Contents Home page
Determine your main use(s)
PC or Mac
What to buy
What speakers to buy
Buying Hi-Fi Speakers
Where to buy
Where should it all go?
How is it all connected?
What cables to use
Paying an installation company
How to identify a room problem
Possible solutions
Acoustic design service
Using compression effectively
Using gates effectively
Using EQ effectively
Preamps
Inserts
Auxiliarys (Aux's)
EQ
Subgroups
Faders
Major equipment manufacturers
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Choosing the perfect Speaker setup (Hi-Fi)
Summary
If you like to listen to music, or play video games, on your computer, at home, or at work, or you own an iPod, or other portable media device, you will probably be considering personal, or portable, loudspeakers, of some kind, to allow you to experience rich, high quality sound to best effect. The choice of speaker technologies, types, and sizes on the market may be somewhat daunting, at first glance, but a little thought about what, exactly, you want to listen to, can help you to narrow down the possibilities.
Personal Speakers
Popular personal speaker configurations include a two loudspeaker, stereo, arrangement – similar to a traditional HiFi configuration – the addition of a “subwoofer”, to form what is commonly known as a “2.1” channel system, and the addition of further main loudspeakers, to form “5.1”, “6.1”, or even “7.1” systems. “5.1” channel digital surround sound, in the form of “Dolby Digital” is the industry standard for commercial DVD recordings, for example.
The Trust SP-2750 USB Speaker Set, for example, provides two loudspeakers, each with an output of 8 watts RMS (“Root Mean Square”), which connect to a computer via a USB (“Universal Serial Bus”) interface. The Hardman Kardon Soundsticks II Speaker System also includes two main loudspeakers, at 10 watts RMS per channel, but also a subwoofer, at 20 watts RMS. Philips SPA2600 5.1 PC Speakers, featuring 4.5 watt satellite speakers, and a 12.5 watt subwoofer, are an example of a 5.1 channel configuration, and are compatible with computers and portable media devices, such as CD and MP3 players.
The size, and therefore the frequency range, of personal speakers is an important consideration. Generally speaking, the larger the speaker cabinet, the deeper the bass response, but, as personal speakers are usually designed to be portable, the solution is often a compromise between performance and portability. Bass reflex speakers, particularly those incorporating “Acoustic Bass Duct” technology, are designed with a vent, or duct, connecting the interior of the speaker cabinet to the surrounding air, allowing low frequency sound to combine with, and reinforce, the main sound from the loudspeaker, producing a powerful bass effect.
Conclusion
Carefully selected personal speakers can allow you to experience high quality audio from any, or all, of your computer, boom box, or portable media player. You can, for example, plug your speakers into any of these devices, or, depending on the type of speaker configuration that you choose, you may have the option of “docking” your iPod, or other portable music player, with the speakers, and have it function like a traditional HiFi console, or form its own, portable boom box.
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