Speakers vary greatly in design and purpose. They will continue to diverge and become more specialized. Consult the speaker manual for hardware and software specifics. However, most models install in a similar fashion.
Locate the sound connections and connect the speaker jack to the computer. Most computers use an internal sound card and often the connections will be in the back of the system. These will be a series of connections the same size and diameter as the speaker jack. In many cases there will be two sound out connections.
- One will be labeled as a line-out connection. Most speakers requiring a separate power supply (such as an electrical adapter or batteries) should use this connection. It is also used to export amplified sound to recording devices including recordable CDs and tape cassette systems.
- The other connection is for the non-powered speakers. Since the signal is boosted by the computer, powered speakers may be damaged if connected.
- Plug the speaker into the proper connection.
- In Control Panel, double-click the Speech icon.
- On the Text To Speech tab, click Preview Voice to hear the currently selected voice; the text will be spoken, highlighting the words as they are spoken. If the speakers are working properly, you will hear the spoken words over the speakers.
Notes
- If no sound is heard after connecting the speakers, See Possible Speech Recognition Problems for troubleshooting procedures.