I am installing a PC in my kitchen (much like this one http://www.studio-lights.com/blog/iphone-inspired-kitchen-touchscreen-computer.htm) and would like to have the speakers mounted in the ceiling. The problem is that the only ceiling-mounted speakers I can find are all the regular types, connected with speaker wire. Can you just splice the speaker wires and attach a 3.5 mm jack to plug into the PC, or is there any sort of adapter that you could use? I think I would have to use an amp to make this work as the speakers don’t have power - any suggestions on how to hook up an amp to this configuration? Failing that, are there any computer speakers specifically made to be ceiling-mounted?
Your PC won’t put out enough power to run large speakers. Get a cheap power amp, plug the PC output into the line input of that, and power the speakers from the amp. Size the amp to the number and size of speakers you have.
However, you might have an amplifier already as part of a stereo or even a boombox, as long as it has an “aux in” jack and a place to connect those speakers you already have. That’s the arrangement I have in my home office.