pc speakers

Genome

north west south west
anyone know, if i take pc speakers apart will they still work?

they are just the standard hp satellite speakers..

also are they how well are pc speakers shielded?
these need to be housed withing 2 feet of my mobo,hdd,video card, etc.

thanx
 

onewecallgod

New member
Don't worry about it. Your computer in itself creates a ton of electromagnetic radiation, so it's unavoidable either way.
 

Genome

north west south west
so do you think that if i rip the actual speakers out of the casing it will still work?

i know on some wood speakers (sub woofers for example) it can ruin them. though i was thinking it wouldnt since they are pc speakers and seem to be diffrent.

also if my speakers did put of magnetic waves could i build smaller wooden boxes around them to sheild them?
 

onewecallgod

New member
Wood isn't going to do jack about shielding radiation. To do physical shielding, you'd need some lead or metal. The point of wooden enclosures for speakers is to direct the air in certain directions, leading to better sound quality.

Here's an interesting article about speaker shielding: http://www.birotechnology.com/articles/shielded.html

But either way, the magnetic field won't damage your computer.
 

Genome

north west south west
that being said the article you refered me to said that you can build a box out of magnetically conductive assembly. so basically if i take it apart and it still sounds okay i could build a box lined with sheet metal and that could shield it from electromagnetic radiation.

it also said some speakers dont use magnets and are no risk at all. is there any good way to test if a speaker is magnetized without taking it apart?

btw thanks for your help.

But either way, the magnetic field won't damage your computer.
your certain about that its quite a risk to with what i have on my hdd, not to mention my brand new pc parts.
 
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ulaoulao

Controller Man
Staff member
Just to answer your question in simple. A pc speaker is a very high impedance speak 16 ohms I would think. So yes it will work for any audio single but vary week. A speaker is a speaker, at least a pc speak is like any other speaker.
 

FatTrucker

Abusus non tollit usum
AFAIK most of them have a small built in amp inside the speaker case.

If they are to go into a cab, a far better bet is to use Car speakers. They are already designed for mounting to various surfaces, and will give good sound without need for an external amp. A pair of 6x9's with tweeter, mid range and woofer are perfect for installation in a mame cab.
 

ulaoulao

Controller Man
Staff member
AFAIK most of them have a small built in amp inside the speaker case.
- None that I have even seen, however I wont rule it out. To make a sound out of a speakers all you need is a voltage. The impedance and watt rating are the only thing you need to worry about. You don't need an amplifier other then a way to make a signal louder. The number of speakers and size is irrelevant went it comes to volume. The size typically means the bigger the lower freq it can handle the smaller just the opposite. When using an amp you need to make sure the impedance of your speakers is the correct load for the amp or you will destroy the amp. Also same impedance for each channel left and right must match. 2 4 four ohms speakers in sierras will give you a 2 ohm load. 2 4 four ohms speakers in parallel will give you a 8 ohm load.

FatTrucker's suggestion is good if you find the right amp. However Car speakers are 4 ohms speakers generally.... If you're running this of a computer sound card (with no amp) then you want to aim for 8 ohms, not 4!! If you need to check your seeker setup get a meter. Select ohms scale (the inverted U) put one lead on the + and the other lead on the - (the direction is irrelevant ) you should get a reading like 7.89090 or so, that 8 ohms, just round up. 6 ohms is ok, but pushing it. Best to stay with 8 on a pc sound card. If you do plan to using a DC powered amp (car amp) then a 4 ohm load is good.
 
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onewecallgod

New member
- None that I have even seen, however I wont rule it out.
That can't be right. The maximum output of a standard soundcard (or motherboard onboard audio) isn't more than half a watt, which, to put it into perspective, is the amount of power needed to drive a 32 (or 16) ohm headphone into earsplitting volume. Now with output voltage the same, you need two or three times more current to drive a standard speaker of 8 ohms, which would put you well over a watt, which is quite a bit more than soundcards can provide as they're meant for relatively high impedence loads of headphones or amplifiers (~20mw).

Or the layman's answer: if PC speakers didn't have built in amplifiers, why would you need to plug them in?

Sorry if this doesn't make sense; I've had one too many lunchtime gin and tonics.
 

ulaoulao

Controller Man
Staff member
onewecallgod- Let me clarify,, When I here PC speaker I think of the little round speaker in a computer case. I may have understood Genome wrong. And yes you are correct my mistake 8 ohms is a bit of a stretch for a sound card.

Getting back to the issue at hand...

anyone know, if i take pc speakers apart will they still work?
- Yes, a speaker is a speaker. Just depends what load it requires.


they are just the standard hp satellite speakers..
- I can't say I know what that is, HP does weird stuff.

also are they how well are pc speakers shielded?
-A PC speaker by its self, not at all.

I now think he is referring to a desktop mounted type of speaker set. If So they are shield very well as some of the old one mounted next to a CRT. If you take it apart, there is no more shielding. If you really want a good sound do as FatTrucker suggested, and make sure you have a 4 ohm load with a car type amp. I do this in my mp3-car setup. I run the card to my amp and jump up to 300 watts as a 2 ohm stable load. As far as the card is concerned its just at normal option. The other option would be a computer speaker set and run it off the sound card, but you have to keep them in the kit as most (not all) have amps. If it has power it is amped, if it does not have power its not amped. Your sound card may have a pre-out and a speaker out. Most sound cards have amplification on them. On my system I have a amped set 3 ways speaker set. And two non-aped speakers for rear. I here my non-amped speakers well enough.
 
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Genome

north west south west
thanks for all your help guys this has helped out alot:happy:

i actually have a spare set of car speakers sitting around. however i doubt if i would need that much output. i dont want to get evicted or anything.

not to mention that size and space issues are very important here.

i have dug up another set of speakers i will use instead. they are just regular desktop pc speakers. the reason i needed to know about taking the others apart was because of their odd shape and trying to figure out how to mount them.

these new ones are perfectly rectangle.

they put out high quality sound, and way more than i can handle.

thanks for all the info it helped alot, i have to admit i didnt understand a thing about speakers before this.
 
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