I'm looking to buy a surround sound speaker set for my laptop. What should I look for to insure they'll work?
953532
You won't be able to use surround sound speakers, unless you have a surround sound sound card.  Luckily for you, they actually make one for laptops: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102174
592314
check if the sound card driver are ok
39448
You'll have to install a sound card that supports digital speakers.  As far as I know, the Soundblaster live does not support digital speakers.  You will want at least an Audigy 2 ($42) for digital speakers, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?DEPA=0&type=&description=audigy&Submit=ENE&Ntk=all&N=0&minPrice=&maxPrice=&Go.x=0&Go.y=0 but the best sound card is the X-Fi ($113), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102188\n\nAnd just so you know that Realtek is an integrated solution which is built into your motherboard.
217712
Find out what the sound card is, go to www.driverguide.com
705960
check the cable and try new speakers or call the manufactures
1031510
The laptop it's self is not that important. Get any decent laptop. Then add a pcmcia sound card or an external one.\nI'd recommend checking out the reviews on http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1746178,00.asp\nhttp://reviews.cnet.com/Creative_USB_Sound_Blaster_Audigy_2_NX/4505-3022_7-30580579.html
868176
get microphons made for computers and plug then in back very cheap
435686
You will probably need the driver CD that came with either the sound card - motherboard if integral, or CD pack if a store bought made up system.\n\nDelete it from CONTROL PANEL- SYSTEM - Hardware, then reboot and have the CD ready when it says 'Found New Hardware'\n\nIf you haven't got it, message me with make and model of sound card
139829
You need to find out what kind of sound card you have, then download the latest drivers. You most probably will have to open up the computer and look at the sound card. It will either be part of the motherboard, or its own card. But somewhere on it it should say a model or manufacturer.
487806
Go into your control panel and adjust your speaker settings on your computer. Also check to see if your wires are going through the right audio ports.
982015
a specific wattage is not going to give you a db # of output... its like a medium t-shirt, what does that mean if you don't try it on? and how loud do you consider loud? My suggestion is go to your local electronics store, if you are near one, and take a testdrive of the different PC speakers... if you are in the middle of BFE find yourself an online store that has good reviews, newegg, cnet, someplace like that... if consumers are saying they are too quiet they are prob. right...  also in my eyes, quality will bring quantity in audio... if something souds good it will seem to sound louder... kinda like color with your eyes... look around, don't buy the first thing you see... I found 200 set of pc speakers of 75... Klipsh 2.1s... goodluck
812088
Your computer needs a sound card... obviously... Aside from that, I'm not certain if these are speakers that are designed to be used with a regular stereo? Doesn't matter really... alright...\n\nYou'll need a 1/8" male end to plug into your output on your sound card, and then a cable long enough to run to the input of your stereo receiver (provided this is what you have).  This might be a little tricky, as you might have binding posts RCA, TRS, or something else... so you'll need to take this into consideration.  Irregardless, you'll need to have something that takes the tip and ring portions of the 1/8" and splits them to the left and right channel respectively for the receiver inputs.  Past that... connect the rest of the sound system as you would normally to the receiver... \n\nIf you're using an amplifier, the speakers, and the computer, then you'll just take the output from the computer, again the 1/8" TRS male, and run a cable to the input of the amplifier, and again connect your speakers as usual.  If this still doens't help, e-mail me... You didn't provide a lot of information.\n\nSpeaker types, what you have in the way of amplifiers, recievers, or if these are powered wall mounts? What style of input connectors do you have? This is not really a complicated question, but it's hard to answer this when you're blind to the situation.  Peace... No point in guessing.
754019
I would just suggest to hook up speakers to your system, it's probably something with the setting of your laptop.  You might have an input plugged into the wrong area or something along those lines.  I would suggest to undo everything and make sure that the sound is still working on your laptop.  If it is then try connecting the monitor again and play with some of your audio settings.  I would try external speakers.  Just some suggestions. Best Wishes ;-)
636030
Could be better speakers if that were the case. Otherwise the IBM had a better sound card. Your sound card and your speakers will both affect how good your speakers sound although if you want louder, go with bigger speakers.\n\nHere are some good ones to choose from...
208889
it's pretty difficult to help on such a vague question. give a short history\n- when did you hear the speakers for the last time?\n- what did you do in the mean time? (did you install any obscure programs)\n- always helpful is to mention what operating system you use (Windows, Linux etc.)\n\nedit:\nthanks for the response. It seems like an issue with the amplifier. What's up with headphones or external speakers, did you already try that? In case this doesn't work, you have to go to the vendor with your laptop.
908008
if you have a mac,no help, but for pc, got to control panel, click on sound,speech,and audio devices.click on adjust the sysytem volume and see, put it where you want and see if it works then, if not check sound and audio devices,click on volume and make sure its not on mute,then,click on hardware and make sure your speakers match whats highlighted. if it doesnt work, talk to your system provider and ask for some help.
1176473
make sure u have a separate amplifier for the speakers....u can easily play ur comp audio on the speaker ..u just need to have the right combination of male female connectors wired up....can't say which one for u....and make sure there is proper earthing with the speaker system....best bet will be to get a separate stereo or dolby enabled soundcard.....nowadays they are very cheap....