5.1 Speakers to 2.1?

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Gawd
Joined
Dec 10, 2005
Messages
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I'm hoping someone can give me some pointers with this little project i have in my head. Recently my 5.1 speakers took a dump on me. All indications show the amp is out on them. Don't have any money to replace them at the moment so i thought to myself. Why can't i use the amp off of another set i have and hook them up to these speakers to create a neat 2.1 set?

I currently have a small set that came with an oem pc. The set unfortunately is not a 2.1 system. They draw power from usb. I'm just not sure how the sub comes into play on a 2.1 system. My question is, how would i go about adding the subwoofer? Does the amp need to support 2.1 or can i simple solder this to any of the two leads? Any info on this would be greatly appreciated.
 
Well, I'm honestly still not entirely sure what you're asking about, I'll take a stab at answering though.

In a 2.1 system, the subwoofer takes frequencies below a certain point, usually 150-250 Hz and will play them. Subwoofers always have their own amplifier as it takes quite a bit of juice to move that magnet.

SO, if the amp in the 5.1 setup is dead, then the subwoofers amp is dead because those cheap Dells most certainly only use one amplifier for everything.

Also (I believe) USB speakers & headphones take digital output data, those 5.1 speakers take analog output data. Thus you'd have to wire the subwoofer AFTER the (cheap-ass) DAC in the speaker. All PC subs should have built in amps and crossovers.

brief answer: personally I wouldn't bother, your 5.1's sound completely dead to me and if you just want 2.1 it would be cheaper to go and buy a 2.1 set than hack this together
 
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