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Tutorial 1: Listen to your computer audio through your stereo system. 10/20/2006
A quick note before we begin: Hooking up in the car is mentioned in this tutorial often because one can either listen to stored music/audio on their device (laptop or PDA) or use a wireless phone connection to stream music from their favorite online source it is easier than you might think.
Listening to your computer audio through your home or car stereo system could not be simpler. All one needs to do is figure out how to connect the two together. There are two basic options: wired or go wireless.
The wired version is the lower-cost option but you will want to make sure your equipment is capable of this sort of connection. For example, not all car stereos have an auxiliary input. However, if your stereo has an auxiliary input it may be as simple as purchasing a Y-cable from you local retail electronics outlet with 3/32 to RCA-style jacks on it for only a few dollars and switching to the auxiliary input on your stereo. Plug the 3/32 male jack into your computer's audio-out jack, the white RCA connector goes into your stereo's Left Input and the red RCA jack goes into the stereo's Right Input. Although the fidelity of this connection makes it a better choice, it does have some drawbacks. For one, the distance between your stereo system and your computer may deter you from hooking things up. If you are using a laptop or PDA this is not a problem but a PC is not as easy to move around and you could end up moving all of the furniture to accommodate...not a project for the weak-at-heart. You could purchase an audio extension cable but likely won't find anything over 20' having the respective 3/32 male to female connectors.
This is where wireless comes in. For a few more dollars, $15 to $30 on average (some in the $70s but not a whole lot better) you can forgo all the difficulties of going hardwired and have your own virtual radio station broadcasting in your home or car. With such a device, a listener simply plugs into the audio-out of the computer soundcard, chooses a frequency to transmit on, and then tunes in on their stereo system. Some of these devices offer the full spectrum of radio frequencies others offer the most common "empty" frequencies, frequencies that do not have any stations assigned to them and can be identified by having static on all the time. Another feature to consider at the time of purchase is the power source. Some power off the computer's USB port and some can plug into either the car power or a wall outlet. In any case be sure to choose a model that will best suit your needs based on how you will be using it the most. Many of these devices can run from one or two AAA batteries so you can always fall back on this option when you find yourself using it out of your usual routine, at the beach or on a picnic, for example. An additional benefit to the wireless method is the ability to tune in as many radios you want that are within range. It is possible to have your clock radio, main stereo and any other radio in the house on at the same time tuned into your computer's audio. Audio quality is not going to be as good as with the wired option but it will still be "Radio Quality" so it should sound as good as anything you are used to hearing over the radio waves anyway.
That is basically it! We hope this answers some questions you might have and if it just created a few more questions, you may want to post in our forum to work out any issues you have getting "hooked up".