dolby Digital or DTS digital signal and directly transmit via S/PDIF. With the practical operation of one of the described technologies, all the sound played on the analog outputs is re-encoded and sent to digital S/PDIF.

Consider how to get 5.1 sound from any source, for this:

In the sound card settings, select one of the presented 5.1 audio coding technologies: Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect.
In the Windows sound settings panel, select the analog outputs of the sound card as the main device.

User Misconceptions

Without having the necessary information, some users have misconceptions that can greatly complicate the process of using columns. Consider the most common:

At the end of the game, it is necessary to switch to the initial state for correct operation. If one of the on-the-fly encoding technologies is always enabled, then you will not be able to view and listen to files with multi-channel audio. Since they are encoded, they need to be output directly to S/PDIF anyway.

Important! In fact, you should not switch anything. When watching a movie in stereo, it is decomposed into 5.1. When you watch a video with a DTS or Dolby track, the sound is ideally split into channels. This situation is very well seen even on a player that has the ability to switch audio tracks, for example, The KMPlayer.

The process of on-the-fly encoding of a stereo signal from an mp3 file using DTS Connect or Dolby Digital Live is several times inferior to the hardware decomposition of such sound on a receiver or speakers.

Important! This is not true. When connected to the receiver acoustics of the same quality, there is no significant difference. The main thing is to adhere to the following condition, under which you would not forget to turn off the options in the settings of THX Studio Pro or in a similar "equalizer" of the sound card. Otherwise, various effects are created, for example, a voice can stand out in the general background image of the sound. In addition, the sound card plays an important role. Creative Titanium HD handles this perfectly.

How to connect active speakers to TV?

How to connect speakers without an amplifier not only to a computer, but also to a TV? There is nothing complicated in connecting speakers to a TV. For this, two RCA-RCA cables or a tulip-tulip are used. First you need to determine the presence of RCA inputs on the back of the speakers. The presence of RCA inputs allows you to connect one end of the cable to the L and R outputs, and the other to the speakers.

Important! If there is only one cable in the speakers that has a mini Jack at the end, then the connection is made to the headphone jack on the TV.

In the case of connecting a music center, an RCA-RCA cable is also used, which is connected to the L and R outputs of the television device. After that, the AUX mode is set on the music center, the RCA cable is connected to the AUX input located on the back of the music device.

Important! If your TV has an audio output in the form of a mini Jack jack, which is usually black, you will need to use a mini Jack-2 RCA adapter cable.

Video

In this article, we have considered all possible options for connecting speakers. We hope that now you have no questions left about this, and for any purpose you can get high-quality sound.

Today, the computer has entered our lives so much that it will probably be difficult to find a person who is unfamiliar with it. This device can replace a TV, a home theater, a DVD, and even a telephone. However, users who are fond of music are not always satisfied with the sound power of conventional speakers. Therefore, the best way out is to connect acoustics, which provides volume, volume and sound quality.

There are two types of acoustics: active and passive. So, from the very beginning you need to decide which one is the most suitable. Passive acoustics are those in which the amplifier is not built into the case and receives a signal from an external source. Active, on the contrary, has a built-in amplifier, from which the signal comes. When buying a receiver, first of all, you need to make sure that it has the required number of inputs. Some models may have all kinds of connectors, and some have only one of the above.

It is worth remembering that the number of output connectors for speakers fully depends on the type of connector used and may be different. The most common are:

screw;
banana;
quick-clamping.

Connecting passive acoustics

Having prepared everything you need (receiver, speakers and wires), you can proceed to the connection. Particular attention must be paid to the correct placement. Having placed the acoustics, you need to connect it to the receiver using the output connectors located on the rear panel for this, and only after that connect the receiver directly to the computer.

Connecting passive acoustics is done in this sequence, since some sound cards sometimes can not quite correctly identify the device. Of course, if the receiver is of high quality, then this happens extremely rarely. If it belongs to a lower price category, then small troubles may occur.

With great attention it is necessary to treat the connectors themselves and remember the purpose of each of them. Of course, on modern boards, even if you mix up the subwoofer and rear speaker connectors, you can always swap them without any negative consequences.

It is also necessary to remember well the RCA connectors used when connecting to the receiver and the cords to them. In most cases, the receiver's connectors are signed with special abbreviations, so it's quite easy to navigate here. But with cords, the situation is different - not every user can immediately figure out which of the end connectors of the cord is bass and which is central. It happens that manufacturers of connecting cords make marks on the corresponding plugs, however, this is quite rare. So the consumer can only rely on his memory or use the “by eye” method, that is, if he connected it incorrectly, swap it.

Before connecting acoustics, it would be useful to look at the circuit, which can be connected via three connectors: microphone input, line input and output. However, if the user owns a motherboard with six slots, then these three do not need to be used. You can simply connect using the other three.

If the owner has expressed a desire to connect a passive subwoofer to his acoustics, then this requires the use of an analog input, which must be present on the receiver. In addition, a subwoofer output connector is also used. In the scheme, in this case, there are minor changes.

The connection scheme to the passive system of an active subwoofer that works independently from the network has significant differences. First of all, it is worth remembering that the signal must be supplied only from the source, and not amplified from the receiver. To do this, you need to have only a wire with a connector. One plug of the wire is connected to an unused cable connector, and the second plug is connected to the subwoofer.

After carrying out all the above manipulations, the speaker system can be turned on, adjusted and enjoy the sound.

How to connect an active speaker system

Connecting active acoustics is quite simple, since a receiver is not used here, and the wires from the main signal source are connected directly to it. Unlike passive acoustics, in active acoustics, the signal source is located inside the subwoofer housing itself. The connectors that are used for connection are located on the rear wall.

In some active loudspeaker systems, the amplifier may be placed either in the cabinet or in each speaker. This placement is typical for active acoustics 5.0. If, for example, consider 2.0 acoustics, then you should know that it is characterized by the placement of an amplifier in each speaker. Since long wires from the signal source can contribute to sound distortion, unwanted noise, and so on.

A few years ago, acoustic models were released using a radio signal as a source. Of course, in this case, a wired connection is unnecessary. The device of such a speaker system was quite original, and consisted of the following:

the transmitter was connected to a computer and broadcast several different signals, each on its own frequency and only for its speaker;
an amplifier placed in the column received this signal and, having amplified it, output it to the speaker.

It would seem that it couldn't be easier. However, despite the advantages of such a connection, the system had a huge number of disadvantages, namely:

low quality radio signal;
electromagnetic interference from the operation of various household appliances, including speakers;
mandatory connection to the electrical network of each column separately;
loss of sound quality;
high cost.

These reasons served to ensure that such an acoustic system did not deserve popularity among users, and today it has ceased to be produced at all.

Using the SPDIF connector to connect acoustics

The speaker system can also be connected using an SPDIF cable. SPDIF is an interface that supports the transfer of digital audio signals from one device to another without being converted to an analog signal. It is this quality that helps to avoid degrading the sound quality. In addition, it can transmit a digital surround sound stream. There are optical and coaxial SPDIF interfaces.

The RCA connector, which is the same as that used in consumer audio products, is used in conjunction with the SPDIF interface. In some cases, an optical connector can also be used.

Coaxial SPDIF has all inputs and outputs on RCA connectors. In this case, the digital signal is transmitted using a connecting cord with appropriate connectors. The inputs and outputs of the optical cable are made on Toslink connectors, which have lockable plugs (a distinctive feature of this type of interface). The advantage of such a cable is that it does not react to magnetic fields, since data transmission takes place in the form of light pulses. Therefore, it, in comparison with coaxial, is considered more protected from various external influences. This is the reason for its use in satellite receivers.

Which connector to use can only be decided by the user. Most likely, it depends on the connector available on the receiver or acoustics.

However, using these tips, everyone can easily connect an existing speaker system to their computer.