How To Connect Some Speakers To Your Ipod

The iPod is a great device for taking your music on the go. However, the sound quality of the speakers which are built into the iPod hardly do the iPod justice. That doesn't matter when you are on the road since you most likely will be using earbuds to listen to your music. When using earbuds, you won't bother anybody else. However, when you are at home you probably don't want to use earbuds. The best way to improve the poor sound quality of the iPod speakers is by using some decent external speakers. In this article I will describe how to connect a pair of external speakers to your iPod and iPhone.<br /><br />You have several options of connecting some speakers to your iPod or iPhone. Firstly, you can connect any speakers of your choosing by using a suitable audio amplifier. Since the iPod has two audio channels, you'll need a stereo amplifier to drive both speakers. Many audio amps are fairly large. However, there are some smaller-sized audio amps on the market that don't take up a lot of space. You plug your iPod or iPhone to the input of the audio amp by using a Y-adapter cable. This cable has a headphone jack that plugs into your iPod and two RCA jacks that plug into the RCA audio input of the amp. When running your speakers, I recommend that you turn the audio volume of your iPhone to the maximum unless you notice that the amplifier starts clipping.<br /><br />As an alternative to purchasing an audio amplifier, you can eliminate some of the cable clutter by getting a pair of active speakers. These speakers are also called monitor speakers. The major difference between active and regular speakers is that active speakers have an audio amplifier built in. When you look at the back of an active speaker, you'll notice that the speaker is missing the speaker cable terminal. Instead you'll usually find an RCA connector and a power cord. Many speakers such as PC speakers are designed such that one speaker has a built-in stereo amplifier. Often, one of the amplifier outputs is available at the rear of the first speaker and connects to the second speaker via speaker cable. You connect the audio input of the active speaker to the headphone output of your iPod or iPhone. Also, active speakers have a volume control. You normally don't adjust the volume via the iPod but rather use the speaker's volume control.<br /><br />The third option of connecting speakers to the iPod which reduces cable clutter even further is to buy [http://www.amphony.com/products/ipod-docking-station.htm Amphony speaker docks]. Speaker docks have become rather popular in the last few years thanks to the huge popularity of Apple portable devices. Almost all of Apple portable devices are unique in that they have a docking connector. This docking connector allows the iPod to be plugged into a cradle which is part of speaker docks. The dock eliminates the need for a connecting cable between the iPod and speaker. Speaker docks have the additional advantage that they charge the iPod while it is plugged into the cradle. Usually iPod docks also allow other MP3 players to be connected via a headphone audio input. Aside from being able to stream music from the iPod, modern speaker docks often allow you to control several functions of the iPod through the dock. The most commonly supported functions include skipping of tracks, rewind, play and pause. Some docks come with a remote control which makes controlling your iPod very convenient. With the remote you'll also be able to control the volume of the speaker dock.