How to Connect Portable Speakers

It's easy to connect portable speakers to your MP3 player or other electronic device.

Small and compact, portable speakers let you share music on your MP3 or other electronic device with others without the hassle of connecting the player to a receiver or larger set of speakers. There are even portable speakers that don't require batteries--eliminating the worry of having to buy and replace batteries frequently. Portable speakers usually include the cable needed to connect the speakers to your music player or other electronic device.

Things You'll Need

• Batteries (if required)

Instructions

1. Turn off your music player or other electronic device to which you want to connect the portable speakers.

2. Place the portable speakers near the your music player. If the portable speakers require batteries, open the battery door on the back of one of the speakers and install the batteries according to the diagram printed on the battery door. Close the battery door and turn the speaker around so the front of the speaker is facing you.

3. Plug the end of the portable speaker's connection cable into the "Headphone" jack on the side, bottom or back of your music player or other device. If connecting the speakers to your computer's sound card, plug the portable speaker's connection cable into the jack labeled with the headphone symbol.

4. Turn on the portable speakers, if the speakers are equipped with a power switch. Turn on your music player or other electronic device the portable speakers are connected to.

5. Select a song using the arrow keys on your music player or by navigating to a directory containing a song, if using a computer or other electronic device. Select "Play" on the music player or other device to test the portable speakers.

Tips & Warnings

• If the portable speakers you purchased didn't include a connection cable and the jack on the back of the speakers is a 1/8 inch jack, purchase a 1/8 inch to 1/8 inch speaker jack cable (1/8 inch connector on both ends) to connect the set of speakers to a music player or computer sound card. Plug one of the 1/8 inch ends of the cable into your music player's or computer's sound card headphone jack. Plug the other end of the 1/8 inch cable into the jack on the back of the speaker.

• Note, for unusual electronic devices, you may have to purchase an adapter, found at electronic and computer outlets, to connect a set of portable speakers to the device.

• If your portable speakers contain a single RCA jack, purchase a 1/8 inch to RCA speaker jack cable. Other connection cable types include 1/8 inch to ¼ inch, ¼ inch to RCA and ¼ inch to ¼ inch (not an exclusive list). Consult the manual that came with your portable speakers if you are not sure what size jack is present on the speakers.

• If your portable speakers require batteries, consider purchasing rechargeable batteries and the appropriate charger for the batteries if you use the speakers frequently. Rechargeable batteries are available at retail and electronic stores.

References

• P4C.Philips: SBP1100/00 Philips Portable Speaker System

Resources

• Best-iPod-Online: Best iPod Portable Speaker Systems