By Phillip P. Daniel
Speakers, they are the only way to have both the audio from your favorite Yani album and the latest episode of Star Trek reach your ears. They are truly an integral part of any home stereo system, and by adding a subwoofer, you can feel the bass as Lord Vader breathes through his mouthpiece all around you (something that made me nearly deficate in my droors the first time that I heard it). As easy is it for me to say that you desperately need quality, top of the line stereo pieces, it is nearly impossible to tell you exactly what to buy in this crowded market filled with brands and company names that sound like they should be in the latest episode of StarGate SG-1. Below is my guide to buying speakers and subwoofers that will have your girlfriend, boyfriend, or parents kicking you out of the house for blasting Star Trek The Next Generation at 11 PM in no time!
What size of speakers should I buy?
How big is the room where you will use the speakers? If it’s an average living room, about 20 x 15 x 8 feet (2,400 cubic feet), and you sometimes like to listen at realistic (blazing loud) volume, look for moderate-size floor-standing speakers, typically about 30 to 40 inches tall, with one or two woofers about 6 to 8 inches in diameter. If the speakers are for a den, bedroom, or servant’s quarters, or man slave's room, check out “bookshelf-style” speakers with one woofer and one tweeter, about 10 to 20 inches tall.
I am a huge flippin fan of deep deep bass action. How do I know how much bass the speaker will produce (and did I mention I love bass)?
You can tell by the size of the enclosure (box) and the diameter and number of woofers--the large cone used for deep bass frequencies. The bigger the box and the greater the diameter of the woofer, the more deep bass the speaker will deliver. A small bookshelf speaker about 12 inches tall will have limited bass output but it will still be audible and pleasant (for pansies), but nothing like as much bass as you will get from a floor-standing speaker with one or two large woofers (yeah!).
What does 2-way and 3-way mean, and do I really want to know?
A 2-way speaker divides the musical range into two parts, bass and treble. It uses a large cone woofer, about 4 to 12 inches in diameter, for low bass frequencies, and a tiny dome-shaped tweeter, typically about 1 inch or ¾ inch in diameter, for treble sounds – photo torpedoes, light sabers, and the like. A 3-way speaker adds a third cone driver for midrange sounds, hence the musical range is divided three ways. In a 2-way speaker, the woofer handles all the bass and about half the midrange.
How do I judge a speaker’s tone quality? Is it like judging a Mr. Hot Buns contest?
Use recordings that you like, with male, female, or transgender singers, lots of good deep electric bass, clearly defined drums and cymbals, and some strings, piano, and brass instruments backing the singers. Can you follow the individual notes that the bass plays? Are the singers’ voices natural or do they sound nasal and fat or aggressive and shrill? Are “s” and “t” sounds exaggerated? Do violins and trumpets sound natural or are they harsh and strident? Does the Klingon sound audible and would it pass the rigorous tests of the high counsel? These are all things that you should keep in mind.
How do sealed or “acoustic-suspension” speakers differ from bass-reflex and “ported” speakers?
A bass-reflex speaker uses a hole (also called a port, a vent, or a blowhole) in the box to re-direct bass energy from inside the enclosure so that it couples with and reinforces the bass from the front of the speaker. A sealed or acoustic-suspension speaker uses only the energy from the front, and discards the rear waves from inside the box. Neither type is better than the other. Using the same input power, ported designs tend to play a little louder than acoustic-suspension speakers. If well-designed, both types are capable of excellent sound and will convince you that the Enterprise really is flying over your head.
What brand names should I watch for?
Look for companies that specialize in making only speakers. Brands that offer a huge range of products can’t do everything as well as a company that has found its niche. For example, the best role-playing games tend to come from companies that specialize in developing role-playing games. You wouldn't want to buy a RPG from EA when you could by the newest Square (now refered to as Square/Enix, a conglomerate of the two top franchises of the 80's, 90's and 00's.) franchise would you? The same applies to speakers. Does the company make claims about serious research in acoustics as well as listening tests? If they don’t look like they test their products or know what they are talking about, then they are as worthless as a Wookie without its intergalactic battle bow.
What are the differences in woofer and tweeter material? Some use paper or plastic; others use titanium or aluminum. What’s the deal (with hospital food)?
In the past, very good speakers have used paper- or plastic-coned woofers, and tweeter domes made of cloth or plastic. Recently, strong and ultra-lightweight metals like titanium and aluminum are being used with great success for tweeter and woofer cones, but listen to the sound the speaker produces: look for clear, distinct vocals, and lots of detail on percussion, with bite but no harshness from trumpets, sax, or phasers. Just because a speaker says that it is made out of something better then paper doesn’t necessarily mean that it will sound better.
What kinds of speakers will I need for a flippin awesome, mega sweet, wake my parents up, home theater?
At the front will be a pair of left and right main speakers (used for sound effects such as phasers, lasers and tasers), a single center-channel speaker on top of your TV for movie dialogue (important to hear intricate Klingon words), a pair of smaller surround speakers, preferably on the side walls but usable at the rear as well (for blasts that are supposed to be behind you…like from those cowards the Borg), and a large single subwoofer, the speaker for deep bass (like Chewbacca’s growl), usually with its own built-in amplifier. That’s six speakers total, and ideally they should be from the same manufacturer, especially the front left, the center, and front right.
What kind of speaker cable will I need?
Let the distance from your receiver or amplifier to the speakers be your guide (or if that fails, your conscience). For runs of 10 feet or less, simple oxygen-free copper 16-gauge cable will be ample. For distances of 10 to 30 feet, use 14-gauge (the lower the number, the thicker the cable). For longer runs, get 12-gauge cable. There is no need to purchase exotic or expensive branded speaker cable, unless your in to that type of thing. So long as it is thick enough, there are no significant audible differences in cables.
How do I estimate the size of amplifier needed to power my speakers to good volume without distortion? I can't even do simple math!
Well you know what they say…the bigger the amplifier…the bigger the amount of power needed to run it! Look for the “minimum required amplifier power in watts”; if it is a range, use the higher figure. For typical living rooms (see above), receivers of 50 to 100 watts per channel will give you lots of reserve power for “raising the roof.” Note: smaller bookshelf speakers need MORE power, not less, to reach adequate volume in the same room because they are not as efficient as larger floor-standing speakers. For small rooms, a receiver of 30 to 50 watts per channel will be ample. Buy as much power as you can afford. For rooms designed or modeled after the Star Ship Enterprise, you may want to have professional come in to put the speakers in the optimal positions. I spent a few days trying to figure out where to put the front channel speakers but eventually had to call over my friend Jason to fix them.
As you can see, there are many factors that you should consider when buying a speakers or subwoofers. Feel safe knowing that you can count on Newbie for the best reviews and prices on the net. See you next time!
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