Floorstander or stand-mounted speakers?
October 20, 2003
Would you buy for a combination music and home-theater
system floorstanding or stand-mounted speakers? Or would you mix and match them?
Linda McMahan
This is quite debatable, and I'd suspect that you'd get
different answers from numerous experts. But here's my take.
I like floorstanding speakers for music and home
theater, and here's why: Including the price of a good set of stands, most times it's not
much different price-wise to move from a large stand-mounted speaker to floorstanding
models. You'll typically get better bass response from the floorstander, which will sound
better without a subwoofer and be easier to augment with a subwoofer (because the sub will
not have to compensate for a seriously bass-challenged small speaker). The
counter-argument includes such points as there being less cabinet resonance in a smaller
enclosure and less cabinet surface area for diffraction problems (diffraction, in
simplified terms, is the way a speaker's drivers interact with the physical cabinet).
Probably the most important consideration isn't the
actual speaker at all, but where it is intended to reside. A small room might just be a
better match for a small speaker, while a large room needs a bigger model -- no
rocket-science there!
Kicking up the power
October 17, 2003
I have a Denon AVR-1802 receiver. I want to be able to kick
up the power. Can you recommend a Denon power amp to hook up to my receiver that will
satisfy my need for additional power?
Joe
There are two things to consider before you go any
further First, does your receiver have preamp outputs that will allow it to be connected
to an external power amp? Check your manual for this information. Second, if it does have
these connections for five channels, do you want to buy a five-channel amplifier or simply
a two-channel amp for the front speakers? A five-channel amp would allow you to bypass the
entire amplifier section in the Denon receiver you have, whereas a two-channel amp would
let you continue to use the receiver to drive your center and surrounds. Check Denon's
website for the company's current offerings for each kind of amplifier.
Upgrade strategy
October 16, 2003
I am planning to build slowly a music/cinema system. I just
got a Pioneer DV-656A DVD player. I would like to take the next step: amp and speakers.
Normally I listen to CDs and only sometimes to DVD movies in cinema mode. What should I
do? Should I buy a stereo amp and a good pair of loudspeakers or go for a similarly priced
A/V receiver and speaker set? I tend to prefer the first solution, but how can I upgrade
it in the future to a full cinema setup?
Ovidiu Sandor
The speaker question is easy Buy a nice set of stereo
speakers from a company that makes a full range of home-theater speaker systems. Most
manufacturers produce matching center-channels and surrounds for their main speakers. If
you do foresee yourself wanting a full home-theater system at some point, I'd look for a
receiver to drive your mains -- even if you don't delve into multichannel at this point.
This makes more sense than buying a two-channel integrated amp that will unnecessarily
complicate your system when you decide to upgrade. There will be some features you'll not
use on that receiver at first, but you'll be glad you've got 'em when you expand your
setup.
How large a discount?
October 14, 2003
What percentage discount should I expect to receive on
audio and home-theater equipment? I'm going shopping next week and want to be armed with a
goal in mind.
Daryl Jacoby
There are so many factors involved that your question is
nearly impossible to answer. The differences between dealers and the types of services
they provide, along with each individual manufacturer and their particular pricing
structure, not to mention local market conditions -- there are way too many variables
involved to formulate an answer.
I'd say that you're heading down the wrong road looking
for a specific percentage-of-list-price discount before even selecting your system. Maybe
an analogy would help. I've seen furniture stores that list a "suggested retail"
or "fair market value" and that is astronomically high, seeming to bear no
correlation with the product. The furniture is then "marked down" to 50% off
that price to what is essentially the real "list price." The salesman then says
they can "do even better than that." Now, on the surface you're getting 60-70%
off, but in reality they've marked up the product so that they can mark it back down.
Those shopping solely on percentages would be happy, but in fact they got ripped off.
At the end of the day what's important is that you find
what you want, pay a fair price for it, and enjoy your new system. Go into it with those
goals in mind and you'll be fine.
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