What do I need to hook up speakers to TV or Ipod? (1 Viewer)

[giantsfan]

Hello everyone!

I am a total newbie who got a set of Bose Acoustimass 5 Series III speakers for free as my friend had no need for them. I would like to hook them up to my TV and somehow would also like to be able to play my IPOD through them. What do I need and what's the best way to hook this up?

If I got a receiver, could I play music directly though that or does a receiver need to be connected to let's say a stereo system (CD Player etc.) or TV in order to function?

Please excuse my lack of knowledge in regards to anything stereo/speaker and so on I really appreciate your help!Thanks,
Nick

 

[schan1269]

Do you have the bass module?If no, you can't do anything without one. If yes, is it a Lifestyle? If that is yes, nothing you can do without its correct lifestyle counterpart. If that is no, any 5 channel AVR ever made that suits your needs.

 

[giantsfan]

Hey! Thanks for your reply. I got the full set - Subwoofer and the speakers and speaker cables!

 

[schan1269]

And...is it Lifestyle, or not?And...it is not a subwoofer. It is a 5.0 system. Not 5.1.

 

[giantsfan]

Sorry man I don't know what exactly you mean.
It's the model mentioned above with the subwoofer and the 2 speakers (you can twist them sideways so technically I guess it would be 4 speakers).
Thanks for helping me here...

 

[giantsfan]

So if I get you correctly I basically need a receiver, correct?

What's the suggestion on make and model an pricing?

Can I plug in an ipod into a receiver or do I need a stereo hooked up to the receiver?
It is important to me to be able to hook up TV, Ipod and listen to the radio!

 

[Jason Charlton]

If the speakers are indeed from the Acoustimass product line and not the Lifestyle product line, then yes, you can hook them up to a regular receiver.

Can you specify how many individual components there are? (i.e. two speakers that are connected/twistable would be ONE component). I'm not sure if you are implying that you have a left/center/right/surround L/surround R or just left/right.

The "Bass Module" (it is NOT a subwoofer - subwoofers play low frequencies, a "Bass Module" plays lower mid-range frequencies) should include a special cable that is a pinned connection at one end (the end that connects to a special port on the bass module) and bare speaker wire pairs on the other end. These speaker wire pairs get connected to the receiver's speaker terminals.

As Sam indicated above, any modern AVR will work in this situation - they will all have analog stereo inputs to connect an iPod or other portable music device.

In addition, if you are adding a receiver to the mix in order to utilize the Bose speakers, then the TV speakers are no longer needed and should not be used. You should change the way your cable/satellite is connected. The receiver should be the "hub" of your system, NOT the TV. So, you should connect your cable/sat box (and Blu-ray player, game system, any source really) directly to the receiver via an HDMI cable, then run a second HDMI cable from the receiver's output to an input on the TV. With this setup, you will be able to enjoy true 5.1 audio for all sources connected to the receiver.

If you connect all your sources to the TV first, then run audio out from the TV to the receiver, then any 5.1 from your external sources gets lost and downmixed to stereo.

 

[ArmSC]

You'll need a mini plug to RCA adapter to hook the iPod into the AVR. Unless you have some kind of dock for your iPod that has RCA or optical outs.

As far as receivers go this would be a good one to start with. It's a nice unit that isn't expensive and does have Audyssey so setup is easy. It also has airplay so you don't need the adapter that I mentioned above.

Radio will be included with the AVR so you're covered there. Connect your other sources (cable box, DVD, BR, ect.) with HDMI cables to the AVR. Then run an HDMI to the TV from the AVR and you're in business.

 

[giantsfan]

Hello guys!

I would like to say thank you so much for clarifying all these things for me. All your posts were extremely helpful.

I indeed have the Accoustimass product, not the lifestyle line. It comes with two twistable speakers and the bass module pictures in this link here:
http://www.abt.com/product/580/Bose-21725.html?utm_source=scfroogle&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=AM53BK

I asumed these are decent speakers esepcially since I got them for free almost brand new. So I'm going to get that receiver and hook everything into the receiver (Cable box, Playstation).

Thanks again!!

 

[giantsfan]

Hello everyone!

I purchased the Denon AVR E-300 receiver and I love the system together with the Bose speakers. The sound is amazing and I am very glad to have received the speakers for free.
Now I have a question about the settings...is there a way to change the options so the volume changes with the TV volume so I only have to use one remote (the TV remote) instead of constantly switching both volumes, the volume from the TV speakers as well as the volume from my BOSE speakers.
Now, I could deactivate the TV speaker altogether but I actually like to use it as a middle unit!

Thanks for your help!Nick

 

[schan1269]

Universal remote.

 

[giantsfan]

I really thought when I played around with the setting at some point the receiver volume changed with the TV volume when I controlled it over the TV remote control! Must have been wrong. I guess I will go looking for a universal remote! Thanks folks

 

[ArmSC]

I've seen some tv's with variable audio outputs but I don't think I've seen one with both volume and a variable output at the same time. Most people you are either using the AVR or just the TV speakers but not normally both.