Using Clip with External Speakers

I just purchased the Sansa Clip + and have used it for about a week now with headphones with no problems. However, when I try to listen to my music with an external speaker, there is no sound (usually) or the sound is so low as to become useless when anywhere other than a very quiet room. My speakers (I have three different kinds) all work well with other devices so I know they are operating just fine, but my Clip + seems to only work with headphones and not external speakers.  Is this normal?

KDOM wrote:
I just purchased the Sansa Clip + and have used it for about a week now with headphones with no problems. However, when I try to listen to my music with an external speaker, there is no sound (usually) or the sound is so low as to become useless when anywhere other than a very quiet room. My speakers (I have three different kinds) all work well with other devices so I know they are operating just fine, but my Clip + seems to only work with headphones and not external speakers.  Is this normal?

http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/board/message?board.id=clipplus&view=by_date_ascending&message.id=5936#M5936

KDOM wrote:
I just purchased the Sansa Clip + and have used it for about a week now with headphones with no problems. However, when I try to listen to my music with an external speaker, there is no sound (usually) or the sound is so low as to become useless when anywhere other than a very quiet room. My speakers (I have three different kinds) all work well with other devices so I know they are operating just fine, but my Clip + seems to only work with headphones and not external speakers.  Is this normal?

Most devices put on watts of power to properly drive speaker systems. The Clip+ (and other mp3 players, for that matter) only produces milli -watts (that’s 1,000ths of a watt), as they are designed only to adequately drive miniscule ear buds or headphones.

Good results can be acheived using internally-powered speakers, such as those used for computers (for the same power-related issue), but it’s unrealistic to expect any kind of volume or sound quality without some sort of additional external amplification.

That would be like entering a VW Beetle in a tractor-pulling contest. Woefully (and comically) under-powered.

You could pick up a headphone amp to go between the Clip+ and the speakers to boost the signal, and probably be satisfied with the results. :wink:

Oh, and by the way . . . this is the Clip board, not the Clip+.

OK, got it!  Thanks!