Yamaha TSS-1 Dolby Digital / DTS 5.1 Surround Speakers

The subwoofer consists of a cubic enclosure that is on the smaller side.  It will tuck away under a desk quite easily.  Like the satellites, it is prewired with speaker cable that simply needs to be run back to the amplifier unit.

Once the speaker system has been assembled, the connection to the computer is the next step.  The TSS-1 offers a number of connection options that make it very versatile.  For digital sources, there are both optical and coaxial SPDIF connections, with the appropriate cables included in the box.  In addition, for standard analog playback, there are minijack connections for both front and rear speakers, to allow for four channel playback - something that is overlooked entirely too often when designing a computer surround system that may be used with four channel output soundcards.  Included are two minijack cables for connecting to most soundcards.  The one cord not included with the system is any sort of minijack to RCA adapter that can be used to tap into the digital interface found on many soundcards; we provided our own to complete the connections.  One nice feature is that the different inputs are individually selectable, so the unit is more of a receiver that can work with multiple sources, or in the case of digital versus analog playback, multiple audio formats.

The final connection is for power.  The unit uses an external AC to DC converter, which is designed in the power brick style.  This means the converter is wired in line with the main connection as opposed to being either internal or built into the plug (wall wart).  This design doesn't take up extra space on the wall outlet or a power strip.  Once this last connection is made, the unit can be powered up, and the audio performance examined.