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April 13, 2000
- Banking |
Compact system: Yes or No? The problem with mini-systems and compact systems is that they tend to focus on quantity not quality. They are loaded with a bunch of features that in reality make it sound worse. Mostly, these are mass-manufactured products that are not rugged. If the three components of a system -- source, amplifier and speaker -- are separately assembled, it sounds much better than an all-in-one system bought at the same price. With separate components, you pay extra, but it lasts longer and has a higher resale value. Also, upgrading is easier on such systems. For these reasons, the first step towards good sound is separate components. What's a source? The source can be a CD player, turntable (record player), or tape decks. Most truly high-end systems are entirely analog-based with a turntable as the only source. Unfortunately, there are not many LP records in the music stores. Tape decks and tuners are not considered hi-fidelity sources. So the source usually is a CD player. Please note that these sources have no amplification of their own, meaning you can't just buy a CD player and a pair of speakers and hook the two up. The output from the source is a very weak signal that needs amplification from an external amplifier. More powerful need not be better That bring us to the amplifier or the receiver. A receiver is an amplifier with a built-in radio or tuner. The best way to buy an amplifier is not by power ratings, but by price and quality. The power rating measured in watts is a very misleading figure. For one thing, the difference in terms of loudness between a 200 W amplifier and a 20 W amplifier is that the 200 W amplifier is only twice as loud. Furthermore, the main problem with amplifiers is clipping or distortion. When an amplifier starts to distort, it sends out square waves that are especially damaging to the speakers. This means that so long as a speaker is receiving clean, undistorted sound, regardless of the loudness, it will perform perfectly. A cheap 100 watts Pioneer receiver is probably not capable of more than 25 watts before it starts to clip and damage speakers. On the other hand a more expensive 50 watts NAD amplifier is capable of putting out 50 watts of clean power. Unless you can remember all that, the best way to select is by the quality. Judging the speakers Speakers are not judged by how many watts they are capable of handling nor by how wide the frequency range they cover. They are measured by how accurately they cover the frequency range they are designed for. The superior sound quality and the enhanced durability are the major advantages of high-end systems. My first advice would be keep away from mass-market names such as Bose, JBL, JVC, Sony, Kenwood, Aiwa, Technics and a horde of others. For example, lets take Bose. Audiophiles love to hate Bose! So what's the reason? Bose is a corporate that has a swashbuckling marketing force, and if you go by numbers, it is one of the largest selling brands. Critics say the sound of Bose AM series is calculated to reinforce quick sales. They supposedly have mid- and upper-bass bloat that impresses on first listen. Also, the middle highs are excessively "hot" and really attract your attention. So, when you compare them to the common deck out there, they sound impressive, and sell well. And Bose's latest lifestyle series is supposedly the most OOMPOC (overhyped, over-aggressively marketed piece of crap) the audio world's ever seen. If you happen to get a chance to try their "lifestyle", you'll find that they have totally directional bass, a muddy mid-range and the list goes on. Now-a-days, Bose products are seen more as self-esteem enhancement devices rather than quality sound systems. Okay, let me stop my carping here. The bottomline is, if you are serious about the sound, you can get much better and superior sound quality for a much lesser price. Mixing & Matching So maybe you can't boast about a system that has say, a pair of B&W speakers, NAD amplifier and a Marantz CD player because there are not many people who espouse high-end audio. But take my word, compared to those mass-market systems with similar price tags, the latter is a killer. The sound from the latter is definitely enthralling and overpowering. The mass-market companies specialise in producing cheap, low quality components for the common consumer who's ignorant. This is probably the most important maxim in audio. These household names concentrate on features and marketing, not on sound quality. They just score points in the aesthetics category but fall short of performance. But there is big list of real superstars which you might have never heard of, like NAD, NHT, Nakamichi, B&W, Paradigm, Dana Audio, Mirage, Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha and Harmon-Kardon. There are about 619 such manufacturers, each being sound specialists, and when it comes to high-end systems, audio is their middle name. Of these, more than 100 are very active in the consumer market. So if you permute the possible combinations you can work with, the numbers are just mind-boggling. And since there are so many players out there, the pricing is very competitive and the buyer stands to gain from this. If you are still not very comfortable in selecting the components, here is a list of manufactures you may want to look at:
Lower end (Rs 40,000 - Rs 3,00,000): NAD, Nakamichi, Yamaha, Infiniti, Harmon-Kardon, Definitive Technology, Philips, Denim, Onkyo, Marantz.
Steps to begin your search
Now that you have taken a look at the entire product-range, start listening. Audiophiles call this 'auditioning' and it's of prime importance. Here are half-a-dozen points to help you.
At the end of every test, note down what happened. And then come up with a cumulative grade for the system. There is no limit to the number of points you would like to analyse. Audiophiles test for tone color, imaging, sound dynamics and so on and so forth. For many, finding their preferences amidst the battery of sensory information is a task in itself. So, it's you who has to decide on the intensity of the test and when to call it quits. When you begin to audition systems, you may find that you have an immediate and definite sense of what you do and don't like in a stereo system. Although there is no hard and fast rule, auditioning for a system can take 20 to 30 minutes, depending on your hearing senses and how fast you make out the subtle differences. Now get down to buying it Once you have conducted simple experiments of this kind, stop. Buy the system. This advice may sound too obvious, but you may find yourself the victim of fear that there is something even better out there somewhere, and that you are missing it by buying now. This fear is abetted by the hype produced by many audio publications, dealers, and audiophiles. In the audio world as technology is growing, things do tend to get cheaper and better with time. But it is unlikely that some new product will cause you to be dissatisfied with your old system. To the system cost, you have to add the cost of all the cables, speaker stands, equipment stands, taxes, etc. This usually comes up to 20 per cent or more of the system cost, depending on the type of system.
Remember, interconnects and stands are very crucial to the performance of the system. Good cables definitely improve the acoustics and good stands are needed for providing sufficient isolation. If there are changes to the system that you can try with minimal effort, such as swapping out one component for another available at the same store, then you might as well try them. At worst, they will confirm that your system was best the way it was, and at best they will make a good system even better. Time to hook it up Setting up the system in the right position greatly enhances its performance. Here are some basic rules you can follow to get the best acoustics:
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