Dunlavy SC-1 on Rovan stands -
Note the biwiring terminalsCompared to a decade ago, hi-fi seems ever more
affordable than before. In the past, even the most basic
hi-fi or hometheater system would set you back quite a bit financially.
Nowadays, you can pick up DVD players or home-theater in a box
solutions at the supermarket !
Many people cannot understand why one would bother
with hi-fi separates in this day and age of integration. However,
setting up a hi-fi system made up of separate components can yield a
very useful improvement in sound quality compared to mass market mini
compo or low cost home theater systems.
Contrary to popular belief, setting up a decent hi-fi
system does not have to cost the earth and even putting together a
budget system with care can deliver satisfying music reproduction.
However, setting up a good hi-fi is not as simple as
slapping together some components you choose in a shop or catalogue.
Care is needed in mixing and matching suitable components that work
well together sonically.
The information in this website is not intended to be
a definite guide to setting up the perfect system. Some audiophiles
spend their whole life trying to find the perfect system. Hopefully the
information you find here is sufficient to give you a starting point
towards assembling a satisfying system.
There are 3 basic stages in the hi-fi
chain.
First is the source. This would be your music
playback medium. In most modern systems, this would be a CD player or
more commonly, a universal player capable of playing DVD, DVD-A, CD,
etc.
Second is the
amplification stage. This consists of the control and
amplification stage. The former takes care of the volume and
selection and the latter takes care of the gain (not strictly
true but that's all you need to know for now).
Last is the stage
where the signal is converted to sound. This is handled by the
loudspeaker. At the very minimum, you will therefore need a
source, an amplifier and a pair of loudspeakers. To hook it all
up together, you will need loudspeaker cables and interconnects.
Unlike mass market home entertainment systems which
are single box solutions with the source and amplification
contained in a single box, our foray into hifi will be into the
world of separate components systems.
Let's not get carried away here. Spend an amount you
are comfortable with. Like many other hobbies, the law of diminishing
returns also applies to hifi. You don't have to spend very much to get
decent sound, but be aware that low end budget equipment do have
compromises to meet pricing constraints.
A reasonable sum to work with would be about $1000
onwards. Another
thing you must decide on is the allocation. Allocate wisely. There is
no fixed rule on which stage (source, amplification or speakers) should
be allocated the largest proportion of the budget. Some people believe
in the garbage-in-garbage out theory and advocate concentrating on the
source. Some others believe that the speakers being the final stage is
of utmost important. You can choose whatever floats your boat but just
remember that all stages are important and no stage should be
neglected.
Try and make sure that all your
components are of similar quality. For example, in a $1000
system, as a starting point try spending about $300 on each component
and leave the
remainder for cabling. If you are buying bookshelf speakers,
don't forget to allocate about $180-$300 for a pair of stands.
Some people will tell you that stands are a waste of
money. They certainly are not and putting a pair of bookshelf speakers
on the shelf or a table will result in a compromise in terms of sound
quality. In fact, stands are so important that investing in a good pair
of stands can show as much improvement as that of changing a component.
You may want to read the section on upgrade strategy
before deciding where to allocate your funds.
For most of us of there, the choice of source is a CD player. In recent years, there have been alternative choices, both in the form of lossy compression formats, e.g MP3, WMA, and high resolution formats such as DVD-A and SACD.
Lossy comp ression formats are usually not the choice
of medium, given their reduced sound quality.High
resolution formats would seem to be the way of
the future, but somewhat limited software availability have prevented
them from becoming mainstream. I cannot comment on high resolution
formats since I have no personal experience with this. And since many
of us have amassed a substantial CD collection over the years, it would
seem appropriate for me to concentrate on CD playback.
The amplifier approach may either be the single
or two box approach. As you guessed again, the two box approach
is usually more expensive. Such setups are referred to as pre-power
combinations. Single box amplifiers are known as integrated
amplifers. Most amplifiers work on solid state technology. That
is, gain is performed by transistors. There are different sort of
transistor amps. Most use either bipolar transistors or MOSFETS. The
amplifier may be run in different
classes like Class A, AB, B or D. Most hi-fi amplifiers are either
class A or AB. Class A amplifiers offer in theory less distortion but
are inefficient. Class AB amplifiers are more efficient and usually run
cooler. Class A operation is not a guarantee of sonic superiority and a
Class AB amplfier can sound better than one designed to operate in
Class AB.
Amplifiers using vacuum tubes as their amplification
device seem to have made a come back over the last 10 years. You can
see tubes being used everywhere nowadays, even in some CD players. Tube
amplifiers in comparison to their solid state brethren are inefficient.
An amplifer putting out 100 watts per channel in power for a solid
state amplifier may be compact but a comparable tube amplifier would be
huge ! Tube amplifiers tend to be more expensive due to their need for
parts that are expensive such as their output transformers. If you are
set on buying a tube amplifier, do ensure that they have enough power
to drive your speakers.
Dunlavy SC-1 on Rovan stands -
Note the biwiring terminals
This is perhaps the most crucial component of
the hifi chain. Speakers tend to sound very different from one
another, often showing much more variation than amplifiers and CD
players. As choosing speakers can be a very difficult process, I have
written more about speakers than the source or amplification.
First and foremost, let us look at the various type
of speakers designs commonly available :-
Type of enclosure
The majority of speakers out there are box speakers
with the driver units housed in a rectangular box. The box can be
either sealed or may have a small port that allows air to escape from
the box. For ported speakers, the port is
usually placed on the rear panel or front panel of the speaker. Small
speakers (called bookshelf speakers although they are not meant to be
placed on the bookshelf !) need to be placed on hi-fi stands.
Floorstanding speakers save the cost of hi-fi stands and usually have
larger internal volume. As a matter of simple physics, a large
enclosure will be able to deliver lower bass than a small
enclosure.
Drivers
The most popular design is the 2 way speaker. 2 way
refers to the fact that the speaker reproduces sound using a driver
unit to handle low frequencies (known as a woofer) and another driver
to handle high frequencies (tweeter). The signal is passed through a
crossover unit which is a series of components that filter the signal
to ensure that only the low and high frequencies are passed to the
woofer and tweeter respectively. Some speakers are 3 way and have a
midrange unit in addition to a woofer and tweeter. Some speakers only
have 1 driver which handles the full frequency range. Such drivers
(called full-range drivers) are not common and do not usually require a
crossover unit.
Speaker drivers are made of various materials. Woofer
cones are usually made of paper, or plastic. Some of the more exotic
drivers are metal coated or made out of carbon fibre composite or
kevlar weave. Common tweeter dome materials are plastic, silk or metal.
There are also other types of drivers out there such
a ribbon drivers, electrostatic panels, etc, but they really require a
separate discussion on their merits and shortcomings.
How do you make sense out of the technical specifications of a speaker and are they even important ? Let us have a look at the technical specifications of speaker model X :-
Impedance : 8 Ohms
Power : 60 watts
Sensitivity : 89 db / W
Frequency Response : 45 Hz to 20 Khz +/- 3 db
Impedance : This refers to the load the loudspeaker
presents to the amplifier. As the load will vary according to
frequency, the figure quoted is usually the nominal impedance, with the
minimum impedance usually lower. Speakers with low impedance, e.g. 4
Ohms will drag twice as much current as an 8 Ohm speaker. Impedance has
no bearing on the sound quality but low impedance speakers may be more
taxing on amplifiers that are not suited to driving low loads.
Power : This is the power handling of the speaker. A
common myth is that you must choose an amplifier which has a power
output not exceeding the power handling rating. This is untrue and
using a 300 watt per channel amplifier to drive a 60 watt speaker
will not damage the speaker so long as you do not listen at excessive
volumes. In fact, using an underpowered amplifier at levels at which
it runs out of power and clips is more likely to damage your
loudspeakers.
Sensitivity : This refers to how efficient the
speaker is in producing volume. High sensitivity speakers, e.g. 90 db/W
and above require less power to go loud compared to low efficiency
speakers. The sensitivity figure quoted is usually the volume obtained
at 1 metre from the driver given 1 watt of power. Sensitivity has no
correlation to quality but high efficiency speakers will allow you to
use lower powered amplifiers. To maintain the same volume, a 3 db
difference in sensitivity requires doubling of amplifier power, e.g. a
50 watt amplifier driving a 87 db/W speaker can go as loud as a 84 db/W
speaker driven with a 100 watt amplifier.
Frequency Response : This refers to the frequency
range the speaker can reproduce within specified limits , e.g. -3 db or
-6 db. Do note that being able to reproduce the lowest frequencies
frequently requires large speakers, lots of amplifier power and a
listening room that isn't overwhelmed by the lowest notes !
What type of speaker is best for you ? There is
really no best speaker out there and your choice of speaker is highly
dependent on the partnering equipment being used and the owner's
musical
taste. It is also unnecessary to be overly
concerned about full range vs. 2 way vs. 3 way, or driver material and
technology. Space age driver materials do not necessarily equate to
better sound. Similarly a 3 way speaker will not necessarily be better
than a 2 way speaker.
One of the most important and overlooked factors is room
interaction. The listening room is an important factor as well as the
placement of the speakers. For some reason, Singapore enthusiasts have
a bad habbit of buying speakers that are suited for large listening
rooms and putting them in small HDB lounges or bedrooms, expecting them
to sound good.
Always choose speakers designed to work well in your room. Some
speakers are designed to be used in large rooms and placed well away
from the back and side walls. Others work well in small listening
rooms. It would be best to check with the dealer or manufacturer over
the ideal room size and placement of the speakers.
Accessories and
Cables
Accessories have an important part to play in the overall
scheme of things but they are not a fix-all for system ills. Speaker
cables and interconnect cables can be shockingly expensive but
their effect on sound must be well understood. Their detractors argue
that the signal is processed through miles of non-audiophile cable in
the studio and hence a few meters of magic cable in the hi-fi chain
will not make any difference. Similar arguments are made for power
cables where our local supply travels through miles of plain cable and
through meters of internal cabling in the house electricity supply.
Graphic equalisers, tone controls and room correction processors
I'm not to sure why the unaware public like graphic equalisers so much. Unless you have been living in a cave for the last decade, you will know what a graphic equaliser is. It is desribed as "graphic" due to the shape made by the sliders. Seriously folks, this one should be avoided. It is really unnecessary if you setup is even half decent. In University, an engineering student told me with contempt that audiophiles didn't know anything and that a graphic equaliser was the only way to properly compensate for room and speaker abberations. If only that was true. Graphic equalisers may look like fun but try listening to one in a good setup with all the sliders in the 0 position. Even then, the amount of butchering done to the sound is unbelievable. Anyway, graphic equalisers cannot adequately address room and speaker abberations. More complicated DSP or parametric equalisation units are necessary to do this.
Tone controls usually come in the form of simple bass and treble cut and boost knobs. Some sets may have a bass boost button. These aren't really necessary too. If you do want them, make sure there is a bypass switch in case you find them unnecessary. Some tone controls seem better than others and can be useful to get a listenable sound out of poor quality sources like videotape or poor radio reception.
Synergy is about interaction between the
components. The source, amp and speaker should interact and
present a well balanced and enjoyable sound. This is sadly one of
the most neglected matters when most people assemble hifi systems.
Choosing components that work well with each other can make or
break a system. Simply selecting "best buys" from
magazines and slapping them together can be potentially
disastorous.
Synergy is actually very complex with many variables. Even the stands, cables and your listening room are very important. However, I find that the most critical synergy is between the amplifier and speaker. If you can't find a system in a single shop, I suggest that you buy the amplifier first and then walk around running speakers with that amplifier. You can also stay out of trouble by trying not to select components with a certain extreme characteristic, e.g. warm and lush CD player with warm amp and warm speakers = a very warm and sluggish sounding system. You will probably fall asleep before you finish the second track. This isn't always true though and like I said, sometimes you just have to suck it and see.
Sometimes, an audition at the dealer may really blow
you away but after spending your hard earned cash and brining the
system home, the sound may underwhelm you. Sometimes, the problem lies
with the placement and setup of the speakers.
Placement of your components and your speakers in
relationship with the room and its boundaries are really crucial.
Hifi is not an instant sonic fix without some effort. First you
should decide how to place your components. Don't put them on
unstable surfaces or on the floor. Stacking equipment on top of
one another may look neat but often doesn't do wonders for the
sound. NEVER put anything on top of an amplifier or it
will overheat. Don't put the CD Player next to the tuner, the
interference from the CD player really messes with the reception.
If possible invest in a hifi rack. Not one from the
department
store or IKEA but rather a specialist rack. These are actually
quite expensive and start from $150 up. However, I find that the
cheaper metal rack made in Malaysia and commonly sold here are also
quite decent
for their cost.
Next are the speakers. Virtually all speakers
should be kept well away from the side walls and the corners. If
possible try and keep at least 2 feet from the sidewalls. First
place the speakers a decent distance apart. 5 feet is about the
minimum for a decent soundstage size. If the speakers are
designed for wall placement, follow the manufacturer's
recommendations on distance from the back wall. If it requires
free space, try and find about 3 feet from the back wall. Take
some chalk and a measure tape. Find the middle point along the
horizontal axis between the two speakers. Then draw a
perpendicular line from that point. Next fire up some music and
move back and forward along that line until the imaging is as
sharp as possible. This is a lot easier with a test disc. As a
rough guide, the listening position and the two speakers usually
form an equilateral triangle.When you first start off, you may
want to set up your speakers firing straight ahead, the back of
the speaker cabinets parallel to the wall behind. You can then
experiment with toe in. This involves angling the speaker in
towards you. You can even point the speakers at an imaginary
point in front of you. By listening to the sound, you can often
figure out what sort of changes are needed. If the speakers are
too far apart, the sound will appear to come from the left and
right with a conspicous hole in the middle. If the soundstage is
really cramped, move the speakers apart. Toeing in the speakers
will make imaging more precise but will shrink the soundstage.
Lumpy and loose bass will neccessitate bringer the speakers
closer to you. You will know when you find the sweet spot, the
speakers will disappear as sources.
Another thing to note is that
hifi components need running in (Don't laugh, it's true !). The
first few hours really sound awful. The system will usually open
up after anything from 10 to 100 hours. So hang in there and be
patient. If you are really in a rush, you may want to leave the
system on 24 hours a day. Just use a burn-in track from a test CD
or use a tuner tuned into radio static (tune in between stations
and remove the aerial).
If you want to quicken things you may
want to try this method. Put both speakers face to face and
touching each other. Reverse the speaker connections on only ONE
speaker, i.e red goes to black and black to red. Take a blanket
and drape it over the speakers and pump up the volume. Just don't
overdo it. A little over your normal listening volume will do.
Since one speaker is out of phase in relation to the other, there
is mutual cancellation and the volume that leaks out into the
room is greatly reduced.
Comments ? Mail me at ericshifihaven@hotmail.com