| Video Noise May 2005
 Obsolete Yet? Part One: Loudspeakers, Subwoofers, Power Conditioning
Is there any way to avoid buying
home-theater components that will be obsolete or behind the times in three to five years?
Yes. Some products you can select carefully today and still
be very happy with ten or more years from now. Other components will face challenges that
may make them old before their time.
In this and subsequent columns, I will look at how
obsolescence affects each component in a home-theater system and offer advice in helping
to select equipment that is less likely to become obsolete in the short term.
Selecting loudspeakers for the long haul
Loudspeakers used to be loaded with obvious colorations.
However, through experience and technology, the industry has matured to such a degree that
the obvious colorations of the 1970s and ’80s have mostly disappeared. Now, speakers
sound so good that huge advances every few years seldom happen -- unless the speakers
weren’t that great to start with. But you don’t want those anyway.
There is immense hype in the loudspeaker field. I
don’t know why people think a guy who has closed three failed loudspeaker companies
in 12 years will be able to do any different or better on the fourth try. Seems to me
it’s better to go with a long-term success story; that way, you have a better chance
of continued support and, many times, upgrades if you want them.
Internet forums are often unreliable places to get
information about what speakers might be ideal for your home theater. You’ll find too
many recommendations from people who want you to buy what they themselves bought, or who
have listened to only four different speakers in the last ten years. That’s not the
sort of information you need as the basis for making an expensive purchase. I encourage
you to stick with professional reviews for information that’s more considered and has
more depth of experience behind it. Have a look through our speaker-review
archives for a wide selection.
When I’m listening to two-channel music in a darkened
room, every little nuance of the sound snaps into clarity. If you enjoy listening to music
this way as well as watching movies, your speaker selection needs to be all the more
thoughtful. I would not limit my research to home-theater websites or magazines. I would
look for products with long histories of respect and value in the world of high-end audio
-- products with a large base of satisfied owners, made by companies that have been around
for a while.
Once you’ve selected your main speakers, use the same
company’s center-channel and surround speakers. If the manufacturer has gotten
decades of praise for making speakers that sound great playing stereo music, there’s
little chance they’ll fail when they take on the job of creating matching center and
surround speakers. The subwoofer can be from the same company or a different company, as
long as it can be integrated appropriately with the main speakers. Subwoofers are one
subcategory of component that, if chosen carefully, can provide ten or more years of great
performance without your being tempted to upgrade.
There are many not-so-great subwoofers out there at prices
from $100 to thousands of dollars. Subwoofers are one of the most difficult home-theater
components to evaluate for the novice or even intermediate home-theater enthusiast.
It’s difficult to find subs that work equally well for music and movies; if you
listen to both, you need to evaluate both with the subwoofers you’re considering
buying. For those on a budget, the Hsu Research subwoofers and the SVS subwoofers are
about the best values. If your budget is $1000 for a subwoofer, you’d be better off
with two $500 Hsu subs than a single more expensive model -- the Hsus are that good.
The underappreciated power conditioner
Power conditioners are oft-overlooked components of
home-theater systems. But when you add a conditioner to a home theater, you almost always
get a triple dose of improved performance -- in music, film soundtracks, and video. I have
experienced cases where very inexpensive DVD players perform as well as very expensive
ones just by being operated on cleaned-up, balanced power. Plug the same DVD player into a
wall outlet and its performance is unspectacular. But with clean, balanced power, the
performance of well-selected, mid-priced audio and video components can rival that of very
expensive gear. Video displays that get their juice from power conditioners can produce
more vivid images with a broader range of colors and blacker blacks. Audio becomes more
detailed, with lower levels of background noise -- you might not even think you have
background noise until you hear how much quieter your system might be after incorporating
power conditioning.
Balanced power splits the single 120VAC line into two lines
with 60VAC on each. This configuration cancels noise that is common on both lines.
Balanced power can be expensive but is worth the extra cost. Few people, though, can
afford the current capability of a balanced power conditioner to power five to seven
amplifier channels plus a subwoofer amp. But with power conditioning, it’s always
possible to begin modestly, then gradually add features and capabilities. Passive
filtering is the first level of power conditioning. You can then add regulation, which
maintains optimum voltage and frequency, and balanced power.
One thing is for sure: Every component you purchase in the
foreseeable future will operate on AC power from your wall, which makes a power
conditioner one of the most obsolescence-free products you can buy.
...Doug Blackburn
db@hometheatersound.com |
