4 ways I make my old audio equipment useful

• Put it in another room
• Consider a retro gaming setup
• Make some cash and rehome them
• Grab a record player

Upgrading your audio is one of the best feelings in the world. Whether it’s for gaming, TV, or music, you can always notice the difference going from something basic to something better. It’s not always as simple as that, though. Sometimes, you’re upgrading an existing audio system, and it means you have to find out what to do with your old stuff.

Just because you’re upgrading something doesn’t automatically mean your old speakers are junk. In fact, that’s far from the case. I have plenty of old equipment that has been replaced by new gear, but I still use it in various ways. I’m glad I have extra speakers lying around because it’s very easy for me to find places for them. It sounds strange, but I have bookshelf speakers in three different rooms, and I could use even more. If you find yourself in the same boat with extra speakers, maybe I could help give you some inspiration.

Put it in another room

The easiest answer

It should go without saying, but the best way to reuse your old equipment is to simply do it. I’m not advocating setting up an entire surround sound system in your bedroom, but you can definitely get a receiver and two speakers put in there without taking up a ton of space. The same goes for a spare bedroom or a basement. There are plenty of rooms that can benefit from speakers, and if I had it my way, I’d always have a pair of bookshelf speakers to go with my TVs.

This is the best thing I can think of for old equipment, especially if some of that equipment includes a receiver. Receivers aren’t cheap, so it’d be a shame to completely replace one without having any use for it. If you have the space, you don’t have to put any of your old gear to waste.

Consider a retro gaming setup

Some nice stereo sound

I have a few CRT TVs lying around for whatever reason, and while some of these old TVs have solid speakers, they can still use some upgrades. Something I did with an old pair of speakers and a receiver was plugging them into my CRT TV and making a little retro gaming setup. Considering that I paired with a stereo receiver with no HDMI ports, I didn’t need any fancy bells or whistles.

This is good for just about any of your consoles before the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation, although a 4:3 aspect ratio can still work for them. I even watched Avatar, something I don’t recommend, on a small CRT TV using this setup. Nevertheless, if you happen to have a CRT TV sitting around collecting dust, it doesn’t take a lot to upgrade the sound, and it’s not like you’ll be worried about space because these TVs are already massive by themselves.

Make some cash and rehome them

There’s always a demand

Those speakers I watched Avatar with came to me used from eBay. I made a soundbar killer in a spare bedroom using a used receiver. There’s a lot of value in used equipment, and if you’re making an audio upgrade that leaves your old setup with no home, just consider selling it. I wouldn’t have much of the stuff I have now if it weren’t for the used market. Home audio gear feels like it always has a demand, and if you take good care of something, it can last for a very long time.

My dad has been using the same audio receiver for decades now, and it still works like it’s new. Your gear can do the same thing, so if you do some routine cleaning and make sure dust stays out of the components, you can get a lot of mileage out of your stuff. The same thing applies to used gear. Yes, you will get unlucky sometimes, but my track record with used electronics has been more positive than negative so far.

Grab a record player

Vinyl is back anyways

Music benefits significantly from having a dedicated stereo setup. I have a record player plugged into a stereo receiver with a set of speakers currently, and it’s pretty nice. I could easily place the record player into my main receiver and run it through my surround sound system, but I like the record player being in its own dedicated space instead of just being another device.

You can use just about any set of speakers you want here, but you’ll want a receiver with a phono jack if you’re plugging them into another device. You might have a record player that supports Bluetooth, and if that’s the case, you can skip the receiver entirely. If you’re one of those people who have been buying records without having a player, you can finally right that wrong and pair one with your old audio equipment.