Steve,
I will chime in here and say that it depends on the size of your
audience. I will recommend you consider powered loudspeakers that
have the amplifiers built in. It makes for a much simpler load-in & setup.
For no more that 20 people or so you can get a set of Audix powered
loudspeakers that you can plug your laptop into with an RCA adapter.
Audix PH5VS (retail $349US/pair)
http://www.audixusa.com/audix/products.html
http://tinyurl.com/2a8ntn
There is even a carrying case for them. I think these work well as
monitor speakers as well.
For a larger audience look at the Mackie powered systems:
http://www.mackie.com/products/speakers/index.html
OR...
Fender Passport Series
http://tinyurl.com/28anvl
<http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?section=fenderaudio&cat=passport&subcat=passportsystems>
The P series seems reasonably priced.
Check Full Compass for pricing: http://fullcompass.com
--greg weddig
Baltimore, MD
http://gregweddig.net
--- In "Steve Pelikan" <>
wrote:
>
> Friends:
>
> Not recording, but presentingplayback:
>
> I'd really value your suggestions on giving a talk about bird songs
> and recording of birds to a medium sized audience.
>
> I frequently give talks (used to be slides but now "powerpoint") on
> nature/conservation topics --- flowers, insects, birds, threatened
> habitats etc. These have gone pretty well connecting my laptop to an
> LCD projector.
>
> This spring my topic seems to be natural sounds, recording, and some
> details about the biology of song birds and singing behaviour.
>
> ==============================================
> Do you have any suggestions about how to play back sounds to the
audience?
> ==============================================
>
> My current thought is to run the output from the laptop's audio card
> into an amplifier and hook up two speakers (what I have are smallish,
> cheap roughly 8x10" speakers about $100/pair) at the front of the room
> and pointing to the back wall of the room at 45 degrees or so.
>
> I can use power point (actually the free OpenOffice version of the
> program) to show pictures, text, sonograms and play back sounds as
needed.
>
> The whole thing has to be very portable (I carry it, set it up in 10
> minutes).
>
> My question is how to get the best quality sound for the audience
> given the equipment available or with small additional expense.
>
> Thanks for any and all suggestions!
>
> Steve P.
>
> P.S. One of my target audience is the members and supporters of a
> wetlands land trust, "Oxbow" ( see http://www.oxbowinc.org/) that is
> very high on my all-time admiration list --- an all volunteer
> organization that has protected about 2000 of acres of wetlands in the
> last 20 years). So I'd like to give them as good a show as possible!
>
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