Nearfield monitors
December 12, 2005
I am looking for a small active monitor to use in my office
for playing music from an iPod or portable CD player and tuner. The speakers would
probably be connected to a passive or active preamp (would one be preferable to the
other?) through an unbalanced connection. Speakers that I have identified that seem
reasonable candidates are: KRK V4, Yamaha MS101 and MSP3, and the NHT M-00. I was
wondering if you could make any recommendation among these active monitors, or any others
that you would enjoy using as a secondary stereo system for listening to music in a
nearfield environment.
Kevin
Certainly the vast majority of active speakers are in
the professional market -- active speakers have never really been popular in
audiophile/consumer applications. There are exceptions currently available such as the
Meridian line of powered digital speakers. That UK-based company has just released the
DSP3100, which, quite impressively, offers some very sophisticated digital signal
processing in a very compact package. But it is a very expensive option at almost $5000
per pair. That being said, I think you're wise to be looking at professional monitors, and
there are some good ones. To the list you've mentioned I would add Genelec, PMC, and ATC.
These companies, each one well thought of in the industry, all make small powered monitors
that would fit your specifications.
Blu-ray available?
December 7, 2005
I have heard about the new Blu-ray players from Sony, but I
have not been able to find out if there any such players available. Do you know if there
are any, and if not when they might be in stores? I live in Michigan.
Raul
As far as I know there are no players available in North
America. I do believe there are players for sale in Asia -- from what I know these have
actually been available for over a year, though reportedly they are quite expensive. As
for when we might see players on the shelves of stores locally, your guess is as good as
mine. My guess -- and that is all it is -- is that by mid-year 2006 we will see the first
players trickle out. One other guess is that the first actual Blu-ray-capable machine will
be the Playstation 3, which debuts in the Spring of 2006. I doubt Sony will introduce a
player before then, as a main focus of the company is gaming, and they would not want to
overshadow the PS3 with machines that might compete in some way for the consumer dollar.
Burnt smell from speaker?
December 5, 2005
I have a burnt smell coming from inside one of my Technics
speakers. It still seems to play OK, but I am worried about what has happened (or getting
ready to happen). What might be the cause and should I be concerned?
Thomas
There is some internal part -- either an element of the
crossover network or perhaps the voice coil of one of the drivers -- that is somehow
damaged. I am surprised that the speaker seems to be working. It is possible that you
could take out a driver in the speaker and determine whether the issue is driver related
or crossover related, then seek service for that part of the speaker. Depending on how old
the model you have is, service might be an issue, and if available it might cost more than
the speaker is worth. Although I don't think what you are smelling could be dangerous in
any way, it's always best to play it safe and try to rectify the problem. Let us know what
you find out.
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