Improvement in speakers after nine years?
January 16, 2006
I have seen some good reviews on your site for the
floorstanding PSB Image T65 and Axiom Audio M60Ti speakers. The big question I have is --
and probably not an easy one to answer -- is will I hear any noticeable improvement versus
my current speakers, which I feel are pretty good? My gear is almost nine years old, and I
am trying to gauge advancements in sound quality for speakers over the years. I have
Marantz 125W monoblock amps, a Sherwood Newcastle preamp, and NHT 2.5i tower speakers.
Rana
Speakers have certainly improved over the years, and I do
think the Axioms and PSBs represent great value and a likely improvement over your aging
NHTs. But the 2.5i speakers are good ones, and I would only feel confident in making a
buying recommendation if you had an opportunity to hear the alternatives in a setting you
trust. It could be that another area in your system is in need of replacement first. For
instance, if your source player is nine years old, I would think you could make some
dramatic improvements in that area. Digital has improved in the last decade, so for very
little money you might be able to find a significant upgrade that could come before
speakers.
To sum up: With speakers, more than any other component,
you must listen to make a sure-fire buying decision. Replacing nine-year-old digital, on
the other hand, might be a no-brainer. Let us know what you decide.
Gold-plated cables?
January 13, 2006
Is there a reason that most of the cables I see on the
market now have gold plating? Is this a marketing ploy or is gold supposed to be better
with signal transfer?
Roy T.
Gold is an excellent conductor, but I’m not sure it
is better than copper or silver. The main advantage of gold is that it does not oxidize
like copper. A pure-copper conductor without any plating would tarnish fairly quickly,
which would have an adverse effect on signal transfer if neglected long enough. You
wouldn’t want to have to regularly polish your copper connectors! The gold plating
protects against oxidation and keeps those cables looking and operating their best over
long periods of time.
KLH speakers?
January 11, 2006
Years ago I remember seeing KLH speakers in Sam’s Club
stores. They seemed to be a good deal back then. Can you tell me if you think they are a
good deal and if they are competitive with today’s big names?
Frank
I have not heard KLH speakers in my home, unfortunately.
I, too, have seen them in stores, though this was years ago. The company does seem to
maintain a website at www.klhaudio.com. The website mentions their dealer network, and I
see specifically that Costco, Sears, and Best Buy are listed. As to which models are sold
in which stores, that’s anybody’s guess. I suspect that their computer speakers
are more widely distributed than the floorstanders. Are they competitive? I’m not
sure, but it would be good to know especially if their availability is good. Let us know
if you find them in the stores, and what you think of them.
Stereo HT
January 2, 2006
What happens to the surround effects if I use just a
receiver and a pair of front speakers for home theater? Will I miss these sounds
altogether? And what about the lack of a center-channel speaker?
Art Smith
The first thing you'll need to do is set your receiver
for stereo operation. You do this by choosing Off for the surrounds, subwoofer, and center
channel in the setup menu. Your receiver will then downmix Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 into
2.0 -- stereo operation. The entire surround-sound mix will then be fed to your stereo
speakers. I actually know a number of folks who enjoy home theater with just two speakers.
You still get a surprising amount of dynamics and fidelity versus just using your
television to produce the sound. And the great thing is that your receiver, once
programmed properly, will do all of this for you automatically.
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