Audio Advice Needed (non-vehicle)

nhmtns

nhmtns

Member
Through a grant, I have the opportunity to purchase an an audio system for my classroom to be used when playing movies and documentaries. The room is 30'x30' in size with about a 9' ceiling. I am getting a ceiling mounted video projector to play wirelessly off my laptop. The only speakers I have right now are a really cheap sub+satellite setup that is barely loud enough to use.

I'd really like to get some powered speakers to mount in the corners on the wall so they are out of the way. I'm not sure how they would connect to my laptop though. I don't really know a lot about audio and was hoping someone on here could offer some advice for what to buy. I can provide more info as needed.

 
At USM, they run everything into a box in the corner of the room and you would just plug your laptop into that. I don't know how much extra that would cost, but I wouldn't imagine it would be too much. Just an idea.

 
I wouldn't do wireless on the projector, you may get a bit of lag. For audio, you're going to have to run a wire along the edge of the wall unless you're allowed to have it routed inside the wall. Wireless speakers are a huge no-no.

The speakers will plug right into the headphone jack on your laptop. If you want more speakers, get a laptop sound card (I believe they can be had in PCMIA for not much $$$, but you can also get nifty USB ones).

For the projector, you can run a VGA or DVI (please do DVI, vga is old tech now
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) cable inside the ceiling to the corner where the computer/laptop will be, and drop it down along the wall.

If you really want the ease of a wireless video system, you'll compromise quality. I would still do normal wired speakers though, if only from your desk.

You can go with pretty much any PC speakers for cheap. It depends how much money is left out of your grant after you've purchased the projector, cabling, and installation if you're having someone else do it.

 
Thanks for the info. The tech person for our school is incredible. We've received over a million dollars in technology grants over the past several years. Every teacher received laptops, as did all the 5th and 6th grade students, which are the grades I teach. I also have a smart board and projector in my room, but I'm getting a different ceiling mounted projector. I will recommend that they don't go wireless if it would reduce the visual quality, and the same goes for the speakers. The tech woman asked that I do some research to find the speakers/system I want. That's mostly what I'm trying to find. I'm just not sure what type of speakers would be compatible for use with my laptop. As I stated earlier, I'd like to get something larger and better quality than normal plug-in computer speakers and have them mounted on the wall up high. Any suggestions?

 
I am extremely over-the-top pleased with my $30 Boston Acoustic speakers, but unfortunately they stopped making this model, and the new ones look lower quality (more style, less function, if that makes any sense). Bose is overpriced for what it is. I know Sennheiser makes amazing headphones, but I don't know if they to speakers. *quick google* nope, they don't make speakers.

Quick search of audio section on another forum: it looks like Klpisch ProMedia 2.1 speakers are good bang/buck. Do you want two or four satellite speakers? I assume you want a subwoofer too.

Basically, what will be compatible with your laptop is just normal plug-in computer speakers (any that use a 3.5mm jack). Just get one that has a built in amp (all 2.1 sets should have it, as there isn't enough power to drive the sub off of the signal power alone). Do you use a Mac like all the other schools in Maine? If so, you can throw the aftermarket sound card idea out the window (unless you want to bother with a USB one) and you'll be stuck with a 2.1 system.

 
^ except not... For documentaries, when our school's speakers (most of them anyway) get up to the volume that is needed for the whole class to hear, they sound like they're blown. They may be...

 
IF you have the money, I would go with whatever you're able to afford. Don't skimp out, you might not be able to replace them anytime soon in the future.

 
maybe just get 6-8 speakers instead of 2 big ones? then the people in the front wont be blared out of the room and the ones in the back cant hear it. i would look at polk. they make some small bookshelf sized speakers that are good quality, dont cost a ton and are readily available. that and a decent stereo reciever should be fine (onkyo is good). there are a ton of brands that would be fine for what you're looking for since you're not looking for ultimate sound quality or anything. i would stay away from Sony, KLH, Bose (ok sound, way overpriced). jbl, infinity, boston acoustics, klipsch, yamaha are all great.

keep in mind that multiple speakers will need to be wired properly so they dont overload the amp.

the other thing to think about is flush wall mounted or ceiling mounted speakers. a lot of those brands will offer 1-2 speakers that are the round type you would bolt into the ceiling panels. think convenience store speakers but better quality.

 
Actually, yeah, it makes more sense to do a large multi-speaker setup, even if you'll only have two audio channels from the Mac.

I know almost nothing about home audio type setups though.

 
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