Apr
15
Peak vs. Continuous Power
Filed Under Speakers, Surround Sound | Leave a Comment
The whole peak vs. continuous power thing is a sticky wicket (I’ve wanted to say that all day long) as there are so many variables to consider, even trying to describe the pitfalls of relying on the measurements is a pitfall unto itself. However there are a few rules you should keep in mind whenever you’re trying to decipher amplifier power ratings from electronics manufacturers, and specifically power ratings from Japanese consumer electronics companies.
The whole peak versus continuous wattage rating Shtick has gone on so long that most people don’t even give it a second thought. Rightfully so because by now with as much stretching of the truth, ok who am I kidding, lying that’s gone on surround the idea, that’s about all it’s worth.
Listen I’ve got a 15 year old amplifier nominally rated at 50 watts that would devour all but the very best of the current 130 watt plus surround receivers. Simply put a lot of companies, maybe even most companies exaggerate their continuous wattage ratings so badly that we’ve all shifted into a kind of well if 12 = 10, 14 must equal 12 mentality when even that isn’t very telling of what these ratings are actually capable of telling us.
Mar
27
From time to time I encounter customers who want to use their subwoofers passively, i.e. to run their front left and front right speaker leads through the subwoofer to power it passively. While this isn’t something I generally recommend (due to the delicate nature of analog signals) there are preferred methods to improve the overall sound quality of passive subwoofers.
Every extra foot of cable and additional break in the signal path attenuates the signal slightly and eventually enough attenuation leads to audible distortion. Now this is an extreme illustration but it does happen. If you can’t run a low-level signal cable to the subwoofer (for whatever reason) try to make the leads from the receiver to the subwoofer as sport as possible.
Also try and use banana clips, spades, soldered on connections etc. over raw wire, raw wire can oxidize easily and enough oxidation can reduce the sound quality of the signal. Soldered connections obviously reduce oxidation to a great degree than twist on speaker leads but in this case anything is preferable to raw speaker cable.
Mar
19
Subwoofer Placement
Filed Under Speakers | Leave a Comment
I thought we’d get a little deeper into subwoofer positioning as the last speaker placement post focused on maximizing high frequencies, this time we’ll tackle the lows. Low frequencies produced by subwoofers are omni-directional, meaning the sound should reach you regardless of where the subwoofers placed in the room, that doesn’t mean that placement cant affect the sound however.
I tend to experiment with different spots in the room for optimal subwoofer placement but I almost always start with a front corner. If my first corner sounds too boomy I’ll adjust the volume and if that still doesn’t work I’ll try the other corner. If the bass is still flabby I’ll try another spot in the room, moving it from the front of the room, slowly, back, stopping every now and then to hear how it sounds. Yeah it’s a lot a trial and error but the room’s sweet-spot can make all the difference in the world as to how the sub sounds.
If after all this I’m still having trouble finding the perfect spot I’ll flip that method around and place the sub at my listening position and move (myself) around the room listening for subtle changes in how tight and articulate the bass sounds. This isn’t as spot-on accurate as the first method, but it can help in narrowing things down in a troublesome room.
Mar
9
I’ve seen some pretty odd home theater installations in my day. Everything from display’s mounted just a few inches below the ceiling line to projectors placed right next to central-air vents (not so bad in the summer but oh boy does it cut down on life expectancy come winter) but the most common home-theater-gone-bad scenarios I see are bizarre speaker placements.
From speakers hanging off the rafters to speakers laying on the floor and everything in-between, speakers are winding up in all sorts of positions they were never intended for. Without getting into every advanced speaker placement theory known to mankind, I did want to share one (probably my best to date) speaker placement tip, keep the tweeters at ear level.
Woofers and even mid-range drivers to some extent are omni-directional, i.e. within reason they’re somewhat forgiving of placement errors, tweeters not so much. You’ll want the tweeters of your front three speakers (at a minimum) at or near the same height of your ears when seated in your listening position. One of the most noticeable improvements you’ll hear is better placement and localization or in plain English, a sharper more focused overall sound.
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