Speakers today aren’t your father’s mono or stereo units
Johnny Cash’s melancholy baritone whispered out of my aged audio speakers.
“… my sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end …”
It still amazed me how, despite major changes in audio systems, I could still use the speakers I bought off my college roommate for $110 nearly three decades ago.
It was sort of a high-tech hack.
My son, Matt, was playing his new CD through the software on my laptop computer. I was piping the sound out the earphone jack into in- audio jacks of my old stereo receiver.
The receiver powered the pair of UltraLinear speakers, with their 12-inch woofers, 4-inch midrange cones and a 3.5-inch tweeters.
As my son and I listened, I wondered about bringing my stereo system into the 21st century. I could hear some distortion.
5.1 speakers
“Video and home theater is driving the industry. But stereo is the originator.”
Greg Schroeder, who has been with Kief’s Audio/Video in southwest Lawrence since 1994, was giving me a rundown of how audio speakers have been evolving.
Single speakers and mono sound were popular in the 1950s, replaced in the 1960s by stereo, he said.
“The media sort of drives speakers,” Schroeder said. For example, CDs offer stereo — the sound is split into right and left channels for your speakers.
But DVDs (and the new HDTV systems) can offer Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.
“With HDTV, they’ve made the decision it will be Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, which doesn’t influence the speakers, but it does mean you will need five speakers and a sub-woofer,” he said.
The 5.1 DVDs separate the sound into 5.1 channels that work seamlessly together: a right front channel, a left front channel, a center channel, surround right rear, surround left rear and a sub-woofer (the sub-woofer is the .1 in 5.1, Schroeder explained).
“If you truly want to play a 5.1 DVD, you need five speakers and a sub-woofer, or you’re missing something of it,” he said.
Don’t mix and match
A lot of people who set up such a system, buy their audio speakers in pairs, usually starting with the front stereo speakers. They later add the center, the rear surrounds and the sub-woofer.
Unless you’re a sound engineer, its best to stick with buying matching components, where all the speakers have all been engineered to seamlessly work together, Schroeder said.
People do it all the time, he said. But it’s like putting a Ford engine and a Chrysler transmission in a Chevrolet body — you can make it work, but it won’t be as good as a factory-engineered system.
When you’re out looking for speakers, believe your ears, not your eyes.
“Don’t buy a speaker based off a spec sheet,” he said.
You should go some place where they have a demo room set up and you can begin listening. You should always compare two speakers at a time — like you might compare fine wines, he said.
“Pick a winner and compare that to another winner,” he said.
Size and pricing
You can choose between buying the micro speakers (such as those offered by Bose), bookshelf-style speakers or floor-standing tower speakers.
“Typically, a good bookshelf speaker is $200 minimum a pair,” he said.
A quality pair of tower-style speakers, will cost about $400 a pair.
Micro speakers run about $200 a pair. However, with a micro speaker, to get the best sound, you’ll also need to buy a sub-woofer, which ultimately brings up the cost.
Suggested brands
There are hundreds of brands of speakers. Often, manufacturers put a lot of money into their name brand, which rises the price of the speaker, he said.
Audio speakers
Schroeder suggested looking at Kef, Monitor Audi, NHT, PSB, Klipsch and Boston Acoustic.
He also spoke highly of MartinLogan, a high-end brand of speaker manufactured in Lawrence.
You can’t always rely on name brands — some manufacturers make a reference line of speakers and then a bargain line. Don’t think that you’re getting high quality just because of the name, he said.
Computer speakers
Many people are also investing in speakers for their home computers. Most systems are comprised of two small speakers and a sub-woofer.
But some computer games now have multiple channels of audio and full surround sound, so some systems are set up for that.
Schroeder pointed out that the very best computer speaker does not come close to rivaling a home audio system.
Priorities
“Oh, I love the Strokes!”
Julie burst into the kitchen, joining her brother and me as we played another CD through my hacked laptop/stereo.
The two of them talked about the Strokes for a while as I cleared off the table for the pizza to arrive.
I answered a cell phone call from Katy.
“Hi Dad. Watcha doing?”
“I’m just talking to Matt about getting myself some new speakers. We’re playing his new CDs through my old stereo speakers.”
You could almost hear the wheels turning.
“Hey, I need some speakers for my computer!”