The Simplest Way to Upgrade Your Desktop Audio Setup with Classic Hi-Fi Gear

Most computers, whether laptops or desktops, don’t have great built-in speakers. That’s why many people opt to buy computer speakers. These are small powered speakers that can plug directly into your computer (via 3.5mm or USB), so they’re easy to use.

For those interested in a more elevated desktop audio setup, you can turn your old bookshelf speakers — a classic hi-fi component — into computer speakers. This is a great option if you have an old pair of unused bookshelf speakers lying around.

It’s not difficult to turn bookshelf speakers into computer speakers, but you’ll need a few key components.

The Desktop Amplifier

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

In a traditional hi-fi or home theater system, you’d have either an AV receiver or an integrated amplifier to drive your bookshelf speakers. But in a desktop situation, you’ll want an amplifier that can plug directly into your computer (via USB or 3.5mm) and has RCA connections for your speakers.

Above, I’m using the Audioengine N22 (discontinued) desktop amplifier — the company has since released the Audioengine N22 (Gen 2) with Bluetooth streaming capabilities. If you’re not feeling it, there are several other desktop amplifiers to choose from.

The Bookshelf Speakers

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Bookshelf speakers are passive speakers — meaning they don’t have built-in amplification. They are typically comprised of two drivers, a tweeter and a woofer (for the high and low frequencies, respectively). Their compact design means that they’re meant to be placed at the height of your ears on a table or a bookshelf. This makes them great computer speakers as well.

In the above setup, I’m using an old pair of Q Acoustics 3020 bookshelf speakers — the company has since released an updated version, the 3020i.

The Speaker Cables

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

If you have bookshelf speakers, you likely already have the necessary speaker wires with attached banana plugs. In a traditional hi-fi system, these cables are used to connect bookshelf speakers to a receiver or amplifier. In the above setup, I’m using them to connect each bookshelf speaker to the desktop amplifier.

The RCA Cable

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

The cable to connect your computer to your external amplifier will most likely be a RCA to 3.5mm jack, which you can pick up for pretty cheap — this one from AmazonBasics costs just $8.

You can also opt for an RCA to USB-C cable — like this one from UGreen — if you’d rather use your computer’s USB-C port.

The Final Steps

Once you’ve assembled and connected all three primary components, setting it up is pretty easy. You’ll need to plug in and turn on your external amplifier and then go into your computer’s audio settings and make sure that the output selected is the amplifier rather than your computer’s built-in speaker.

And that’s it!

Note: If you reboot your computer, it may default back to your computer’s built-in speakers, in which case you’ll just need to go into audio settings and switch it back.

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