Leaving components on
March 11, 2003
I just bought a DVD player that stays in standby when idle.
Is this OK, or should I unplug it when I'm not home for a day or two? I don't want to
wear-out any of the internal components.
Beth Ferguson
If the player is designed with a standby mode then
you'll be just fine leaving it plugged in for extended periods. A lot of electronic
equipment is designed this way, and some in fact has no on/off capabilities -- it's on all
the time. If you're going to be on vacation for weeks at the time you may want to unplug
your entire system to protect it from lightening storms and such, but otherwise standby is
fine as a general rule.
Powered towers
March 8, 2003
What do you think of powered tower loudspeakers as an
alternative to regular speakers with or without a separate subwoofer?
Parks Downing
Powered towers are a unique configuration combining two
well-respected technologies: the passive loudspeaker powered by an external power
amplifier, and the powered monitor with its own built-in amplification. The powered tower
is a hybrid of sorts, combining an internally powered bass section with passive midrange
and treble sections. In fact, you can think of a powered tower as a "regular"
speaker sitting on a powered subwoofer.
I like 'em. These speakers offer bass-tuning options
(such as bass level) that you just don't get with completely passive speakers, and they
may need less amplifier power since the bass region (usually the most power hungry anyway)
is taken care of within the speaker. Many of the newer designs even have an LFE input for
home theater, thereby replacing a separate subwoofer since the .1 channel is reproduced by
the main speaker without having to do any fancy bass management. The main drawback to
these types of speakers is that you have to place them near wall outlets so that you can
plug them in.
Headphone amplifier
March 5, 2003
It's always a pleasure to read from your site. I was hoping
you might give me some advice in choosing a headphone amp to complement my Sennheiser HD
600s. Thanks.
Jordan
You're in luck! One of our reviewers has a nice
selection of headphone amplifiers under test right now. You'll hear about them very soon,
so keep checking back.
Next upgrade?
March 4, 2003
This is my first visit to your wonderful website, and I
just wanted to ask a very common question -- what to upgrade first for under $1500.
My system consists of the following: Focus Audio FS-68
speakers, Alchemist Forseti ADP15A Mk 2 integrated amp, Marantz 67-SE CD player,
AudioQuest Granite speaker cables and Ruby interconnects. My system sounds very clear, but
it's lacking in warmth and air.
Sincerely,
Derek
You've put together a very nice system, and I'm not sure
I would replace any of what you've bought. One thing to consider, which would address the
perceived warmth and expand the system's soundstaging abilities, would be to add a powered
subwoofer. The monitor speakers you have are fantastic from what I've heard, but a powered
subwoofer would extend the response deeper into the bass, which, believe it or not,
affects what you perceive throughout the entire frequency spectrum. Perhaps you have a
dealer that would let you try this option before you spend your money. This would be my
first area of investigation.
Magnat
March 3, 2003
In your "Ask Me" archives, a person in need of
your advice references his new system, which includes Magnat loudspeakers. Would you
happen to know where in Canada a person can still purchase the Magnat product line?
Rick
Magnat is a German brand that is, according to the
latest information I have, owned by Recoton Corporation (the company that until just
recently owned NHT). Recoton has several holdings in Europe (Heco and MacAudio are also
European brands owned by Recoton), but frankly, I don't see any evidence that they import
Magnat to North America. If any of our readers can help, we'd surely be glad to pass the
information along.
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