scstrickland
376 posts
Dec 18, 2009
7:14 PM
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Okay, this is kicking my ass! Either the technology has not properly integrated or I'm old and out of the loop. Help me out here.
I can't figure out a good way to use my stereo.
Here is what is going down: I have a Bad@ss Onkyo receiver and CD player I laid down over a grand for back in '98. Since it was a cool system I built a cool cabinet W/cd storage for it. Nice, clean and compact. About 2000 I looked into upgraded my old speakers to surround sound. I decided surround sound sucks! Its great for movies because it creates a sweet spot. Get up to get a beer and you leave the sweet spot. I have built myself four old school Hi fi speakers, put them in each corner of the house and the place is rocking! Life is good.
Then came MP3's. Most of my music is now housed on my computer. I don't want to listen to music on my computer. I want to hear it on my bad@ss stereo. So this is my set up. I put my computer on my stereo cabinet and connect a power cord via extension cord and then use another cord to connect my computer to an input on my receiver. I have blown a fuse doing this 8^( The problem is I have a Cluster F&%k of wires running into my otherwise cool Stereo system. I have looked for modern stereos that will play MP3's but they are all cheesy little things that won't drive my speakers. I suppose people have changed the way they listen to music. How do you do it?
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javajoe
10 posts
Dec 18, 2009
7:35 PM
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I don't own a receiver anymore. I have a 12 channel powered PA with my 6 disc changer running into it. 2-12 inch Yamaha PA speakers (with horns)I burn my music off the laptop to disc and have 500 watts to play with. I have an amp and vocal mic'd into the PA as well as 2 rhthym machines... Excellent for practicing but the PA speakers aren't the greatest for just listening.
Last Edited by on Dec 18, 2009 7:37 PM
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scstrickland
377 posts
Dec 18, 2009
7:43 PM
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Sweet java. Go straight to the club sound! I like it. OUTRAGEOUS! But why burn to CD? Isn't the technology moving away from that? Wouldn't it be cool it you could stream radio, buy, download and store music strait off the internet through a quality receiver?
Last Edited by on Dec 18, 2009 7:44 PM
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isaacullah
508 posts
Dec 18, 2009
8:04 PM
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Hey Sean, the new move is to streaming audio from your computer or ipod via Bluetooth to your stereo. I think the device is called a stareo gateway or soemthing. I was reading about this a while back. Basically, you plug this thing into your stereo, and it connects via blue tooth to your computer or whatever. It's a two way t hing so that you can control the playback on your computer through this thing via a remote... THere's some fance name for the bluetooth protocol that let's you do this. It's been out about a year or so by now I think... Have a search on googlw. I know you can get 'em on amazon cause that's where I first came across it...
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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scstrickland
378 posts
Dec 18, 2009
8:17 PM
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Thanks Isaac, I'll look into that. Looks like you have been enjoying some Dos Equis this evening. 8^)
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javajoe
11 posts
Dec 18, 2009
8:18 PM
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Strick.. I burn CD's to listen to them in my truck also.
I have portable Mp3 player but it seems more convienent to me to stuff them in a 48 place CD "book". (no batteries required!)
I practice at stage volume most of the time, mostly for the vocal work but I love to crank the amp to the sweet spot. Wife and neighbors have been very okay with it and tell me "if you sucked, it would be different".
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scstrickland
379 posts
Dec 18, 2009
8:27 PM
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java, you called me STRICK! I like that, it has a nice ring to it. Kinda like a stage name, very cool.
I like the idea of a Blue tooth thing. But having your own PA system for music and harpin' would be cool also.
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javajoe
12 posts
Dec 18, 2009
8:50 PM
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I try and keep it as old school and simple as I can without falling too far behind...There's less to deal with and less to go wrong.
Back in the 70's I had a supervisor in the shipyard (Newport News, you know where I'm talkin 'bout)His name was Strickland... We called him "Strick" or "Strick-nine cause he was both...
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nacoran
564 posts
Dec 18, 2009
10:06 PM
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We are buying my mother a system for her house that uses a wifi signal from her computer to several speakers. It's not an audiophile's system, but it should give her decent sound with access to all her music. You can go crazy with this stuff. I have a friend who went to school as a music tech. I asked him what system he would hook up in his house and I had to rephrase the question for my more modest budget. He was talking about a multi-room array that compensated so the speakers didn't interfere with each other, you different stuff to each room, control each room from that room (even although it was connected to a central computer), all wireless...
Strick- you should get a band with 8 other members. You could call yourself The Strick9!
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Stickman
2 posts
Dec 19, 2009
4:37 AM
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Hey everybody! I'm hijacking my own thread! Thanks to Javajoe and nacoran I have decided to do something that I have been thinking about doing for a long time. Creating my own harmonica Identity-stage name-moniker or whatever you call It. I really like STRICK but decided to go with STICKMAN as it relates to my profession. i.e., "I can't even draw a stickman." Strick9 is cool also. When I taught high school my students called me Mr. strychnine and my favorite Mr. Boaconstrickland. So I'm coming out, I am now Stickman. Thanks for the inspiration guys. I truly was flatter by and will continue to respond to "Strick".
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The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
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gmacleod15
23 posts
Dec 19, 2009
5:54 AM
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I have a very basic (and cheap) setup that will allow you to do what want Strick. I don't blow fuses...I'm not sure why you are.
I play my music through my laptop PC into my stereo (home theatre system) by using a $1 cable.
The cable has a 1/8 male plug on one end and 2 RCA plugs on the other end. The 1/8 end goes in the headphone jack on the PC and the RCA jacks go into the Line In (Tape or Aux)on the stereo. You can get these cables most anywhere that sell electronics (including Dollar stores or walmart)
Now your connected and can listen to your MP3s using your Windows media player and your bad ass sound system.
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Stickman
3 posts
Dec 19, 2009
6:13 AM
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Thats how I do it gmac. I blew the fuse using my Ipod. The explanation I was given as to why that happened is that an ipod or a PC gives out an amplified signal and the RCA input is designed for a pre-amped signal. To avoid blowing another fuse I was told to turn all volume (stereo and PC) completely down before you set it up then bring the volume up slowly. The problem I have with this set up (besides the potential of blowing a fuse) is having to run cables all over to set this up and the inconvenience of having my computer sitting on my stereo. It just seems that the old technology doesn't mesh well with the new. I know this is kind of petty but I look at it like having to put Rabbit ear antennas (complete with tin foil) on your plasmas screen TV. Ideally, I would like to see a stereo manufacturer create a reciver/tuner that will stream, download and store music thus eliminating the PC from the mix.
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The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland
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pharpo
24 posts
Dec 19, 2009
7:16 AM
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Use a mini jack to stereo (left /Right) cable. plug the stereo plugs into the aux or phono in - and the mini jack in to the headphone of the ipod. CRANK IT
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Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
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Bb
112 posts
Dec 19, 2009
7:41 AM
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Yup. Mini jack into AUX. That way I can use my iPod (which at 80GB hold my whole collection+) or use my iPhone and stream Pandora (which is awesome, btw) over the stereo.
Simple. Great sound. Welcome to the 21st Century.
-Bob
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DesertDog
22 posts
Dec 19, 2009
8:10 AM
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I've been trying to figure out the same thing! I just finished putting all my CD's on a 1/2 TB mini hard drive. Now the question is the best way to get them to my stereo system. I was thinking about using a laptop, but it seems like you would want something with a good sound card. Plus you would have to dedicate the laptop to just playing music. I've also seen the Apple AirPort Express which streams music to a stereo system using wireless network. Anybody have experience with that?
Mark
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Kingley
549 posts
Dec 19, 2009
8:14 AM
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I used to have an Apple Airport Express. Great piece of kit. I used JBL Creature Speakers plugged into it and then just played everything from my Macbook via the Airport Express. Great sound!
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