Guangzhou Yuehang Audio Technology Co., Ltd
Subwoofers are certainly important, especially in home theater systems. These days, few people have a two-channel [music only" system with full range speakers and no subwoofer, so listening to a sub is part of the overall equation. Use the guidelines for evaluating bass quality, extension and clarity that we previously outlined, but add a few more for a subwoofer. Perhaps the most important thing about a subwoofer`s sound will be its ability to play loudly enough for your needs without noise or audible distress. Once you have determined that the sub in question has the quality of sound you`re looking for (by listening to it with music), you need to determine if it has the quantity of sound as well.
Play a movie soundtrack with a lot of deep bass special effects-explosions, crashes, dinosaur roars, etc. Play the movie slightly louder than you think you`d ever play it. Listen to the bass-does the sub fill the room with clean output or is it weak and struggling? If it sounds good, then replay the same sequence again-only this time, turn off all the other speakers and listen just to the sub by itself. Does it sound pretty clean, without any really noticeable distortion and is it free from severe distracting mechanical noises? It`s ok if there`s a little audible distortion and a small bit of mechanical noise, because remember, this is at a level higher than you`ll ever really play the system and when the other speakers are playing, they`ll mask the vast majority of the sub`s bad sounds. But-.if the sub sounds pretty good all by itself at really loud levels without the other speakers to [cover for it," then you can be pretty confident that the sub will do a great job in your room, playing your most demanding material at the loudest levels you`re likely to play.
Center channel speakers are critically important in home theater systems because typically 50-75% of a movie`s sound track is handled by the center channel speaker.
To evaluate the center channel speaker, it`s best to listen two ways:
1. Play music through it and evaluate its sound like any other speaker, using same standards we outlined previously. Chances are, you`ll only have one speaker to use, so set the receiver to [mono" so the single center speaker receives all audio channels.
2. Use the center as the left or right speaker of a stereo pair, with one [main" speaker as the other speaker in the pair. Use the receiver`s balance control to go L to R to see how tonally similar they are. They will not be identical twins, but they should be at least close relatives. Then evaluate them as a stereo pair. Is the image stable? That will tell you if their radiation patterns are similar enough. Do they sound [right" as a pair? That will tell you if their tonal signatures are similar enough. A similar tonal signature is absolutely essential for the front stage image to be believable as sounds pan across the front three left/center/right (LCR) speakers.
Use good old-fashioned stereo music CDs. Don`t use compressed iPod MP3 files, because the audio quality is simply not good enough to use as a test source. Develop a collection of music that you know really well, and that covers different genres and musical formats. You`ll want music that tests for female vocals, male vocals, dense, detailed percussion, deep bass, acoustic piano, horns, guitars, strings, etc. Cover every musical scenario and performance venue. Studio recordings should sound tight and immediate; live recordings should have a realistic, believable sense of [air" and three-dimensionality, etc.
This is important-don`t pick test material based on your favorite music, because if you really love the music you`re playing, it can make the speakers sound better than they really do.
This is also very important-Use the same CDs over and over. The scientific method dictates that you keep the variables to an absolute minimum and try to isolate and identify the data points you`re after. Become very familiar with the sound of a few CDs and use them on a wide range of speakers. You can`t compare the bass performance of different speakers using Steely Dan`s Aja on one speaker and Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony on the next. I`ve come up with my collection over about a 20-year span. They work really well for me, and not necessarily because they`re [perfect" recordings, but because I know what is on them and I can consistently evaluate the sound. If the vocalist on a particular CD sounds laid-back and very smooth on 9 out of 10 speakers, you can be pretty sure that`s what the recording is like. If speaker number 11 makes the vocalist sound too forward and edgy, you can be pretty confident it`s the speaker`s fault. That`s the advantage of knowing your CDs-they should become like reliable test equipment. The CDs listed in Audioholics` equipment reports are a very good starting point for a good test collection.
If you follow these guidelines and learn this basic information, you`ll be well equipped to evaluate speakers and be confident about your impressions of their sound:
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