Mini-system
June 30, 2002
I am going to purchase what I think (after about eight
months of research) is one of the best-sounding mini-system home-theater systems on the
market (well, for the college student that is). I have fanatically narrowed it down to the
Panasonic SC-DK20. According to Panasonic, the DK20 is not out yet, but somehow I can find
it online for about $365. I came across your site and was wondering if you could tell me
any true differences/advantages/disadvantages to having a "regular" home-theater
system (stackable black and now silver systems that I have seen/experienced in several of
my friends/families houses). Well the DK20 now has been upped to 340W, and has the
additional subwoofer. Those are two main differences in the new model.
Additionally, with comments from your articles, the room
and space you have your system in make quite an impact on the listening experience, which
I understand now. I will finally have a room that is no more than 16' x 15' so I do not
think I need anything too powerful, just something that has good surround quality and gets
the job done.
This will be the first major purchase of my college career,
and I just want to make sure I covered all my bases before I make this decision. Thank you
for your time
Ryan R. Martin
I must commend you on researching your purchase so
thoroughly. It's exactly this type of homework that should lead to long-term satisfaction
with your system.
The main rule of thumb is to listen and like what you
hear. Once you've done that, and have narrowed down the list of features you want, you're
almost home. With the room you have, you should be fine with the type of system you are
looking at. Abnormally large or small rooms pose the biggest challenges, but average-sized
rooms are what most folks have, and therefore are what most manufacturers design for. The
room you have is a plus for you.
As for the differences between mini-systems and separate
components, there are some more power, more features, the ability to swap out components,
and higher prices to name a few. The first place companies skimp on mini-system components
is on the speakers. It might be wise to seek a system where, if you eventually wanted to,
you could upgrade the speakers for improved sound quality. You would therefore get some of
the benefit of "separates." I think mini-systems make a lot of sense,
particularly for a college student, since many times the system will need to be moved
several times throughout your studies. Sounds like you are on the right track with the
Panasonic. Good luck.
Speaker materials
June 27, 2002
Greetings! I am an audiophile. Recently, I was thinking of
buying a new pair of loudspeakers and was just wondering if you can help me out on this
question If there are three models of speakers and they all use the same drivers (tweeter,
midrange and woofer), just the cabinet design is different (such as MDF or solid wood),
would that make them sound different?
Yin-Lin Chen
I think it's safe to say that a speaker's sound is
determined by the design, the materials, and the construction taken as a whole. You may
find loudspeakers with similar drive units, similar cabinet designs, etc. that sound
vastly different. In your example, I would expect different sound from speakers made of
different materials. Even if two speakers look similar though, don't assume that
everything is the same except the box. There's a lot going on inside the box --
crossover and cabinet-volume issues to name two -- that aren't apparent to the naked eye.
In the end, expect everything to matter, which means you simply have to listen to
determine what the differences are and how important they are to you.
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