Setting up an LCD
September 25, 2007
I am going to be buying an LCD TV this week and wanted to
know if I should spring for the separate wall-mount kit, or if something suitable will
come with the TV. I know you don’t know all of the models and what is in all the
boxes, but can you give me a rule of thumb?
Pat
In my experience you’ll need to buy the separate
kit. Most LCDs, including a Sony Bravia I just set up this week, come standard with a
table mount. There are universal mounting holes on all LCD TVs that should correspond to
the available wall mounts. The other tip is to get a wall-mount kit that adjusts the tilt
so that you can optimize viewing angle. If you don’t have the TV perfectly eye-level
with the viewer, you might get a bit of glare that can be cured with a very slight
adjustment in relation to the viewing position.
Paradigm house sound?
September 21, 2007
I know many speaker companies have a house sound. Is there
a Paradigm house sound that runs across all the models? I am asking because I don’t
know whether I want to try something from the Monitor or Studio lines. Curious as to what
you thought.
Frank
Most speaker companies that have true “house
sounds” produce speakers that are colored in one way or another. I have found that
speakers that are really good seem to take on the sound of the room and the
characteristics of the associated electronics more than anything else. Now that’s not
to say that good speakers won’t have a sound per se, but that the more neutral ones
will be less likely to call attention to any one sonic area. Paradigm makes speakers that
are technically very sound across the board. As you go up in their lines, you typically
gain greater refinement and transparency, among other things. You won’t hear severe
tonal variations among the models, and you won’t hear something that sticks out
across the lines. So if I were forced to attach a house sound label to the Paradigms I’d
say “neutrality.” And that’s a pretty good one to have.
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