Yes you can. I recently performed this very feat, but it was mind-bogglingly difficult. There are no fewer than 30 screws to pull. (Of many, many different varieties) Worst of all is the hidden latch that keeps the keyboard area attached to the rest of the machine. Requires some kind of picking...
I have always and will always recommend HSU subs. Get the best one you can afford. No matter which one you get, you've made a wise investment. I don't know what kind of onboard sound your computer has. The past few years have seen board manufacturers including phenomenal audio chips on their...
Oh. My. God. I am so stupid. When I wrote that HSU subs aren't powered, I failed to remember that I plugged mine into the wall. The damned audio cable I used is as big as the ones powering my speakers, and I completely forgot about the power cable. (got confuuuused)
So yes, the HSUs are...
You hear this a lot in the audio world (more than you should) but the difference is "night and day." You really, really, should have a sub to accompany bookshelf speakers. Anyway, you can get away with quite a bit at college, volume-wise. Nobody wants to be the nagging neighbor that asks you to...
actually, many companies offer dedicated center channels, usually calibrated to reproduce dialogue more accurately than the mains or surrounds. Here is a very nice one.
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340c/cmt340c.html
click the screen all the way at the top, or alternatively, hit the menu button at the bottom left (the silkscreen button, not the physical one). Should bring up a menu that has Delete as one of the optons. Hit that and it should tell you the amount of free space remaining.
Nonsense! Interference comes from electromagnetic waves inducing currents on these wires. These don't get blocked by anything, but if you ground some kind of metallic shield, it will naturally oppose these outside waves (unless they are constant.)
Electrical tape would just be decoration.
Your soundcard would connect to a receiver or preamp and amp combo, which would then power these bookshelves. The soundcard by itself barely supplies enough power to drive headphones directly.