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pbmurphy
04-05-2007, 08:26 PM
A few months ago I recieved an interesting speaker as a birthday gift:

http://karmaloop.blogs.com/the_karma_blog_/images/kidrobot1_1.gif

It's made by hong-kong artist jason siu, and has a 150W max. not owning a home stereo system anymore, I was hoping to use it on my computer (via headphone port) I bought a Y-adapter to run from my headphone jack to the speaker's two jacks (red and black) and the speaker put out a clear, but very quiet, sound. A guy at tweeter audio said i needed an amplifier to power it, but stated he didn't know of a price-practical audio amp that could power the speaker. I believe he said I should look for something around 50 watts. I've been searching for a while now, but everything i find seems too powerful or has way more inputs and options than i need. I need a simple amp that can be powered from a wall jack, plug into my computer's 1/8" audio port, and drive a single 150w max speaker via it's 2 red and black 4mm jacks. any suggestions? will a car amp work? (they seem to be relatively inexpensive) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Feanor
04-06-2007, 04:06 AM
A few months ago I recieved an interesting speaker as a birthday gift:

http://karmaloop.blogs.com/the_karma_blog_/images/kidrobot1_1.gif

It's made by hong-kong artist jason siu, and has a 150W max. not owning a home stereo system anymore, I was hoping to use it on my computer (via headphone port) I bought a Y-adapter to run from my headphone jack to the speaker's two jacks (red and black) and the speaker put out a clear, but very quiet, sound. A guy at tweeter audio said i needed an amplifier to power it, but stated he didn't know of a price-practical audio amp that could power the speaker. I believe he said I should look for something around 50 watts. I've been searching for a while now, but everything i find seems too powerful or has way more inputs and options than i need. I need a simple amp that can be powered from a wall jack, plug into my computer's 1/8" audio port, and drive a single 150w max speaker via it's 2 red and black 4mm jacks. any suggestions? will a car amp work? (they seem to be relatively inexpensive) Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have first question or two. Do you intend to use these as computer speakers, (i.e. while you're using the computer), or do you want to use computer as a music source ifor more general use? Because If the former, then I agree you don't need an amp with a lot of inputs, etc.; if the latter, then you should't igonore the flexibility more features provide, including a bit more power.

The maximum power rating is one of the most often quoted, least often understood, and, for the home user, least relevant speaker specification. The more important spec it sensitivity, (-- without which the max power rating is useless anyway). Sensitivity gives you idea of how powerful an amp you provided you consider factor such as the size of you room and how loud you like to listen. Sensitivity is expresse in decibels, e.g. 87 dB, meaning 1 watt of continuous power will cause the speaker to play at a volume of 87 decibels as measure 1 meter away.

OK, so let's say your purpose is to play these speaker while using the computer with the speakers fairly close, say less than 6 feet away: one option (amoung many) would be this little amp that has a very high reputation of sound quality despite its low price. ...

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-952
You will want an AC power supply to go with the amp; (Parts Express suggests a couple -- go with the better one).

http://www.partsexpress.com/imageslarge/300-952l.jpg

pbmurphy
04-06-2007, 05:26 PM
thanks a lot, Feanor. To answer your questions, I only intend to use it as a close-range computer speaker. I'm still a student and move around quite a bit so I don't want a room-filling audio system or anything. The "max power" rating is unfortunately the only information that is cited about the speaker attributes, and is printed loudly on the utside of the box. It came with no manual, either. (yikes) As for the amp you listed, could you posibly give me the manufacturer's name? the parts express url seems to be invalid or their site is down. I really apreciate the help! thanks.

-Patrick

Feanor
04-06-2007, 07:32 PM
thanks a lot, Feanor. To answer your questions, I only intend to use it as a close-range computer speaker. I'm still a student and move around quite a bit so I don't want a room-filling audio system or anything. The "max power" rating is unfortunately the only information that is cited about the speaker attributes, and is printed loudly on the utside of the box. It came with no manual, either. (yikes) As for the amp you listed, could you posibly give me the manufacturer's name? the parts express url seems to be invalid or their site is down. I really apreciate the help! thanks.

-Patrick

Hi, Patrick,

The maker is Sonic Impact. Actually they make two models: The Class T and the Super T, the latter is pricier but does come with a power supply. Here's their link ...
http://www.si5.com/products.php?cID=42

The Parts Express URL is valid; so you might want to try it again. Their price for the Class T is a bit lower than Sonic Impact's.

pbmurphy
04-06-2007, 11:22 PM
thanks a bunch. I think i'll order the class t for starters and see how it goes. I was really expecting to pay a lot more for something like this! once again, many thanks.

Feanor
04-07-2007, 03:42 AM
thanks a bunch. I think i'll order the class t for starters and see how it goes. I was really expecting to pay a lot more for something like this! once again, many thanks.

Bear in mind, the Class T is modest power, so if you want 110 dB you might want replace it eventually, but should be fine for computer speakers otherwise.

Let us know how it goes.