
This isn’t an end-all, be-all list of requirements.
A/V stand or shelf – Any piece of furniture with shelves will do, as long as you can run wire between each shelf. Speaker wire – You need speaker wire to carry the audio from your receiver to your speakers. Typically, you’ll use those red and white audio cables for this. Cables – You need cables to connect your sources to your receiver. Speakers – For a stereo system, you need TWO speakers. Sources – A stereo source is anything you get music from, like a CD player, tape deck, turntable, AM/FM radio, iPod, etc. Stereo receiver – The receiver amplifies your audio for your speakers. So, before I dive into any lengthy explanations, here’s a simple list of everything you need for a basic stereo system: On an almost daily basis, I’m connecting or disconnecting receivers, CD players, record players, or whatever so I take for granted how easy it is for me to do so after all this time.Īgain, many people don’t know what you need to do to connect a good, basic stereo setup and that knowledge isn’t something people are just born with (or else I wouldn’t be writing this!). Having worked in the audio/video business for the past few years, I’m no stranger to hooking up a stereo system. What do you need to set up a stereo system? My goal is to walk you through how to hook up a simple stereo system so you can enjoy listening to your favorite music, whether you listen to CDs, MP3s, radio, records, or any combination. Understandably, they have not had many years of experience connecting stereo equipment on an almost daily basis to learn how to do it themselves. What I realized is a lot of people who come to our store looking for a stereo system may not have the slightest clue how to set one up.
Well, everyone starts from somewhere and after assembling and disassembling numerous demo stereo systems I learned pretty quickly the ins and outs of a stereo system and how everything works together to make your music sound the best it possibly can. I knew the red wires went in the red holes, black wires in the black holes, and that was about it! I must confess that when I started, I didn’t know how to set up a basic stereo system. I started working for the Stereo Barn in late 2007. By Nick Bock Setting Up a Stereo System: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Simple System