Planning to upgrade your PC sound system by connecting a pair of bookshelf speakers? That’s a great idea and you are at the right place to learn more. We will be guiding you on how to connect bookshelf speakers to your personal computer and also sharing with you some information that you may find useful to further enhance your listening experience.
There are two types of bookshelf speakers which you can choose to go for, and they are active and passive speakers. We will be explaining both bookshelf speaker types and you can use this info to decide whether to go with active or passive models.
Table of Contents
Active Bookshelf Speakers
Active bookshelf speakers are more commonly used as it comes with a built-in amplifier. This will help you save space and money since you don’t need to purchase an additional amplifier to drive the bookshelf speakers. They will need their own power source though. This type of bookshelf speaker would have a set of audio inputs to choose from.
The most commonly available audio input will be Analog, and you can simply connect your computer’s audio output to it. Another common connection will be the Toslink input (digital), you can use this connection if your computer has a Toslink digital output. There is also the USB input which you can use to connect your powered speakers to your PC.
We usually suggest connecting via USB so as to make use of the built-in DAC of your active speakers. If your powered speakers do not have one, we recommend getting a separate D/A converter. A good quality DAC should improve the overall sound quality and also supports playing high-res audio files.
Some active bookshelf models have Bluetooth connections available for their users. You can choose to connect your computer wirelessly via Bluetooth and this does enable you to place the active speakers further away from your PC. Sound quality wise might tale a hit and if this is a concern, we recommend sticking with a wired connection.
Passive Bookshelf Speakers
Passive bookshelf speakers will require an external amplifier to drive them and you will need to make some space on your desktop to accommodate this audio component. This gives you some flexibility to choose an amp with certain sonic traits, for example, you can choose a tube amplifier for its warmth or a solid-state amp for its analytical and leaner music presentation.
Firstly, you will need to connect your passive bookshelf speakers to the left and right audio output of your amplifier accordingly. You can do a sound test via your computer to see if the speakers are placed in the right placement (L/R).
The connection between your computer and amplifier can be via an Analog connection using an RCA cable or RCA to 3.5mm. If your amplifier has an in-built DAC, you might want to choose to connect via USB. As suggested before, you should go for a separate DAC if your amp doesn’t have one. Other connections can be via Toslink or wirelessly via Bluetooth. For listeners who are using AV receivers, you might want to use HDMI instead.
As you can see, using a passive bookshelf speaker setup can get a bit messier but having an external amplifier can give you more flexibility. Depending on your amp of choice, you can have more connections to connect to a turntable, another computer or laptop, a monitor, etc. You might want to consider this option if you are planning to expand in the near future.
Bookshelf Speakers Placements for PC
The left and right bookshelf speakers are usually placed just beside the monitor with the drivers being positioned in a way that they will be pointed towards the user. You can place them a bit further apart if you have the space. You don’t really need large bookshelf speakers since you are likely to be hearing them at a nearfield listening distance. If you are worried about the bass performance of your small bookshelf speakers, you can always think of integrating a subwoofer into the mix. This will make it a 2.1 channel speaker setup and you can place the sub under the table if you want to.
We also suggest using desktop speaker stands to elevate the bookshelf speakers to a higher position. The tweeters should be around the users’ ear level for optimum sound quality. Using speaker stands will also decouple the bookshelf speakers from the supporting surface and this will help improve the sound quality too.
To Conclude
Brand new bookshelf speakers may take some time to break in so just keep using them and you will notice a difference after 10-20 hours of playtime. When choosing passive bookshelf speakers, you might want to check their speaker impedance first as you will need a matching amplifier to drive them. For more information on this, please read our blog post about the difference between 4 Ohm and 8 Ohm speakers.
We find using active bookshelf speakers to connect to your PC to be a better choice as they tend to provide more value due to their built-in amplifiers and features. If you already own an amplifier, then going for passive bookshelf speakers will be ideal. You should find speakers with certain sonic characteristics to match nicely with your amp and preferences.
