Audio Output Question

[MIKELABZ]

so i have this rinky dink koss stereo that i have hooked up to 6 speakers the koss is hooked up via tape deck to the computer headphone jack... anyway i have killed 4 stereo systems because they cannot support the 6 speaker setup that i have however the koss unit has been old faithful but it sounds like crap compared to other high end stereo systems that i have had... wut are u guys using for stereo output devices? im sick of blowing the watts outta my stereos.

L-Rock

[mercurywaters]

the headphone jack!? damn!? man get a soundcard with an output. a decent amp and some speakers

[MIKELABZ]

i actually use a cord with a headphone jack in one end and line in plugs on the other end for the other stereos but for the koss i have to use the tape deck method because it doesnt support the line in plugs because it was made before they started that trend but it seems like the higher costing stereo systems that support the line in method burn out faster then the old reliable older system im forced to use now..

[MIKELABZ]

line in method

[MIKELABZ]

tape deck method

[nas2000xl]

Originally posted by mercurywaters
the headphone jack!? damn!? man get a soundcard with an output. a decent amp and some speakers

[Formant024]

You actualy moved the 3 pieces of glass together in those 2 pics....

Why ???


On topic, that rca has gots to go man!

[MIKELABZ]

wuts a good amp to buy? and i have plenty of speakers... it seems to me that it would be cheaper to just get the stereo that broke fixed or replaced... it is still under warranty. and do u plug ur speakers directly into an amplifier? in that case im already using the stereo system as an amplifier. ill have to check into a soundcard. how much is a good sound card cause i know where to get one.

i mite as well just get it fixed tho cause its free under the warranty and this time i wont place so much strain on the unit.

L-Rock

[MIKELABZ]

man ur seeing things..... those pennies were already together i just moved the camera over.

L-Rock

[Medicine Man]

Right now music only comes in stereo on a cd. A cd cannot produce 6 seperate channels of audio so surround sound mixing is pointless! You should just use two, studio level monitors hooked up to a amp or self-powered. Also, the cd to tapeplayer adapter method to monitor is a very, very, very big mistake in monitoring! You should get a professional sound card that has 1/4" outputs(your current setup has 1/8" plugs coming out of your cpu) to go to your monitors or amp!!! It dosn't matter which one you get as long as it works and sounds good- I would suggest a M-Audio sound card or Pro Tools if you have the bread, but the miniplug outs on most stock CPU soundcards just plain suck ass. But really the most important thing is the 6 speakers-just use two!!!

[MIKELABZ]

my preference is for surround sound... if i hear the track in its entirety then i can better prepare myself to fix and elaborate on that track...

how effective would a car stereo be with only the two front speakers? that car system would sound like shyt...

and it really shouldnt matter to u whether i use two speakers or a gameboy speaker to mixdown my tracks if it sounds good then thats all that matters, but imagine the mixdown of a track made with a gameboy speaker and a mixdown using 6 300 watt speakers...

money's not an issue either.... the speakers i have were taken from various stereo systems that i have had over the years so i have put them to good use...

done.

L-Rock

[Medicine Man]

6 speakers hooked up to a stereo amp(stereo means 2 channels of audio), isn't surround sound! Surround sound means 6 seperate channels of audio seperated for a video picture. The subwoofer handles the base, the center speaker handles mostly speach, and the last 4 handle 3d sound effects. But even in surround sound the music for a movie is usually only in the front 2 speakers, so mixing music with anything but 2 speakers is ridiculis. And a car system is not in surround sound no matter how many speakers it has, because CD audio is only in stereo. Funny story- Mike D from the Beastie Boys once told me of a story about how the studio they recorded Paul's Boutiqe in's power went out so they had to mix the rest in the producers car! It sounded great but when it hit the shelves alot of fans started to notice that it only sounded good in the car. Every other stereo sytem they played it in sounded like crap. Of course now days that CD sounds fine because they've remixed the current release, but the lesson they learned is simple-If you mix your music on a system like a car, thats made to sound great for listening to released and mastered cd's, then it'll only sound good on that system. But if you mix on a stereo pair of monitors(speakers), made for mixing then it'll sound great on every system, headphones, boombox, home stereo or your car. And cars only have more than 2 speakers so the people in the back can hear the music just as clearly as in the front, but each pair is the same two channels duplicated. I'm not trying to diss your producing method man, I'm just trying to help. If you go into any proffesional studio in the world, they'll be using 2 speakers(monitors) to mix, unless they're mixing sound for a DVD! But if your mixing your music for CD,Tape, or MP3, then you should use 2 speakers to mix, thats just a fact, I didn't come up with it, I learned it along the way.

[MIKELABZ]

Originally posted by Beats Perfected
But if you mix on a stereo pair of monitors(speakers), made for mixing then it'll sound great on every system, headphones, boombox, home stereo or your car.

this is precisely my point. i mix on a variety of speakers not just one pair. therefore i capture the sound as it was meant to be heard on each individual pair. my mixing has only gotten better with the addition of more speakers beacuse i can hear the most minute flaws in any track that i produce.

the problem lies within the stereo unit. if you have a crap wattage stereo unit, then ur speakers will put out a shytty sound.

and another thing if the speakers are surrounding those that are listening that is considers surround sound because the sound surrounds the listener.

L-Rock

[MIKELABZ]

ok but this is besides the topic now...

today i am going to return the broken unit and get a new one.

L-Rock

[Medicine Man]

Ya, I guess your right about surround, but I thought we were talking about 5.1 surround sound, not just speakers surrounding you. But either way, you should mix with only 2 speakers at a time.

[MIKELABZ]

heres the new unit i purchased today.

http://www.illmuzik.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=32682

L-Rock

[alkota]

the more wires the more trouble... 2 speaks... 2 outputs, take that ish slow.

[MIKELABZ]

im good with wires. i wired both studio rooms and my car. i have two outlet strips filled with electronics. in my experience having weak speakers is not an option. bigger is better. two speakers was fine for when i ferst started by now ive graduated and im not about to let these speakers collect dust... so i put them to good use... and the sound is bangin. i got the X-box and the VCR also plugged into the computer and the computer sound comes out of the 6 speaker setup that i have all around the room. sounds amazingly clear.

L-Rock

[Tha1AndOnlyDJT]

ha, Tape adapter?

[MIKELABZ]

nope not any longer... now i use a line in chord...

L-Rock

[MIKELABZ]

here the "monster" chord that i bought from circuit city... this is the two line in jacks plugged into the stereo...(on the left side by the lamp)

L-Rock

[MIKELABZ]

and this is where the chord hooks into the computer...(on the far right)

L-Rock

[MIKELABZ]

another thing...getting a microphone too close to a speaker is bad news... thats why i had to get a new system all together so be careful of how close ur receiver gets to the speaker or you just mite have to start a thread liek this one ...my solution to you is to mute the mic and in that way u get rid of the feedabck taht can creep up so deceptively.

L-Rock

[SyN]

i don't know, i have mixed on a million different speakers, amps, and rooms... i would have to say that the gameboy speaker sounds like it will be better for mixing on then on 3 different pairs of consumer speakers all going on at the same time... sounds to me that it is over coloring your perception of the mix just a lil bit... but yeah, you should get the other one fixed at least... and then, maybe try using one set of speakers at a time and reference between how each pair sounds and find your fav to mix on, and then, your fav to switch to as a reference. Writing is another story... hook up as many as you want... but mixing... it doesn't work... and yeah, a new sound card would help you out allot... and that cassette deck thing is nothing but trouble... i have done that a couple times while i am traveling on the road and need to monitor some stuff off my laptop or sequencer onto speakers and its the last resort... take it easy bro... and good luck

[CooGi_dice]

well lav i gotta give u props for making things work with wut u got.

ha i wonder how a mix would sound though...

why not save up and get some low end active monitors?

ive seen some roland speakers at my local guitar center that can be hooked up 2 a comp via the headphone jack and they sound decent, actualy kinda good... for wut your getting.
there only like 100$ for the pair.

[MIKELABZ]

I WORK WITH WHAT I HAVE. AND SINCE I HAD THE SPEAKERS LEFT OVER FROM THE BROKE UNITS I FIGGERED I MIGHT AS WELL KEEP THEM ALL AND PUT THEM TO GOOD USE.

[Decibal]

Word Mike!
I feel ya man. We can't all be so fortunate to shell out coin on hardware/software. So, we work wit what we got at the moment. The time will come that we'll have the coin to buy the shit we want, but yea, we make due wit what we got rite now... Just because we can't afford top of tha line shit right now, don't mean we can't continue to do the one thing we love. Keep poundin the Beatz Mike.

Peace

Decibal