| The Director's Chair December 2001
Give Us The Real Deal!
The home-theater enthusiast is maturing. These new,
informed folks make for astute consumers. While there was a time when manufacturers could
claim just about anything and the consumer would accept it if it were presented in a
formidable fashion, those times have changed. Consumers no longer assume that
"somebody verifies this stuff" so it must be true or "surely the
manufactures would get into loads of trouble if they were exaggerating a claim."
Today’s consumer is more versed in the technical jargon that describes home-theater
equipment than ever before. With this knowledge, comes a wary shopper that can spot
misleading specifications a mile away. And best of all, we are learning more all the time.
Here is one of the more common examples of confusing specifications, involving the choice
of a home-theater receiver and its power specifications.
When it comes to choosing a home-theater receiver, there
are several things to look for. First, make sure it has the features you actually need.
Too often, bells and whistles are not even used after the dealer’s all-out product
demonstration. However, make sure the processing modes that you will use now, or may want
to use later, are included.
Next, is the issue of power. This is often a misleading
subject. Rule of thumb: look at the weight of the unit to help determine the validity of
the power specifications. The heavier the receiver is, the better. That’s right, one
way to determine the beef in your receiver is to look at the actual net weight of
the unit. The weight is primarily derived from the transformer and heatsinks. The larger
the transformer, the more stable the amp will probably be under a heavy load, such as a
hard-hitting action sequence driving three or more of the speaker array simultaneously.
One popular model I recently examined is rated at under
80Wpc, seemingly underpowered in today’s market. But, if you look at the
receiver’s weight, almost 40 pounds, and then peer inside to the power supply, you
have real hardware that will perform under real-world conditions. This particular model
has consumers saying, "it sounds more powerful than my previous receiver, and it was
110W per channel!" The fact is that the lower specified unit is more powerful
when it counts. The truth is that the specifications of the heavier receiver are closer to
reality, whereas the 110W model may be on shaky ground.
It is easy to look at wattage ratings and make assumptions.
"The more powerful the output specification, the better the receiver." Wrong!
Look at how the specification was derived. If your perspective component is rated with
only "one channel driven," what happens during an action sequence when numerous
events are happening at the same time, and more than one channel is being taxed? The
amplifier section can’t produce the required power output! At this point the
amplifier section will either be driven into clipping, possibly sending damaging
distortion to your speakers, or trigger the protection circuitry in the receiver itself.
The latter would shut down the receiver, which is harmless, but would of course interrupt
your movie and cause lots of frustration! The fact is that one of the first places a
manufacturer compromises in a receiver, is the power supply. If an inadequately small
power supply is being taxed by only one channel, the power rating for that one channel
might actually look pretty good. If though, three channels are being driven hard, what
happens to the undersized power supply? It simply can’t keep up with the output
required to reproduce the soundtrack at the volume attempted. A much more honest
specification would be a quoted power rating with several or all channels
driven. This would give a better idea as to how the component would perform in the real
world. This is what you want to look for!
A consumer can easily fall into the common trap of
interpreting specifications in a way that doesn’t tell the whole truth. Examine
specifications, by all means, but read carefully between the lines and you will come away
with a clearer understanding of the actual capabilities of the component. And don’t
forget to look at specs like weight, which may tell more than meets the eye. Look for the
receiver that gives you the real deal. It will pay off in the end.
...Jeff Fritz
jeff@hometheatersound.com |
