Question About Speaker and Mixer Setup

Hi, if it’s just for playing at home, I would take a look at this:

http://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/875/117099/USB-PUSBPlayback

It looks like nothing fancy and it’s a one-trick pony. Having said that, it’s ultimately easy and does the job.
The USB-P effectively is a “soundcard” in a box with one USB port to hook up to your computer, two XLR balanced outputs to run cables to your Alto’s and a mono/stereo switch. It all comes in an indestructible box that can withstand life on the road quite well (even if that’s irrelevant to you).

For me the beauty of it is it’s driverless operation. Just plug it in (even in a Windows environment) and it plays as a generic windows audio device. I use one when I have to hook up laptops in a live sound environment, but it should work in your situation as well. If you ever have to switch computers/laptops, it’s the easiest thing around. The balanced outputs are actually transformer-loaded, which (without going into detail) is the professional way of going balanced (many balanced outputs are balanced electronically).

Another option is to get a more fully featured external soundcard. This will require specific drivers and settings in some cases and most likely be more expensive. Some of the added features you will probably not need.

A small mixer like the Mackie is a good option, BUT taking the sound output (most likely the headphone jack) from a laptop is not the best sound quality, nor optimal signal level. And if you start with a less than optimal source, nothing in the rest of the chain (i.e. the mixer) is going to correct that. You could opt for a small mixer with a USB port, this will allow you to use the built-in soundcard in the mixer to play back sound from the computer. In which case you have actually bought an external soundcard in a mixer casing, since you won’t be using any of the mixers other features.

And the final option: get a (used) DJ controller! This will server two purposes. One, you will have a great piece of equipment to enhance your DJ-ing (experience) with. Two, it has a built-in soundcard with master outputs that you can run to the Alto’s (assuming the speakers will be relatively close to the controller as most entry-level controllers only have unbalanced RCA outputs).

Not a full answer but might help some.

Sorry to jump in here, The big USB end that looks like a Ethernet port is a USB B port.. The thumb drive/cords you normally see are A to A. It’s just a less seen standard connector and no doubt the device would come with a cord that is “A {computer} to B {Device}” ( = to [] ) connecting to any computer easily. As for your questions about a mixer, I will let someone else handle it. But for the last answer, if you are planning to do some gigs, Stereo is not really necessary, most setups are in mono. The reason for this is that stereo only works well if you are in the middle of the speakers. At a party most guest don’t all stand in the center of a room together so the effect of stereo is wasted, however if the setup is for you then stereo is the way to go in my opinion! 🙂

Same power group is advisable to minimise the chance of humm. Other than that I’d say your set to play music from your laptop/PC to your Alto PA speakers.

The ART I linked to earlier

Those are cheap (sub 100USD I think)

http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/zed-10/ (not real cheap, but great value for money, excellent quality)
http://www.bax-shop.nl/analoog-mengpaneel/yamaha-mg10xu-live-mixer (same price range as ZED, also very good)

And again, you can use a regular external soundcard, someting like this will work as well:
http://www.bax-shop.nl/usb-geluidskaart/numark-dj-io2-usb-dj-audio-interface (about 90 USD)