Spreading the Joy

Among the projects I've worked on with this house, one of the most frustrating has been wiring the back yard for sound.

I found a decent pair of speakers, then I bought a huge quantity of wire to get the job done. I had to run the wire from the speakers, into the house somehow, then under the floor (thank goodness for an unfinished basement) and up and into the audio source. At that point I had to decide: the stereo amplifier? Or my computer? I do enjoy listening to the radio a lot, but I want to have the computer option as well. Finally I figure that I can always connect the computer to the amp and have it both ways. The speaker wires get connected to the amplifier.

Now I have to figure out a way to get the audio from the computer to the amplifier. Fortunately this house is blessed with shabby construction, so there are plenty of gaps between floor and wall where I can run cables. So I buy another set of cables (this set with plugs on the ends) and thread them from the computer down under the floor, across the basement ceiling and up again on the other side of the room, and into the back of the amplifier. A few patch cords to give me the option of listening on the computer speakers if I want, and it's all good.

So at this point I have: my sound card, then a splitter, then cables going to the computer speakers and another set going to the amplifier. At the amplifier I have another split, with speakers in the house and another set outside. Everything works great, except for the part where the dog chewed up the outside speaker wires.

Twice.

Well, there was one other problem. When I ran the sound from the computer to the amp, there was a definite buzz/hum going on in the left speaker. It's the sound that you get when something isn't grounded correctly. I tried several options and still got the buzz. It didn't seem to bother anyone else but it drove me berserk. Maybe it's that Mosquito tone? So I gave up on the project for awhile.

So today I'm reading the Baltimore Sun and I read in Mike Himowitz' column about a device that may solve my problems. RCA makes a digital, wireless transmitter called the Lyra RD900DW. I looked around at some of the reviews and they seem pretty positive. So for about $25 with shipping, it's worth a shot. Especially since it runs on MusicMatch software, which is what I already use to organize my MP3 collection. Stay tuned. Heh.

Comments

[dak-ind]

ya know, my mom just got wireless speakers that resemble rocks for her back yard. they run from the computer. then she bought a "boom box" and it sits on the back patio table. problem solved.

michele sent me

[rampant bicycle]

Wiring your house can be a major pain in the butt, I agree. Hope you get rid of the hum soon. :)

Hello from Michele's!

[Dave]

Hi Claude, here from Michele's today and what a small world, I've been setting up speakers in the garden for my party tomorrow.

[prego]

I try to go low tech. Last year, my neighbor scored me one of those schoolhouse turntables with the built in speaker. I busted it out during a backyard party and proceeded to melt a Devo record in the sweltering heat.

Good luck.
here via Michele today

p

PS (the movie was marginally better than the novel, for obvious reasons)

[Mamacita]

I have over nine thousand mp3's on my hard drive. I think maybe it slows it down but it's worth it.

Greetings from Michele's tonight.

[Carmi]

I love that line: blessed with shabby construction. So few words can often say so much.

I'm sure all your effort will pay off soon. It'll be lovely to be out back with music filling the air. Keep us posted.

All the best from Michele, and from me. Happy weekend!