QuestionHello, I am an avid videophile and very much in tune to the latest and greatest technologies but I am extremely weak when it comes to home audio. I've had a 5.1 Acoustic Research system (~$300) and it is pretty awful when compared to my friends expensive B&W speakers. I currently live in Japan and I wish to spend a little less than $3000 for a 7 channel system. First off, which speakers should I spend the most money on (Front speakers, surround, center channel) and what is their relative priority in terms of good sound? Other than that, I am looking for the most bang for my buck and Japan has some relatively cheap (i.e. significantly below MSRP) speakers available, so in my research at the various websites I find very little information that I understand. For instance, how important is the size of your drivers? Does size matter for woofers more than tweeters? How important is the crossover? Can the average person really detect a difference in 20HZ-20kHZ when compared to 16HZ-24kHZ? Also, I almost exclusively use my stereo for movies only, I hardly if ever listen to music, therefore does that affect what speakers I should purchase? Does bi-wiring make a difference? If I choose to not bi-wire, should I hook up my speaker connections to the high freq or low freq connection?
I know its a lot of questions, but any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
AnswerGreat, great question!
I always tell people that if they want to focus on a budget they should start with a decent 7.1 receiver and a good pair of stereo speakers. You don't have to spend alot to get a decent speaker - maybe $250 to $400 per main (L,C,R) is a good baseline. As far as WHO you buy - go with the folks who actually do science and apply honest R&D to their product design. Gimmicks are gimmicks - be not fooled.
Guys like Yamaha and B&W do really good work - yamaha has some very solid consumer products in Japan, I'm less enthusiastic about their american offerings. Just use your common sense and look for a good solid cabinet (speaker box) and quality drivers (speakers). I suggest just going for the conventional straightforward designs - avoiding strangely angled speakers, odd materials, and weird alternatives to standard drivers (i.e. magneplanars or electrostatics) is probably best - I'm not saying that there aren't legitimate alternatives, but in your budget range sticking to the main path will keep you out of trouble. Use your common sense.
What you should avoid is the "theater in a box" type systems with a "Sub-and-satellites" configuration. I think what you are looking for in terms of fidelity requires full-bandwidth mains.
Depending on the surround sound format, your rear channels are less essential - in that some rear surround formats only require accuracy from about 120Hz to 8k or 16k (and though true Dolby Digital 7.1 theater surround is all full-bandwidth, often producers cruch down and compress the rears just like the old days). I wouldn't completely cheap out, but if your running lean on cash don't fret too much about breaking the bank to make the rears match the front.
As for diver size - I kind feel there is a lower limit to the size of the woofer (mid), somewhere around 5" cone excursion and low frequency reproduction hit their limit - anything smaller than that is difficult to work with. Larger than 10" for a mid-range and the cone's "high-frequency" breakup and directivity are too much too early.
The reverse is true for subs, anything below 10" just doesn't move enough air in my opinion.
Other than that don't worry yourself with crossovers and driver size, etc.
Does it sound good? Good.
Do they have a "Frequency Response Curve" you can look at that's fairly flat from about 80Hz to 18k (20k preferred)? Even better.
In fact, if the manufacturer doesn't have a frequency response curve, I rarely use them for my clients. Frequency data demonstrate that the manufacturer is objectively and scientifically evaluating their own product, and that the results are good enough that they are confident in sharing them with you. Most of these response curves are availible on the manufacturer's site on "spec sheets", manuals, or brochures. Here's an example of a good one:
http://www.jblpro.com/pub/install/control/JBL.Control25AV.pdf
By the way, if a manufacturer just writes the "frequency response" (i.e. "54Hz - 34Hz") it means nothing and should be dealt with suspicion. That needs to be qualified with some range of precision (+/- 3dB = very precise, +/- 6dB = passable, +/- 10dB = not great) and even then doesn't show you where the dips and spikes are. If I told you I went from sea level to 2000m elevation, you still have no idea what the trip was like.
As for frequency range, in theater systems most of the stuff below 100Hz is "LFE" going to the subwoofer, so you might be able to relax about the low-end capability of you LCR speakers. Also, for most producers the Center-channel is primarily used for dialog so it has to be perfect in the speech range (500Hz-8kHz) but usually doesn't require the same low end as the L&R.
Look up the "Fletcher-Munson curve" online.
This is the natural (in modern days, ideal) hearing sensitivity of the average human male (unless you happen to be looking at their studies of canines or whales - watch out for that). You should notice that in truth most of the stuff below 100Hz and above 10kHz is not really heard all that well. In fact, standard DVDs and CDs are not really capable of producing anything below 20Hz or above 18kHz. If you see a speaker advertised as "accurate to 34kHz" take it with a grain of salt. Anyting below about 60Hz is as much fealt as heard.
As for Bi-wiring, "eh". I'm a scientist. I test things. When I bench test Bi-wired systems (as defined by NSCA & SMPTE - one amp, two wires, two crossover inputs, two drivers, in one or two speaker boxes) I really don't see anything I would consider a vast improvement, especially at the consumer level. I would certainly encourage you to experiment - when you make your purchase look me up again and I'll walk you through how to do it.
Bi-amping (by definition taking the line-level pre output out of the surround decoder, sending it to a processor/active crossover, through two amps, and then to each driver PER LOUDSPEAKER CHANNEL) definately reaps some performance benefits and is almost all I do in the pro realm. That being said it is extraordinarily expensive and complicated, and really unneccesary in all but the most elite (and expansive) consumer houshold.
So, what else?
Well, there's one great big factor that almost every consumer overlooks that could make an even bigger difference than buying new or expensive speakers:
ROOM ACOUSTICS.
Audio systems do the same thing as lighting - they convert electricity into energy in the room. I tell architects all the time - no amount of expensive lighting can improve the aesthetics of a room if you've painted it neon green-and-orange paisley.
Similarly, no speaker or decoder is going to sound its best in an all tile or plaster square room. Consider applying acoustic absorption and diffusion elements to your room, and make it acoustically as symetric about the center channel as possible. In all my experience I have found that room treatment is where your money can go farthest. Here are some resources I recommend:
Diffusion:
http://www.rpginc.com/research/research_topics.htm
http://www.allnoisecontrol.com/products/DiffusionSystem.cfm
General Acoustics:
http://www.ecoustics.com/Home/Accessories/Acoustic_Room_Treatments/Acoustic_Room...
http://arts.ucsc.edu/EMS/Music/tech_background/TE-14/teces_14.html
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Acoustics/Fundamentals_of_Room_Acoustics
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-6fH4dvTTtdr/learningcenter/home/speakers_roo...
There are lots of cheap and attractive ways to alter the acoustic properties of your room - book shelves with books of random size make great diffusors and traps - polar fleece curtains and quilts and carpets make great absorption.
If you feel you need more help feel free to contact me again and check the "keep private" box on your question. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can then include a personal email address without it being posted online.
I wish you the best of luck. Happy hunting!
