PSW10 & Monitor 40 Series II Direct Hookup to Computer

neeman

Hey all,

New to the forums -- new to stereo eq in general, really, so I'm struggling here to set up my new hardware.

I recently got myself a PSW10 sub and Monitor 40 Series II speakers, and am trying to hook it all up to my computer. Based upon a previous Klipsch, I've ran stereo wire (gold banana plugs on the speaker side) into the Speaker Level Output ends of the sub, and a Y cable from the red/white line in to my 1/8" computer jack. The sub works but not the speakers.

Any help would be great! I'm trying to avoid buying a receiver currently, and was hoping that the sub could power the speakers.

Thanks!

neeman

I apologize in advance if I've embarrassed myself. Musician flatmates weren't able to do much for me.

RuSsMaN

The sub will not power the speakers. You need some sort of amplifier, preferrably with volume control. If you want to go cheap, find a small tripath amp on ebay or partsexpress - they start around $20 and go up from there.

Welcome to the boards, and thanks for choosing Polk Audio!

Cheers,
Russ

neeman

Thanks Russ, though it's a bummer. I'd shell another $100 to get it all working right, but I'll need some hand holding here.

RuSsMaN

You can find something to drive them for $100 for sure. Do you want a receiver? Do you want something small? New, used?

neeman

I'm still not entirely sure on the set up. Shooting from the hip here, but power amps require pre-amps, right? If so, I figure I may as well just go for a receiver.

Even then, I don't have the clearest of maps in my head. Would it be as simple as wiring everything to the receiver, and then the receiver to the comp?

For the receiver, new or used is not too important for me. Sucker more for the deal really (hence the current dilemma, heh). As I understand it (?), higher end receivers preserve sound quality more. I'm not sure how much this consideration would necessarily come into play with the speakers and sub I have. Sizewise, say 15" x 12" x 5" max would be fine.

Thank you, Russ, I appreciate the help. Once it's set up, I encourage you to request the first song.

nguyendot

You just need a cheap stereo receiver. It will take the input from your PC and power your speakers, and should have an output for your sub.

RuSsMaN

Just off the top, without getting complicated, or going through exhaustive searches - I'll just throw this one out - the Audiosource Amp 100. It's on sale at Partsexpress for $88, free shipping. It's a solid 50 watts continuous per channel, and has front monted volume and balance controls. It's new, it's got a warranty, kind of a no brainer for the budget.

You'll need a y-cable that goes from 1/8th inch stereo to RCA stereo to hook up the computer soundcard to the amp. From the amp, run speaker cables to the subwoofers high level inputs, and speaker wires out of the subwoofers high level outputs to your speakers. Tweak the volume and crossover settings on your sub, you're done.

Cheers,
Russ

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=302-601