Receiver
recommendation
December 30, 2004
We were recently robbed of some stereo equipment, including
an NAD C370 amplifier. It was matched with two Paradigm Atoms and a Paradigm PDR-10
subwoofer, and it also powered two OS6 outdoor speakers. The speakers still remain, and we
need to replace the amp with another integrated amp or receiver. We do not have any need
for home theater. I always felt like the small Paradigm speakers were overpowered by that
particular NAD unit. What can you suggest that will deliver good sound affordably?
Teri
I'd get the NAD T743 receiver. I recently wrote about
it in my "Surrounded"
column on SoundStage!
and I just loved it. It offers a healthy 50W x 5 that'll power those Paradigms well, and
it retails for $699. I'm sure you can find a better price if you shop around, too. It
should last for years and you won't be spending a ton of money on bells and whistles you
don't need.
Music CDs on new HTIB not sounding too good
December 28, 2004
I really appreciate your website. If only I could search
the Q&A archives, then I wouldn't have to pester you with my problem!
I just bought an Onkyo HT-S770 -- a big, mean Home Theater
In a Box. I've hooked it up to my PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, and PC, after a few days of hunting
down the right wires and the right information. Movies sound terrific, but I wanted to use
this new system of mine for music as well, and I have yet to have a satisfying experience
playing my CDs on it.
I've tried every source possible for playing my CDs -- the
Xbox and PS2 over optical wire, and my PC over 5.1 analog wire (using the analog outputs
on my SB Audigy LS for the rear, center, and subwoofer channels).
My best experience ever with audio over speakers was
standing in front of my old Aiwa shelf system, with the speakers at head level,
two-and-a-half feet apart. The sound would hit my ears just perfectly so that the sound
surrounded me, and I felt like I was in the room in which the music was recorded. It's
been about a decade since I bought that system, and this brand-new 6.1 surround-sound
system can't even compete with that experience.
What am I doing wrong? How do I listen to two-channel audio
on my fancy new system?
Mike
You've definitely learned one of the most
important lessons in home audio: speaker placement is critical to good sound. As you've
learned, being centrally located between the speakers and not too far off the tweeters'
vertical axis is key with most speakers. Therefore, getting those speakers in the right
location is the obvious place to start experimenting with your new system. This will
involve working with the distance from each speaker to each wall, the distance to your
listening seat, the toe-in (angle of the front baffle in relation to you) and the speaker
height. Experimenting with their location will be helpful, so move 'em around until the
sound is closer to your liking. Here's a GoodSound! "How To" to help: "The Best Things
in Life Are Free Speaker Placement."
Assuming you have the satellites placed
properly, I suspect your problem with music CDs is subwoofer orientation. Integrating a
subwoofer with small satellites can be challenging. You'll need to work with the subwoofer
placement just as with the speakers, along with any adjustments such as crossover
frequency and phase. Try this GoodSound! "How To" for more detailed
instructions: "Bass
in Place: Setting Up Your Subwoofer." It may take a few hours of work, but
getting those speakers and subwoofer located optimally will pay off in better sound.
Appreciates the GoodSound! approach
December 27, 2004
I am a regular reader of GoodSound!, which is one of
my favorite websites because of its honesty. Your review of
the JoLida 302B integrated amp in 2002 was one of the reasons I now use tubes. My
system includes an NAD T750 A/V receiver, a Pioneer DV-563A
universal player (because of your recommendation, too) and a Parasound HCA1000A amp, so
you can see my choice of affordable, good-sounding gear. I really think that even when a
$10,000 amplifier sounds better than a $1000 one, the sonic difference is not
ten times better. Despite my love of music I believe that spending tons of money on audio
is insane because there are many other things in life that are much more important. Just
think, for example, of your health; without it, can you really enjoy your music?
Anyway, I decided to buy a JoLida integrated a month ago,
not the 302B but the 202A, and I found it marvelous. I think it could be interesting if
you review the JoLida 202A, just as more proof that you don't need to spend a fortune to
get into a string quartet or a jazz group in a heavenly way; and that is, by the way, part
of your reviewing philosophy that I really like. Thanks.
Manuel
Thank you. Stories like yours prove that we're on the
right track. It sounds as if you're enjoying your system and your music, and regardless of
cost, that's priceless.
EMF distortion
December 22, 2004
First of all, great website.
I currently have a Yamaha RXV-450. My TV is about one foot
away from the receiver. When I put the music fairly loud, I get intermittent lines across
my TV set. Do you know what can be causing this and if there is a solution?
Sergio
It's not your receiver, but your speakers. What you are
experiencing is distortion caused by EMF -- an electro-magnetic field. According to Less EMF,
"Conventional speakers incorporate both a permanent magnet and an AC magnetic field
to produce sound. The field from the permanent magnet is present whether the speaker is
active or not. The AC magnetic field is only present when the speaker is activated, and
varies in frequency and strength with the pitch and volume of the sound produced. The
magnetic field from the two sources can deflect the electron beam in a cathode ray tube
monitor (TV) causing distortion of the image, sometimes called jitter (and possible damage
to the equipment)." So you need to move or shield those speakers.
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