Minisystem
November 30, 2003
I am looking for a minisystem. The main criteria is the
best sound for the price. I don't care a lot about extras or a large CD capacity. I am
looking to pay $300 to $600. Can you give me some recommendations?
Micki Owens
The Sharp digital systems have come down in price
drastically as of late. We reviewed the Sharp SD-NX10 back when the list price was $1499.
Now you can get the same system for around $400 through various Internet shopping sites.
You may even have enough money left over to upgrade the speakers to a pair of Axioms or
Ascend Acoustics. I can't think of a better deal going today than that.
Hsu Research?
November 28, 2003
You mentioned sometime back that you would be reviewing a
Hsu Research subwoofer, but I've yet to see the review. Did I miss it, or if not, is it
still coming? Thanks for the excellent website.
Ronald Montgomery
The Hsu Research VTF-3 review is scheduled to be
published on December 15th. Almost there!
Speaker-cable question and amp malfunction
November 25, 2003
A few months ago, I purchased a terminated (spades) pair of
single biwire speaker cables to use with my old Wharfedale speakers, but I later upgraded
to Piegas that could not be biwired. Can I still use the cables, and would it make any
difference in performance if I just connected two cable ends to each speaker terminal?
Also, I have a Cairn 4808A integrated amplifier whose left
channel does not seem to be producing upper high frequencies adequately (compared to the
right channel and another amplifier I tested). I tried switching speakers (with cables)
and sources but with no success. The amplifier is only seven months old. Could it be
something simple -- static or cables -- that would not require professional repair?
Viktor
You can connect both leads in a biwire set of cables to
a single set of inputs as long as your speakers' binding posts are sufficiently large
enough to do so. You'll need to make sure you securely tighten the spades such that they
don't come undone and short-circuit your amplifier. There should not be any performance
degradation assuming a solid connection.
Regarding your amplifier, my first guess would be that
you have a speaker problem, but since you said you checked that, I'd seek service for your
amplifier. I just can't think of any other reason for the problem you describe.
Two subwoofer outs?
November 21, 2003
What is the purpose of two subwoofer connections on a A/V
receiver? The Yamaha RXV-3300 has this function.
Leon Gucwa
With the ever increasing number of speakers consumers
are willing to house in the name of good home theater, one reason for this additional
connectivity is simply to add a second subwoofer. In some instances, however, with
"powered towers," the LFE channel is reproduced by the subwoofer section
contained in the left and right speakers. Companies such as Canton and Definitive
Technology make such models. Many of these speakers have LFE inputs for this express
purpose. This can be advantageous in difficult rooms because running two subwoofers seems
to smooth the bass response. And obviously it can increase overall headroom compared with
one subwoofer.
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