Listening at Best Buy?
September 29, 2006
My local Best Buy
does not have a place or way to listen to the speakers they sell. So when someone tells me
that I need to listen to a particular model before I buy, I wonder how I am supposed to do
that. Any advice?
Paul Glenn
Listening to a component
before you buy can be harder than it sounds. Most big-box stores are simply not set up for
customers to audition a particular audio product. TVs, yes, but audio? No way! Most people
don’t do that sort of thing anyway. They just buy based on specs and price. My advice
is to narrow down your list of speakers to a couple (based on reviews, advice from
friends) and buy both pairs. Keep the set you like and return the other. Frankly, that is
the only way to audition some of these products, and I believe stores such as Best Buy and
Circuit City are set up for that kind of thing anyway. Most have liberal return policies.
As long as it is your intention to keep the set you like best, I don’t think there is
an ethical dilemma in that scenario, either.
Smaller drivers faster?
September 25, 2006
Are smaller drivers faster and therefore better at producing quick bass? I’ve
heard this for years and just don’t know what to think.
Pete R.
Generally speaking, no. The reason for this is that smaller drivers must have
greater excursion capability to produce the same air displacement as a larger driver
moving much less. You might make the case that multiple small drivers, with significantly
more motor (voice coil) in relation to cone surface area, are able to produce the same
bass as a large driver but with less effort. This last point is one often debated by
speaker manufacturers, however. What is obvious is that for truly deep bass, the most
efficient way to go about producing it is by using big drivers in big boxes. Look at the
best subwoofers out there and that is exactly what you will find. To sum up, I
wouldn’t use the smaller-driver theory as a rule of thumb when looking for speakers
to purchase.
