How to play downloads through your hifi

There are two general methods of doing this: through a computer media player software package or through a standalone 'media receiver'.

If you want to use the media player software in your computer to organise, choose and play music directly from your computer you need to make a connection between your computer and your hifi system. The simplest way to do this is with a cable from the analogue output of your computer sound card to a pair of auxiliary line level inputs on the back of your amplifier. Unless you have upgraded the sound card in your computer this often sounds awful and is usually accompanied by buzzes, whistles and other noises!

A much better option is to connect your computer to your hifi using a digital connection. This can easily be done if your computer has a digital audio output and your amplifier has a digital audio input. It will be either a phono (RCA) shielded cable or a fibre optic cable. Either will give much better results than the analogue output from most sound cards. However not all hifi amplifiers have a digital input, and not all digital inputs are equal. Check what connections you have, your computer supplier will be able to help select the correct cables and connections.

If your hifi amplifier does not have a digital input the best solution is to use the highest quality of external USB sound card / DAC you can afford. Connect the analogue outputs of the USB sound card to your hifi amplifier auxiliary inputs.

Whichever way you connect your computer to your hifi, always set the volume level on the media player software to "unity gain" and use the volume control on your amplifier to adjust to your desired level. You can find out how to do this here. This is because digital volume controls used in a computer (and elsewhere) often reduce sound quality very rapidly at any setting below maximum. Using a computer to play your music directly is worthwhile if you also use the computer for other things, like Internet access. However, most computers are noisy enough to distract from the listening experience if placed in a domestic environment.

The other method of playing back music files stored in a computer is through a standalone 'media receiver'. There are many of these now available and their sound quality varies from poor to very good. The best sounding media receivers are made by companies who are more focussed on audio than on computer accessories. Some Google research will soon guide you to what is available. A media receiver is a separate box, with a self contained display and remote control. It sits beside your hifi system and connects into the back of your amplifier like a CD player or tuner. It accesses music (and sometimes video) files stored in a computer through a network. So to use a media receiver you have to install some form of network in your home. This can be wired or wireless but the scope of doing this is beyond this FAQ list. A media receiver has several advantages over using a computer to play your music; they are silent, with no discs or fans, simple to use and by accessing the stored music files directly can bypass some of the terrible things which get done to music when being played through a computer operating system and software! They do however still require a computer or 'Network Attached Storage' device to be running, on which the music is stored. This needs to be out of audible range. They also depend on a reliable network. Again, your local computer supplier is best placed to help you set up a system like this.

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