friday, february 6, 1976
daily nebraskan
out of
mu head
.
Map needed in Woofer-Tweeter Land
By Ryan Scott
Buying stereo equipment can be a real headache. In
three years of selling hi-fidelity components, I found mat
an involved sales pitch could give me a headache:
To begin with, the hi-fidelity market is confusing. What
is modern one year is an antique the next. Often I remem
ber dealing with customers completely satisfied with their
old systems, who walked out of the store with a new pur
chase they thought Jvas a "step up" from what they were
using.
I was caught in a never-ending cycle of trading up for
bigger and better components. For a while, I was buying
equipment as often as I was havjng my laundry done; but
I wasn't going broke with my laundry.
Personal taste and preference is the most important
thing to remember when buying stereo equipment. Buy
what your ears deem .best in sound reproduction.
In this article and other articles to come, I hope to im
part a basic knowledge of how to shop for stereo equip
ment, based on my experience, in the field. I shall deal
with the most popularly purchased stereo item, the
speaker, first.
The speaker is regarded '
by many as the most
critical component
- in assembling modern
stereo component systems.'
The speaker is regarded by many as the most critical
component in assembling modern stereo component sys
tems. Your stereo is only as good as the sound emitted
from your speakers. Who cares if you've spent over
$1,000 on a new Superfab Hypo-gizzmoed Model 101
state-of-the-art amplifier. If that amplifier is teamed with
a set of poor speakers, the result is poor sound.
I have found the average person does not quite know
how to evaluate a speaker's performance. The following
outline is provided then for the average novice hi-fi
enthusiast.
First, be prepared to take time evaluating speakers.
Evaluations take a good hour and can last up to three.
It depends on how seriously you want to listen.
When you approach the stereo salesman, speak up and
tell him what you want. Give him an idea of the price
range you can afford to work within. Good speakers
today start in the $75 to $125 price range. Naturally,,
you will need two speakers, so be prepared to pay at least
$150 when you enter a hi-fi salon. There are many ex
cellent speakers in this price range, but there also are
many "dogs." (a bad piece of equipment is slanged a
"dog" in hWl). The best advice 1 can offer is learn to
evaluate.
Take with you to the stereo store a record that you
particularly like or are familiar with: Evaluating a speaker
with music with which you are familiar helps Immensely
in your ability to discern a good or bad speaker. The
speaker on which you find your music sounding its best
probably is the speaker for you.
One easily can be fooled as to what is a good-scunding
speaker. The best way to not be fooled is to make sure
that when comparing speakers, each speaker is played at
the same volume level. The ear has the ability to perceive
minute sound variations, particularly in the critical mid
range area of musical sound. '
A variation as small as two decibels (a decibel is a unit
measure of sound, commonly abbreviated dB) easily
can be perceived by the ear.
In speaker evaluating, the louder speaker will always
sound btt?r.
Many speaker manufacturers take advantage of this
psycho-acoustic phenomenon by deliberately building, a
frequency "bump" (a rise of 2 dB or more in the fre
quency output of the speaker) into the critical midrange
area. No matter what volume control setting the "bump
speaker is set at, it always will sound better than the con
trasted speaker, through inaccurately so. (The basic
strived-for goal in sound reproduction is a flat output response).
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Luckily, a switching system" has, been developed to
equalize the midrange area of speakers that are connected
to it. It would be wise to ask your dealer if he has such a
switching system in use. If not, go ahead and jockey with
the volume control on the amplifier. This helps, but not
much.
'One easily can be fooled
astowhat'is
a good sounding speaker.'
Now that you are listening1 to music that you are
familiar with on speakers that are both in your price range
and played at equal volume with all other speakers being
evaluated, you are ready to evaluate performance
parameters.
Bass response ambiguous
Most people immeidately are aware of bass response.
Bass gives a certain vital solidarity to music and this is
why most people notice it first. The speaker that bass is
derived from is called a woofer. It usually is the largest of
the speakers in the speaker cabinet. Bass response can be
very ambiguous. Manufacturers can build bogus bass re
sponse called "boom" into a speaker as easily as they can
build midrange "bumps" (a boomy bass is exactly like a
bumpy midrange, only the boost is placed in the bass
response).
A good rule of thumb is that good bass is clean and
solid and can beef as well as heard. One usually does not
feel bass until the lower registers of bass frequency are
reached. If you perceive a gut- rumbling feeling in your
stomach, the speaker in question probably has excellent
bass response.
There are two basic ways that bass can be derived from
a speaker. One approach is bass reflex, a system that uti
lizes a hole, called a "port cut" on to the mounting board.
The port vents the waves radiated by the back of the
woofer into the listening environment. This vented sound
is perceived as low end bass response. Basireflex is found
in many of the less expensive speaker designs. '
Acoustic suspension, the second approach, is a system
that uses an air-tight enclosure. It usually (always in the
$75 to $125 price range) provides a more accurate bass
response.
'High frequency
is reproduced
by a driver
. called a tweeter.'
High frequency is reproduced by a driver called a
tweeter. Often more than one tweeter is used in a speaker
cabinet to provide for better high frequency dispersion
and a more accurate tonal balance. -
Listen to electronic music and cymbals to evaluate high
end response. An easy test for evaluating tweeter response
is to listen to the "sheen" of a cymbal. When a cymbal is
struck it has a shimmering sound that slowly' fades. This
'fading, called roll-off, wUl be effortlessly reproduced by a
good tweeter. . ,
Look for natural sounds
Many adjectives are used in describing high frequency.
. Highs can be clean, sharp, smooth, transparent, silky and a
host of other words. Look for the high end that sounds
natural to your ears (many salesmen will refer to a natural
sound as transparent). '
Finally, there arc fvW more things to be sa:d. When a
salesman compares two speakers for you, listen and then
ask him why he thinks one speaker sounds better than
another. His trained ear can help train yours.
Balance is an important quality in a speaker. One por
tion of the frequency spectrum should not overpower
another. The bass midrange and treble should all blend
beautifully and effortlessly together. No one frequency
range should dominate. Sound should reach the eat as a
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continuum of frequencies in which the ear, not the
speaker, discerns between high," low and mid frequencies.
The speaker that is heavy in one area of frequency certain
ly will become tiring to listen to, a problem called listen
ing fatigue. Evaluate your speakers closely for balance.
One should be relaxed, not fatigued, by the music.
Which is the best speaker is an impossible question to
answer. The best speaker is the one thai personally suits
your taste. A good speaker is an effortless reproducer of
sound. It should be as perfect at projecting sound images
as a window is at conveying visual images. The best
speaker is the one that sounds like it is not even there.
It is impossible to convey all the knowledge needed in
purchasing speakers in the space of one article. I hope this
has served as a good basic outline. I hope to be able to
pass on more of my acquired knowledge on stereo equip
ment in future stories. As for now, remember, when it
comes time to shell out your hard-earned bucks for stereo
equipment, it pays to evaluate.
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Ajcj biomiD posted
0" HiwBI jpflay
The Nebraska Repertory Theatre has announced audi
tions dates for actors and technicians at its ninth annual
summer of plays at UNL Howell Theatre.
Pat Overton, theatre secretary, said all auditions are by
appointment only. Application forms may be obtained by
writing the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Temple Bldg.
108.
Auditions at UNL are scheduled for April 3 and 4 from
10 ajn. to 6 p.m. with matching times at Nebraska
Western College, in Scottsbluff on March 18 and 19 and at 1
Kearney State College on March 20 and 21 . '
Actors and technicians will be paid $75 weekly. Stage
manager, set designers and costume designers will be paid
based on theatre experience.
The directors and plays for the 1976 season are: Home
Front, an original musical writteh and directed by David
Bell and Alan Nielsen; Loot written by Joe Orton and
directed by William Morgan and William Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Bill Kirk. Born
Yesterday was written by Carson Kanin and the Reper
tory Theatre currently is looking for a guest director.
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