Need advice on boosting CRT sound

[evil_ash_xero]

I have two Trinitrons, that have "Audio Out". I am wanting to boost the sound set up, as they really don't have that great of sound (no bass).

I have been adding some sound stuff, to my HDTVs, which is a lot easier.

What is the best way to hook my CRTs, to some external speakers? I know I can hook it up to a receiver, but that's a bit more than I wanted to do, honestly.
Can I just hook up some multimedia speakers, to the TV? I would have to use some kind of "RCA to 3.5" thing, to get the cable to hook into the TV.
Would this just sound bad? Or is this OK? Should I just go for the receiver thing? I know that would sound better, but I'm just looking for a boost, and not the whole surround thing.
This TV has stuff like the NES and SNES hooked up to it, so I'm not needing the most technical wonder.

[FinalBaton]

I'll say what I always say in that case, even if it's not a popular opinion. it's definitely the way to go IMO :

-Get a vintage (therefore : stereo)low-wattage integrated amp on Craigslist (or pawnshop or wherever)of a good make, one that made quality all across their lineup : Sansui (mid to late '70s ) and Luxman (up to the late '80s/very early '90s) come to mind. There are others of course. If you choose to go this path, I can give you a bunch of model numbers to look out for.

-Get a used pair of quality bookshelf speakers. Mission, Boston Acoustics, JBL... there are plenty to choose from.

-Bypass the TV entirely! plug your consoles' audio jacks straight into the integrated amp. It will have a couple of inputs to acomodate several consoles. you can then select your console's audio by simply turning a knob.

This will get you a very involving sound for a fairly low price and plenty of volume.
Sound in videogames is a big part of the fun, nobody should deprive themselves from excellent sound while gaming

And before anyone says that old consoles won't sound that much better on a great sound system than they will on an average one : come to my place and listen to my VA2 motherboard revision Sega Genesis through my main sound system you will then rescind your opinion

[evil_ash_xero]

I'm sure that would sound nice, but I am pretty interested in trying to do the method I spoke of. I have a bit of a space problem.

[kamiboy]

Powered speakers would work, and sound fine.

[Einzelherz]

I use a Psyclone PSP dock/speaker setup for my old games. It's kind of compact and the sound is pretty good. Nothing complex.

Pretty much any decent PC speakers would work fine.

[Guspaz]

All my consoles run into a SCART switch via RGB, and I've connected the audio output of the SCART switch to a Monoprice USB DAC and headphone amp. The amp is $100, and has two inputs (USB digital, RCA analog) and three outputs (RCA pre-amp, RCA amplified out, quarter inch headphone out).

The USB input is connected to my PC
The RCA input is connected to the output of the SCART switch
The pre-amp RCA goes to my home theatre system
The amplified RCA goes to my PVM
The heapdhone jack goes to my headphones

I either use the built-in speakers on the PVM, or I use headphones. I'll eventually pick up some desktop speakers to upgrade from the PVM's built-in mono speaker.

The home theatre connection is not useful right now because I can't run 15KHz RGB video to the home theatre, but I think the OSSC will eventually get that up and running again.

I might try getting a 5xBNC-to-VGA to see if my projector can handle it, but I've not found a 6-foot cable with a good price/shipping to Canada yet.

[ApolloBoy]

I run all my audio through a 1981 Pioneer receiver coupled to a pair of Pioneer CS-520s. It's a very old setup but it still sounds amazing and far better than any TV speakers.

[evil_ash_xero]

Thanks for the advice.

[mvsfan]

there are tons of cheap audio equipment now on Craigslist. i would go for anything name brand like sony, Pioneer, Onkyo, from the 90s or early 2000s, made in Japan.

it sounds good and lasts forever.

[s8n]

hi evil_ash , check these out below. From memory they are self powered and are about 130 AUS i am impressed with what they can do for the money. From searches though it seems they are no longer sold but you may be able to find them somewhere.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjpo3dUbzIA

[kardus]

Get an AV receiver and some bookshelf speakers. Most older AV receivers also have component/svideo/composite inputs and it will really clean up your setup.

[evil_ash_xero]

I'd like to thank you guys for the responses.

I ended up getting Audioengine A5+. They're pretty sweet. I do have some sorrows about it though. I have no room WHATSOEVER for a subwoofer, nor do I have any room for a receiver, unless I got something that was just miniscule.

But the sound improvement is great.

I have another tv that needs sound improvement, but the space is SO tight. I need tall thin speakers. Anyone can recommend some good brands? And I mean, I would need them to be 10 in. in diameter. I would like a full looking speaker. Not some weird sticks with speakers at the top, since I would like to have a woofer at the bottom.

I can send a pic, to give you guys the idea.

[Guspaz]

I needed a tiny but good sounding solution to improve on my PVM's terrible audio, I bought this thing:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/produc ... 05257.html

It's currently $49 USD (free shipping) with the coupon, although it was $43 USD when I bought it.

I don't need the bluetooth functionality or the built-in battery, so I use the 3.5mm aux jack and have it plugged in to a USB power brick permanently. It sounds great, and gets loud enough to fill my apartment, although since I'm sitting two feet away from it, I can turn it way down: the max volume is uncomfortably loud even when sitting 8 feet away. It's a 2x10W speaker, and outperforms all of Anker's similar products based on reviews I've seen.

I've got it connected to the amplified output of my monoprice DAC/headphone amp so that I can use the analog volume knob on that thing, but I've tested without it and it works fine. It's actually louder without going through the amp, since I normally keep the amp volume relatively low.

For the price, the sound quality is fantastic. It's not perfect, though: I don't like that you need to hold the power button down for a few seconds to turn it on/off (or you could leave it on if you won't normally sit close enough to hear the soft hiss), and the buttons are mushier than I'd like. I don't use the buttons much anyhow: as I said, analog dial on headphone amp.

This is the review that I relied on primarily when deciding to purchase it. Use headhpones to listen, he records in binaural audio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_xxcWrUW6c

FYI: The EasyAcc is very different despite using the same chassis. The sound quality on the EasyAcc is not as good. Same chassis, different guts.

That reviewer also posts full frequency response graphs for the thing in his EasyAcc vs BlitzWolf comparison video.

EDIT: It looks like he reviewed another chassis clone, the Expower unit, which he generally prefers over the BlitzWolf, but complains about lack of bass at lower volume levels compared to the BlitzWolf.

[Eggzone Revolution]

If you are looking for something super cheap and space-saving, you can always get a small all-inclusive TV "sound bar", or better yet, just pick up a $30-40 dollar set of nice PC speakers which are all self-powered. Some of them even come with a small woofer for added bass. Most of these you can even plug into the "headphone" out, if the TV has one of those (or use cheap adapters). For one of my retro TV setups, I do this. And the best part, is that they are pretty portable. So you can always bring them with you somewhere, or hook them up to an iPhone/iPad/iPod, or even a PSP, 3DS, an old GameBoy, laptop, etc.