|
It can be very satisfying to enjoy theater-like sound while
watching your favorite action movie, or cranking up the volume
during your favorite song. “They” say you get what
you pay for. It isn't always true, especially with audio
equipment, unless you get into very high-end stuff.
Here are some tips for buying, upgrading, and using audio
systems:
Be careful. Many of the words and phrases used in
the home audio industry seem designed to boggle the mind. Ask or
use a local professional if you have doubts about buying or
hooking up an audio system. One wrong move can blow the whole
system.
Amplifier overload protection. When buying an
amplifier, stand-alone or as a composite, check to see if it has
built-in overload circuitry. You may have to do some digging to
find this out. But it is worth it. Some rather well known brands
don't have this protection. If, or instance, one of your speaker
wires pulls out of the socket, you could lose that whole channel
of your amp, an easy $125 fix. And that doesn't fix the problem,
it just restores it to a working but vulnerable state.
Stereo vs. Surround Sound. Big difference between
these. A stereo is defined as two channels, with the sound split
between them. In example: the horns come from the left, the
violins from the right. Stereo is still the accepted, and
indeed, for the most part recommended mode for listening to
music.
Surround sound, on the other hand, is a sound mode where the
sound is split between 6 or more channels. In surround sound,
the bass is sent to the sub woofer,
and the rest of the sound is split between the other channels in
a “3-d virtual sound plane.” This means that (in the
case of movies) the sound follows a certain pattern through the
channels (like a man walking from the front of the room to the
back-left) to create an effect of “being there.”
This makes for a much more enjoyable cinematic and “full”
audio experience. Here's an excellent primer on Surround
Sound.
Surround Sound Systems. Most people who own a
surround sound system in the United States today acquired them
in the last 2 years, and still don't know how to get the sound
they were sold when they bought the system. Don't feel bad. The
system needs to be calibrated and the instructions are usually
in Greek (at least it seems that way.) It is possible to do it
yourself. Some good resources: here,
here,
and here
(humorous), another
one (detailed) , and Secrets
Of Doing Surround Sound On Your Existing Console
(pdf).
Speakers. One of the most important secrets to
getting the sound that sends tingles down your spine when
listening to your stereo or surround sound system is getting the
correct speakers. Aside from the structural design of the
speakers themselves, it is absolutely vital that you match the
ohms (within 2) and watts (the speakers' power
handling capability being equal to or greater than that of the
amplifier.)
Speaker wiring. Salespeople tend to sell the idea
that the bigger the wire, the better the sound. Nice idea, great
selling concept, absolute waste of material. A standard 18-guage
wire is good for 5-600 watts of power. Per channel. Most home
theater is never over 22-guage. The only good purposes
for upgrading the guage of your wire is if, (1) you are running
500+ watts of power or, (2) are going to seriously lengthen the
distance between the amplifier and the speakers.
|
