# How do I set up a sound system in my wife's office? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618 "2008-11-01T19:28:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/1 "2008-11-01T19:28:11Z")
My wife, Brynda, is buying an office suite which she will be sharing with another psychologist. What Brynda wants to have is a system that plays music (probably classical) in the waiting room. We are thinking about getting an MP3 players and ripping several classical albums and then just having them play randomly. We are going to have the MP3 player in a non-public are and the speakers will be in the waiting room. So, what do I need to set this up? Are there any good websites with information on how to do this? I am thinking some kind of MP3 player, a dock or mini-stereo with MP3 adapter and then a couple of speakers. I don’t really like iPods because of the proprietary format and the iTunes interface, but if that is going to be the best option, so be it. Any help would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/2 "2008-11-01T22:54:35Z")
I assume your wife’s office has a computer? They way I’d do it would be to hook (powered) speakers up to her computer, run some cable to the waiting room for the speakers, then rip the music to the computer, and then play it through winamp. I’m sure there’s options like the ones you mentioned (mp3 players) but I don’t know anything about those. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/3 "2008-11-01T23:09:05Z")
I’m also a big fan of running things from PCs nowadays. I encourage people to use a PC for home entertainment systems. You can get all your multimedia stuff running on something that does other things as well. There are plenty of good PC speaker systems including 5.1 surround sound, some of them are wireless. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/4 "2008-11-01T23:36:19Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I’m also a big fan of running things from PCs nowadays. I encourage people to use a PC for home entertainment systems. You can get all your multimedia stuff running on something that does other things as well. There are plenty of good PC speaker systems including 5.1 surround sound, some of them are wireless. Other than being an **enormous** waste of power, this isn’t a terrible idea. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/5 "2008-11-01T23:41:34Z")
We use a conventional amplifier and speakers and feed it from either a CD player, DVD player, Computer, record deck (vinyl) or MP3/iPod, whatever is convenient for the media at hand. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/6 "2008-11-02T00:28:52Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Other than being an **enormous** waste of power, this isn’t a terrible idea. How is it a waste of power? Assuming the office already has a PC running to handle appointments and billing, the processor cycles needed to run iTunes or some other MP3 player running on shuffle mode will consume a trivial amount of power. ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/7 "2008-11-02T02:43:06Z")
OK, here is some additional information. There is a computer in a business office, but it is not turned on all the time. It is only usually on when my wife is working on it or the person who does my wife’s billing is working on it. If a system is run through the PC, what would happen when an alert is sounded, like for a new e-mail or IM message? I assume that would be heard through the speakers as well, unless all those sounds were silenced. **Myglaren** and **beowulff** , do you have any suggestions for brands, or models that would work well? Or any sites where I can research this information? I don’t know much about audio equipment/setup, but I am more than willing to learn. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/8 "2008-11-02T02:52:22Z")
Hmm…I’d actually never thought of that. But I don’t remember ever hearing beeps and boops when I have my Winamp on. I could be wrong, but Winamp might silence normal system noises when it’s playing music. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/9 "2008-11-02T02:53:38Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > How is it a waste of power? Assuming the office already has a PC running to handle appointments and billing, the processor cycles needed to run iTunes or some other MP3 player running on shuffle mode will consume a trivial amount of power. Yes, of course. I was talking about using a dedicated PC vs. an iPod dock. So, if there is an existing PC, and it’s on during the day, then it would work fine. Just make sure any alert sounds are muted. Run the audio out to an amplifier and speakers, and you have your audio system. You can even get streaming audio off of the web this way. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/10 "2008-11-02T03:09:58Z")
You might run afoul of Public Performance laws, and have to[license](http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html) the music. Just so you know. More info [here](http://www.woodpecker.com/writing/essays/royalty-politics.html) > [@](#): > > A much-contested area has involved retail stores playing the radio or tapes. The law says that such use is legal if the components used are “of a type commonly used in private homes”, though GAP Clothing Stores lost and then won their lawsuit, apparently because of their systematic and large-scale commercial intent to entertain their customers, even though they were using supposedly legal small home stereo components in all their stores. Apparently the courts have decided that stores with less than 620 square feet of space are exempt. Principals and officers of corporations have been found personally liable for copyright infringement. Hotels, motels, universities, summer camps, members-only clubs and even semi-private organizations need licenses, as do non-profit and public radio stations. Peppercorn, a store in Boulder, Colorado that sells gourmet cookware recently lost a case in which they were playing music that was being sold in the store (supposedly an exemption), but because they were selling other things than music, they were ruled non-exempt and fined. ---
**Author:** ![Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gut)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/11 "2008-11-02T17:18:33Z")
[Sonos](http://www.sonos.com) is a pretty cool little thing that might do the trick for you. Put one of the amplified zone players (ZP120) in the waiting area with some little bookshelf speakers attached to it and you’re pretty much done. ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/12 "2008-11-04T23:28:29Z")
I think the Sonus system will be a bit too expensive for us at the moment, although it does sound like a great system. What manufacturers or brands make amps and speakers that work for this type of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/13 "2008-11-05T00:54:39Z")
As for specific equipment, for your needs I don’t think you need to be too picky. We use a mixture of components including Denon, NAD, and Electrocompaniet amps. Sony, Marantz, JVC and Shanling CD players. A Sonab record deck for vinyl. Speakers are Dynatron, B&W, Jamo and Wharfedale. we have a few iPods and iRiver mp3 players that get plugged in occasionally. I would lean toward Marantz or Denon amps and CD players. Perhaps Mission or Wharfedale speakers. Match the speakers to the room volume. I tend towards floorstanders but I don’t think they would be suitable for your purposes and may be more expensive than you wish to budget for for this purpose. My desktop computer will play CDs with it in standby mode (which it always is) without booting the operating system (Ubuntu in this case but that makes no difference). A DVD player that will play mp3 DVDs could be set on random repeat and play for days without noticeably repeating. My doctor’s surgery has a little Denon receiver and CD player with a pair of small Wharfdale speakers in the waiting room that plays continuously and has been running for the past twelve years, seems like that would be suitable. ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/14 "2008-11-05T15:25:49Z")
Thanks **Myglaren** , that is the type of info I was looking for, some brand names that I can do some research on. It sounds like you have experience setting up exactly the type of system I am looking at setting up. In the doctors surgery, is the CD player a multi-CD system? ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/15 "2008-11-05T18:59:11Z")
It is the doctor I visit (rarely) not a system that I have installed. It is single CD player though and they change the discs now and then. Sometimes they shift to the radio. Pretty much the receptionists choice. A CD player or DVD player that can play mp3 files would be preferable but the doctor’s system is pretty old now, likely they are waiting for it to fail and replace it when it does. A large capacity flashdrive (iPod or similar) would presumably have a longer service life than a mechanical drive but it is a lot simpler to change the media in the latter. None of my CD players are multichangers either. When fed from one of the computer hard drives the music can play for around three weeks without repeating. Otherwise it isn’t background music but definite selections for the moment, which is why no multichangers, not that there is anything wrong with them in the right situation and they certainly wouldn’t be inferior to mp3 quality. ---
**Author:** ![TheFifthYear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-up-a-sound-system-in-my-wifes-office/470618/16 "2008-11-05T19:25:33Z")
My doctor’s office plays XM’s (commercial free) classical station. That would be a pretty easy alternative. Radio -\> stereo receiver -\> speakers.