1. Can I hook speakers up to my TV?
No. Sorry, you can't just simply hook up a set of stereo or surround sound speakers directly to a TV.
Why? Standard stereo or surround sound speakers need an amplifier to drive them. They are what is known as "Passive Speakers." "Active Speakers" have amplifiers built into them. Passive speakers do not. The output connections on the back of a TV are low level outputs designed to be hooked up to some type of amplifier. This usually takes the form of a receiver. However an integrated amplifier will also work. See the glossary for an explanation of these terms. A Home Theater or Surround Sound receiver will have not only the power amplifier necessary to drive speakers but will also have decoder circuits to provide surround sound from the signal provided by your TV. If you buy a receiver, the owner's manual will have a section that will help you decide what is the best way to set up the connection between the receiver and your TV.
1a. I have some old stereo speakers that I want to hook up to my computer / iPod / DVD player, etc,. How do I do this?
See the above question about hooking speakers up to a TV. The same principals apply. Older stereo speakers and standard, non-powered stereo speakers are "Passive Speakers" and will not work unless that are hooked up to a device with a power amplifier built into it to power them such as a receiver.
2. Can I hook speakers up to my turntable / record player?
No but we have to be clear what we are talking about here. A record player is an all in one unit. It has speakers built into it and by and large modern record players have no output terminals for external speakers. A turntable is just that. It has no built in speakers. However you can not attach speakers directly to it. Speakers need an amplifier to power them and the amplifier needs a special preamplifier circuit for a turntable.
Al little history will explain why. Old records, the 78 rpm shellac records and the early Edison cylinders, were pretty simple and definitely low fidelity. They had short playing times too. When engineers decided that something better was needed they came up with the LP or Long Playing record. The key to this was the "microgroove." The groove in which the needle (or stylus) rides is many times smaller than the groove on the early records. The weight of the tone arm assembly and the force that it exerts on the groove is therefore many times lighter than the early records. It was found that bass sounds would literally make the needle jump off the records. The solution to this was to drastically decrease the bass during recording and to increase it during playback - an equalization circuit. This is why a special pre-amp circuit was developed and it is the "phono input" you will find on all equipment from those days. All was hunky-dory for a couple decades and then CDs came out and manufacturers decided that LPs were extinct and the special phono input was not longer needed. Some people clung to LPs and the "Golden Ears Crowd" insisted that they sounded way better than CDs but they were such a small market that only a very small amount of audiophile equipment was made for them. Now there is a resurgence in LPs and some manufacturers are again making components with phono inputs. This what you have to look for and is one reason you can't just plug a set of speakers into a turntable.
However there are other factors to confuse matters. There are two basic types of phono cartridges:
1. Magnetic. This is like a tiny dynamic microphone with coils of wire and magnets.
2. Ceramic. This uses a crystal to convert vibration into electrical signals. It has higher output but lower fidelity which is why it is used on cheaper equipment and does not need the high - level, equalized preamp. It's what one finds in the all in one systems - record players.
Just to muddy the waters further; within the hierarchy of magnetic cartridges there are two types:
Moving coil and moving magnet. Suffice to say that the moving coil type is far less common and was developed for the hard-core audiophile crowd. It has an even lower output than the standard moving magnet cartridges and requires an even more sensitive pre-amp.
As for modern turntables, they come in several variations. As much of the audio equipment out there still does not have a phono input, many come with the pre-amp built in. Some are designed to simply plug into a computer via USB, some have standard RCA jacks and some have both.
3. Can I use car audio gear inside with a stereo / home theater?
Theoretically yes but it will either be more trouble than it is worth and / or probably won't sound very good.
Why? If you want to bring in your amps and subs you will either have to have a car battery to power them (which you will have to keep recharging) or will have to have a sizable power supply which will cost as much as a decent home style subwoofer. This is because the power system in vehicles is DC and the current coming out of a wall outlet is AC. If you want to use just the subs they will not work with the sub-out on your receiver. You will need a separate amplifier to power them. Again, such a unit will cost as much as a home style subwoofer. You could simply plug them into the receiver's speaker outputs but this will create other problems. The lower impedance this will create could damage the receiver or cause it to go into protection mode. Automotive subs do not have crossovers so will allow all kinds of distorted midrange to come through. You will also not get the bass from the channels that the subs are not hooked up to. A sub-out on a modern receiver "sums" the bass from all channels. Additionally car audio speakers are built to different standards than home audio speakers. They are not built for smooth, accurate, transparent sound as any good, high fidelity home stereo speaker should be. They are built for brute power and to produce as much bass as possible. Generally this is very boomy bass and emphasizes a rather narrow frequency band.
4. I want to replace the woofer in my speaker(s) with X brand woofer. Will it work?
Probably not.
Why? I'll tell you why but first I'll address the assumptions that people make about such things. 1. The woofer is the same size. It will fit into the hole in the front panel of the speaker so it should work. 2. It has the same wattage rating or larger wattage rating than the original speaker so it should sound the same or better if it "has more watts". 3. Both #1 and #3 and it is the same impedance (Ohms) as the original woofer.
These three assumptions are erroneous. This is because the average person is not familiar with the design properties of speakers. Woofers (all speaker drivers for that matter) have certain perimeters that determine how they will perform. These are called T/S, or Thiele / Small perimeters. Speakers designers use these numbers to design enclosures which are an integral part of the speaker, not just a cosmetic item to hide the nuts and bolts looking guts. A replacement woofer must have T/S numbers that are identical or very close to the original or the enclosure must be modified (a longer or shorter vent if it is a vented system) to enable the replacement woofer to deliver acceptable performance.
Often people want to use car audio woofers to replace a home audio woofer. This is usually not advisable for a variety of reasons. See question #3. Car audio woofers are built to take a pounding and are very over-built. As a result, not only are their T/S numbers usually unacceptable for use with a home audio speaker enclosure but they are usually of too low an impedance and are too inefficient to match the tweeter's (and midrange if it is a 3 way system) output.
Here is a link to T/S design perimeters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiele/Small
5. Speaker A has more watts than speaker B so it will play louder / sound better than speaker B.
Probably not. Speakers do not "have watts." Wattage ratings on speakers are simply an indication of how much power they will handle - the point at which they will suffer damage or "blow out." They are no indication of any other performance property, loudness, fidelity or frequency response. True, while a $1,500 set of audiophile quality speakers is likely to have a higher wattage rating than a $99 set of discount store speakers it is not that wattage rating that makes them better.
6. Can I use the speakers from my old stereo / home theater with a new receiver?
Maybe but probably not. This question is often asked by people who have purchased a HTIB(Home Theater In a Box) or "all in one system." What usually happens with these systems is the main unit malfunctions. This unit is a combination of amplifiers, pre-amplifiers a blue ray or DVD player and various other hardware / circuitry. Some will call it a "receiver" but that's not an accurate description. In any case when it breaks you are still left with a bunch of speakers and a subwoofer (which technically is a speaker too). Rather than throw out all those perfectly good speakers it's logical to assume that one would want to keep them and put them to use by buying a receiver and hooking them up to it. There are two reasons why this may not be possible:
1. The subwoofers used with HTIB are passive. They do not have a built in amplifier. The subwoofers that are designed to work with modern receivers are active. They have a built in amplifier. You will not have a speaker level output on a modern receiver where you can hook up your HTIB subwoofer.
2. The speakers that are usually used with HTIB are low impedance. They are often as low as 3 Ohms. Modern receivers can not drive such low speaker loads without damage or tripping the protection circuit. Most receivers require speakers of 6 Ohms or greater.
If you find that your speakers are the right impedance then you are safe to use them. The impedance should be on a label on the back. Still you will be stuck with that passive subwoofer. Quite frankly the speakers that come with HTIB are not of a very high quality. You are better advised to buy a set of new speakers and a subwoofer if you are going to the trouble to buy a new receiver. Yes, I know, it's a lot more money but if one component fails you aren't stuck with something that can't be used with anything else.
Glossary:
( Be advised that this part is under construction - it takes time to provide quality definitions and time is always at a premium)
Active speaker: A speaker system with built in power amplifier and pre-amplifier circuits and a power supply. The two most common types of active speakers are computer speakers and home subwoofers. Sound reinforcement speakers are also often active. Active speakers usually have a volume control and sometimes tone controls. An active speaker can be plugged directly into a device such as a computer or MP3 player without the use of an additional component that contains an amplifier such as a receiver.
Amplifier: In electrical terms the most general definition an amplifier is any device that makes a signal larger or more intense. This can mean anything from the device in a radio transmitter that steps up the current at the tower to a tiny circuit in an iPod. However for our purposes we are talking about three types of devices: 1. A receiver. This is by far the most common and is basically a radio tuner with a built in power amplifier. See "Receiver." 2. An Integrated Amplifier. This is basically a receiver without the radio tuner. It has all the pre-amplifiers and tone controls that allow you run your other components and adjust the sound to your liking and of course has a power amplifier that will drive your speakers. In general, integrated amplifiers are not as common but are built to high standards due to the fact that they are aimed at a market with more discriminating tastes. 3. Power amplifiers. A power amplifier is just that. It amplifies and that's all. It has no tone controls and most do not have volume controls. It simply steps up the current enough to drive speakers. It must be connected to a device with a pre-amplifier. The most common power amplifiers are made for sound reinforcement and car audio although many car audio power amplifiers have devices built into them such as filters and crossovers so they are technically integrated amplifiers. I should also mention that there are many high - end audiophile quality amplifiers which are usually quite expensive and many are of the tube type. Additionally I should also mention that besides the two basic types of power amplifiers, tube (or valve) and transistor, there are also several different classes of amplifiers. It can be a bit complicated to understand as it has to do with how the amplifier treats the wave form but suffice to say that the most common are type AB. This a compromise with type A being the best for sound but the wost for efficiency. Type D is becoming the most common being "digital" and is starting to dominate the car audio market. Again, as this can be complicated having to do with waveform treatment I won't touch upon the other classes. There is plenty of information on the web.
Audiophile: (see also High Fidelity) According to Webster an Audiophile is "A person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction." However you have to take into account the key word "High Fidelity." Someone who just likes to "chew gear" and blast loud music is not, by definition, an Audiophile and this takes in most of the car audio crowd. A true Audiophile strives for the unattainable perfect reproduction of sound, as if the sound system is not there and you are listening to the sound live, in person, whether it be Justin Bieber, Steely Dan, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, The New York Philharmonic, Glen Gould, a steam calliope or a passing freight train. The more extreme (and well-heeled) Audiophiles will spend as much as half a million dollars (if not more) on their systems. Audiophiles in general look down upon such things as surround sound, tonal enhancements such as bass boost and anything at all that adds coloration to the sound. Hard-core audiophiles prefer analog sound from a turntable and prefer tube amplifiers to transistor amplifiers and wouldn't be caught dead with a receiver, preferring separate components. However, one needn't be that extreme to consider oneself an Audiophile. There are many components such as receivers and CD players that are built to Audiophile standards. In general, by modern standards you can consider yourself an Audiophile if the mainstream, run of the mill, audio gear that you would find in a chain or bargain store isn't good enough for you.
Bass module
Blown
Component
Crossover
Efficiency
Hertz: Named after Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist
Home theater
HTIB
Line level:
Microphone
Midrange
Ohm
Passive speaker
Pre-amplifier
Receiver
Record player
Sound field
Speaker
Stereo
Subwoofer
Surround sound
Thiele / Small perimeters
Tuner
Turntable
Tweeter
Watt
