July 11, 2011

Best Surround Speakers Use Multiple Drivers. . .

Filed under: AV Tip of the Month — Tags: QS8, surround sound, surround sound setup — Alan @ 8:25 pm

Axiom's best surround speakers for medium to large rooms, the QS8s, in Maple with a Nutmeg stain.

Wherever you are, just stop and listen for a moment. Be alert to all the sounds you’re hearing. If you’re outside in a city, or in the country, there’ll likely be a multitude of sounds impinging on your ears from every direction. Even if you’re in an office, you’ll notice the familiar ambient sounds—the background whir of the air-circulation system, the tapping of keys on computer keyboards, distant muffled city sounds (unless the windows are open), and so on.

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March 10, 2011

The Fallacy of “Wireless” Speakers

Filed under: AV Tip of the Month — Tags: wireless speakers — Alan @ 5:09 pm

Virtually all but perhaps the most tech-obsessive geeks (and I count myself among that group) hate the hassle of wiring up a 5.1-channel (or 7.1-channel) home theater system—stringing those speaker cables under rugs or along the walls to each of five different speakers and a subwoofer, or “fishing” them through the walls to an outlet where the speaker is located. Consequently, the audio-video panacea of so-called “wireless” speaker systems holds enormous appeal, and various manufacturers have rushed in to fill the void.

Articles online and in audio-video magazines as well as ads have been positively gushing over the wonders of “wireless” speakers.

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December 20, 2010

Three Things Not to Forget When You Compare Home Theater Systems

Filed under: AV Tip of the Month — Tags: compare home theater, compare home theater systems, home theater system — Alan @ 3:14 pm

Shopping for a new home theater system this holiday season? Or perhaps you’re considering upgrading existing stereo speakers into a full-blown home theater? Maybe you’re relegating the old home-theater-in-a-box to the basement with the old TV, and getting a great new home theater to keep up with your new flat-screen high-definition display.

Before you head out the door, here are three tips to keep in mind when you compare home theater systems:

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July 7, 2010

A/V Tip of the Month: Loudspeaker Tonal Balance

Filed under: AV Tip of the Month — Tags: loudspeaker tonal balance, loudspeaker tone quality, relative frequency response, tonal balance, tone quality — Alan @ 12:10 am

A recent newcomer’s post on Axiom’s forums raised the question of loudspeaker tonal balance, specifically the relative “sound” of Axiom’s M22 versus the M3 bookshelf speakers.

My answer pointed out that the M3 gave the impression of having more bass output than the M22, partly because of the M3’s bass hump around 100 Hz. Another forum regular (Jakewash) gave another reason for the M3’s bass sounding more prominent, noting:

“The difference is whether or not you like your midrange sound equal/upfront to the bass (M22) or laid back (M3). The M3 actually has a midrange dip that makes the upper bass sound more prominent than the midrange giving the illusion of more bass when in fact it is less midrange.”
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