Expert: Wayne Tapia - 10/17/2010

Question
I have a Toshiba Laptop ( L670-BT2N13) that I want to add external speakers( Harman/Kardon w/ woofer) to.  The speakers total wattage is 40.  I am concerned that this is too much for the Laptop to handle.  Years ago I remember adding large speakers to a cassette recorder and having it burn up.  Can my Laptop handle this extra setup without any problems?

Answer
I'm assuming the Harman/Kardons are powered?

If you're using the audio jack on the laptop to your powered speakers, then you have nothing to worry about.I'm not sure what to say about what happened to your cassette player, but it must have been due to an improper set up.



Here's a good rule of thumb...

The input/output on devices like cassette decks, cd players, iPods, etc is LINE LEVEL. This is a fairly low level signal that feeds into an amplifier (or in your case, the powered speakers). If you try to connect passive (non-powered speakers) to a line out, the results will be barely audible, if at all.

The output from an amplifier is SPEAKER LEVEL. You never, ever want to send a speaker level signal into a line level input. That will toast the input to the device.

Remember - outputs feed inputs, and make sure they are the same type of signal level.

If you're only using the output of the laptop, there is no chance of any issues.