Topic: Laptop to Stereo. How?

[morningdew]

I’ve got a few two channel recordings that I have been messing with using Sound Forge 8.0.  The problem is that my desktop PC has just a crappy pair of speakers so I listen to the sound using headphones.  This is very hard to do because the sound is so different through headphones than when played back on a room stereo.

So, is there anyway to have my laptop playback through my stereo?  If yes, how do I do it?

Laptop: Dell Latitude D600
Receiver: Sony DA3000ES (It has a lot of various inputs)

The sound from SF>Laptop>Receiver doesn’t have to be pristine but I do need it to be good enough to give me a close approximation of the final result after burning to CD.

Also, I have a digi-modded UA-5 if that would help.

[joekar]

Hi,
 You can connect the laptop (headphone/audio out) to the receiver with a 1/8" mini to RCA adapter cable...readily available from Radio Shack....Just ask for a cable to connect an iPod to a home stereo...( that way they understand you )........I use a Monster Cable (1/8' to RCA) from my G5 to my Sony receiver and it sounds great...OR....If your computer has an optical out just run it into one of your optical ins......Hope this helps.....

Peace,
jk

[dnsacks]

1/8" stereo mini to rcas will indeed work, the best sounding solution (and one that might change the way you listen to music) would be to use a digital interface to send a digital signal to your sony receiver directly from your laptop (using the 1/8" stereo mini, the signal's going through a digital>analog conversion in your laptop and then is going through an analog>digital>analog conversion within your sony 3000es)

Getting a digital soundcard for your laptop would let the signal stay in the digital realm 'till it heads to your speakers.  The maudio transit is a good card for this, it's a usb device that plugs into your laptop and feeds an optical digital signal to your sony receiver. 

[guysonic]

The type of headphones also makes a huge difference.  Open types (verses closed 'can') generally sound more like speakers.  The most speaker sounding I have and still use are Sony MDR-F1 and latest in-production MDR-SA3000 and SA5000 that are identical or better than listening to $5000+ audiophile speakers.

[morningdew]

O.k. I can do the 1/8" stereo to RCA for now because I have that cable and I'll give it a try.

However,

Checking out the M-Audio Transit isn't this just the same/similar thing as the Edirol UA-5?  I have one of those.

Can I go Laptop>USB>UA-5 digital out>Receiver Digital-In?  Keep in mind that my UA-5 has been digi-modded.

If yes, how does the laptop know to push the sound through the USB?  I'm guessing software?

[dnsacks]

It's my understanding that once a ua5 is digimodded, its can't be used to output a digital signal from a pc via its usb connection.

Further, the ua5 resamples digital signals being fed to it, the maudio transit is bit-perfect