Power Efficient Computer Monitor Upgrade?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
westend, I apologize for not replying earlier. I followed your link and said to myself "Wow!" Then the question of what size enclosure to use came up. If you have a recommendation I would love to hear it!

I am going to "move" on this subject next week. Order speakers, cabinet and an amplifier. Another dumb question: I spent twenty dollars on an USB to 3.5 mm "external sound card" for this laptop. It made an amazing difference in clarity and volume with headphones. is this soundcard to be used with an external amplifier?

I am going to do my best to try and keep battery draw under 5 amps. I figure I will be listening to the speakers from a distance of five feet. Maybe young Strauss, softly, from a distance of 20' while dining on tacos :)

As to enclosures: The recommended sealed enclosure is just 1/10th of a cubic foot. Without going into a lot of enclosure theory, I would suggest to increase the volume of the box to as much as you're comfortable with. Doubling the volume will net just a bit more bass and at the volumes and power handling expected should be a good compromise.

No reason why your outboard sound card can't be used to send signal to the amplifier. There is no electronic mayhem anticipated. I usually use just the headphone output from the laptop, using a 1/8" (3.5mm?) stereo jack to two RCA phono cable setup. The kids use their phone or Ipod cables.

Mex, don't know your current situation or location, but if cobbling up enclosures for speakers is a hardship, you could just leave them free-standing until you're in a spot to do the job right. Another alternative is to buy a pair of small cabinets from Parts EXpress but that still leaves some assembly and more expense. In a pinch, I've also used cardboard boxes.

Good luck with whatever route you take, music is a nice curative for the soul. I'm about to drop a disc in and kick back. :)