November 30, 2002
Hi,
I noticed you're an audiophile and expert in speakers and
subwoofers. I have an Energy Take 5.2 speaker system. These are satellite speakers going
at 100W and a center-channel speaker. What power should I need in a subwoofer to match
these speakers? Many people suggested Velodyne, and I have narrowed it down to two
options: the 130W 8" or the 150W 10".
Which of these is better matching sonically --
acoustically? Some people tell me that a powerful 10" is better due to the fact that
I don't have floorstanding speakers to provide bass. Others tell me that its better to
stay with the 8" because the 10" would be too powerful and overpower my
satellite speakers? What is your opinion? I only hear great stuff about these Velodyne
subs, but I can't decide which one to choose.
Thank you for your time,
Alcazar
OK, first read my October 1, 2002
feature "How Many Watts is That Speaker?"
Velodyne certainly does build good subwoofers --
other companies that produce extremely fine subs include Polk, M&K, Hsu, and Bag End.
As to the choice between the 8" and 10" sub from Velodyne, that depends on a lot
of factors, including your room and where in the room you wish to put it. Most
importantly, it depends on what you expect from a subwoofer.
Do you want to make music sound full-bodied and big? The
8" woofer will probably do the job. If, however, you like to shake the walls with the
sound of T-rex's footstomps, you'll probably need the 10" -- unless you have a
small room. Most audiophiles believe bass is like money -- it's about as indispensable and
you can never have too much of it.
Will the 10" overpower your Energy speaker system? Not
if you set it up right -- that's what the loudness control is for. The big trick to
setting up a subwoofer is adjusting it so you almost don't even know it's on most of the
time. If you do hear it, it's almost certainly set too high.
So why buy something if you can't even tell if it's
working? Oh, you can tell all right -- just turn the sub off. If everything sort of
collapses and sounds flat, the sub was doing its job. Most people never get the subs
adjusted right -- they've paid for 'em and, by god, they're going to hear 'em.
But if the $100 difference isn't that big a deal, I'd say
go for the 10" sub -- just remember that the difference between great home theater
and OK home theater lies less in the equipment than in its owner's willingness to sweat
all the small setup details. If you go that extra mile, you'll have a better-sounding
system than the guy who spent twice as much and just dumped the boxes in the first places
he thought of....Wes Phillips
November 29, 2002
Hi Wes,
Thanks for the great insight and sensible advice. I've
checked out your site thoroughly and have learned a lot. I'm seriously considering the
Axiom Grand Masters you recommended. What if I were to substitute the M40Ti towers for the
M22Ti bookshelves, mostly for aesthetic reasons? Plus, I really don't care for the stands
offered with the M22Ti.
Also I'm unsure which A/V receiver would be best. I'm
considering these Outlaw Model 1050, Denon AVR-2802 and, on the higher end, possibly NAD
T751. I'm in the midst of buying my first system and would like to make choices that will
prove satisfying for a long time. Any suggestions you could offer will be greatly
appreciated.
John
First, the M40Tis are wonderful, and I'm sure you'll
like them a lot. While you say this is your first system, you've already figured out that
a tower speaker, such as the M40Ti, is actually no bigger in the room than a physically
smaller stand-mounted monitor.
All three receivers you are considering would work just
fine with the Axioms, but for all around bang-for-the-buck value, the Outlaw seems mighty
hard to beat....Wes Phillips
November 26, 2002
Dear Wes,
I was hoping you could help me out. I have a small-budget
home-theater system in my apartment, and I need some cheap blackout shades for two
windows. They don't have to be anything fancy, just dark pull-down shades that block out
light. The problem is, I can't find them anywhere for a reasonable price. Know of anything
that fits the bill?
Thanks,
Eric
Here in NYC, just about any housewares store carries 'em.
In case you live elsewhere, I extend my sympathies and this URL. Assuming you want a shade 36"W by 84"L, they'll
run about $40 each....Wes Phillips
November 23, 2002
Hi Wes,
Do you have an opinion on the JVC RX-DP10BK receiver? I
have been surfing the Internet looking for a receiver that offers the most for the least
and this receiver seems to fit the bill, so to speak.
If you have any comments, I would be pleased to hear them.
Thanks,
Simon
It does look like a lot of receiver, but it also lacks two
features that you might find useful -- if not now, then in the future. It doesn't have
Dolby Pro Logic II, which a lot of listeners, including Home Theater & Sound
editor Jeff Fritz, find a major improvement of regular DPL, especially for music
listening. The second omission -- and the more serious one, in my opinion -- is the
absence of component video connectivity. Now that I've experienced progressive scan (see
Kenwood Sovereign DV-5700 review), I'm going to want it no matter what else my video
future might hold.
On the other hand, if you don't have a large collection of
Pro Logic material (or if you don't want to process your two-channel source material) and
you don't anticipate switching to a progressive-scan DVD player or signal source, these
quibbles might not apply. What you do get is seven channels with lots of power and THX
certification. (If you're into digital recording, the RX-DP10 boasts an optical digital
output!)....Wes Phillips
November 20, 2002
Hello Wes,
I just read your article about
Stewart Grayhawk screens and your experience using them with the PLUS projector. I'm
considering the new Piano projector that does HDTV. However, it is possibly just a bit
beyond my price range here in Canada because up here in Canadian dollars, I must pay $6000
including tax.
Therefore I'm looking at the Panasonic PTAE100 LCD
projector, which will cost me around $2000 less than the Piano. Would you recommend a
high-gain gray screen with 1.3 gain? It's rated at 700 ANSI lumens and 5001 contrast
ratio. Thanks for your help.
Wayne
Based on the projector's output and Joe Kane's
recommendation for home-theater viewing, a gain of 1.3 seems right on the money. Of
course, if I were you, I'd talk to the guys at Stewart, who know a heck of a lot more than
I do about screens. Toll Free (800) 762-4999 (North America only); E-mail comments@stewartfilm.com....Wes Phillips
November 18, 2002
Hey guys,
Great site. I was hoping you would answer some questions
for a pauper. I'm a college student, who has negative money, but I bumped into an
interesting site at myimax.com, which offers a very cheap do-it-yourself projection kit
for turning your TV into a projector.
The testimonials seem to indicate it is a great product,
although I'm quite sure that the quality will be seriously inferior to what is currently
available out there in the home-theater gadget world. My question is this I was wondering
what types of material or kits I could buy for making a projection screen which would make
my cheapo projection-kit display the best picture possible. Any info would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks a bunch,
Malcolm Smith
No "guys" here, just me, by the way.
I went to myimax.com and took a gander and it sounds like
an unbelievable bargain -- which means I'll decline to believe its claims, thank you very
much.
Have you seen early projection TVs like the Advent or even
early models of rear-projection TVs? Let's not even get into the quality of the optics
required to blow-up a TV image four or five times, let's just think for a minute about
image resolution and line structures. What happens when you blow up an NTSC signal? You
get visible scan lines and you clearly see individual pixels. Why do you think we're
finally getting ATSC with its progressive scan and increased resolution? It's because
people want really big TVs and NTSC just doesn't cut it.
My advice -- when it comes to mail-order fun, stick with
the sea monkeys and the Xandria Collection. If you're really a student with "negative
money," save it for something credible....Wes Phillips
November 16, 2002
Hello!
I recently purchased a digital receiver. Should I connect
my DVD player to the receiver via a digital cable or just use the analog output? I only
have two speakers, front right and left, so I am not concerned with surround sound right
now. Would I be better off using the receiver's DACs, as I have heard it is better to
convert the signal as late as possible before going to the speakers, or to choose the
component with the better DACs? Also, is a Dolby Digital soundtrack automatically
converted to two-channel Dolby Surround or just stereo when using two speakers?
Stephen Ferland
Normally I would say to use the better-sounding DACs, which
you can only determine by listening to both of them and choosing the one you
prefer. It's true that some people do think it's extremely important to keep signals in
the digital domain as long as possible, but you're still converting them to analog before
the amplifiers anyway, and besides, quality trumps theory every time, so go by your ears.
Your digital receiver, believe it or not, not only doesn't
know you are only using two speakers, it doesn't care! Unless you tell the
processor to convert the signal to stereo, all you are hearing with two speakers is two of
the 5.1 channels it thinks it is reproducing.
This, not the theoretical superiority of keeping the
signal in the digital domain as long as possible, is the reason to use the stereo output
from your DVD player....Wes Phillips
November 15, 2002
G'day Wes,
Just wanting your opinion on Mirage FRx speakers. I'm
looking at getting two FRx 5s, two FRx 1s (rears), the FRx-C, LF-100 subwoofer and
matching this up with the Denon AVR-1603 receiver. What do you think?
Regards,
Steve
I think you don't need me for anything -- you've got a
pretty sweet-sounding system picked out without any help from me. So here's my advice: Buy
A Hard Day's Night and have some fun tonight!....Wes Phillips
November 12, 2002
Hi Wes,
I bought a Sony DAV-S500 with 5.1 speakers. I have a
rectangular living room that's 15' x 10'. One of the short walls has a door in the center,
and this is the wall where my TV is placed. The other wall has a window. I cannot place
the TV on the wide wall since the distance to the opposite wall is very short. Now I'm
confused about how I should place the speakers. Kindly guide me.
Thanks,
Sharad
First, take a deep breath and repeat after me, "This
is supposed to be fun -- I will not let it make me crazy."
Feel better? Good.
OK. First, some perspective -- you have a TV, a home
theater, and a room to put them in. You're not doing too bad. The trick is getting the
most you can out of them.
Try skewing the room to the side. Place the TV diagonally
in one of the corners where the 10' wall meets the 15' wall. Arrange the front three
speakers so they are equal distances from the walls and your favorite chair, which will
also be placed on an angle, facing the TV. Hang the surrounds above your seated ear level
equal distances from your chair on the two walls facing the TV. Use your receiver's test
tones to get the sound balanced and you should be just fine. Have fun!....Wes Phillips
November 7, 2002
Hi Wes,
I presently have a home-theater setup in my living room
that includes a Toshiba 43" RPTV, Marantz SR7000 receiver, and an Axiom speaker setup
with an 80W Yamaha subwoofer. I want to invest in a HD widescreen TV or RPTV and set up a
small home theater in the basement. This room is 8'D x 13'W. I would position the HD
widescreen on the narrower width (it's a long story) and would therefore be viewing movies
from approximately five to six feet away. My plan would be to bring the Marantz down to
this room and use my present surrounds (Axiom M3Tis) as my mains and my Axiom VP100 as the
center. I would buy new surrounds and a sub.
I'd like to try out the Axiom dipole surrounds (QS4 or 8)
but I'm concerned that the only position I have for them will be just below the ceiling
(four feet above our heads when sitting) and either just in front of the back wall (if I
want the null to be even with our heads) or an appropriate distance ahead of our sitting
position. What would you recommend for surround placement, or would I be better off with
something other than a dipole? I'm not sure on the sub but I'll probably stay in the Axiom
family.
Also, if I'm going to be six feet away, would you have a
recommendation on the maximum-sized screen and whether a standard CRT would be better than
a RPTV?
Rob Heintzman
I say go for the Axiom surrounds -- I love 'em! If you put
'em in the null position, I don't foresee any major placement-related problems. I'd always
start with the null position, but the Quadpole speakers disappear so well, you could
probably cheat a bit.
I used to have an opinion on both screen size and whether
or not a CRT trumped an RPTV, but TVs have gotten a lot better. I spent some time at
HE2002 watching Zenith's HD RPTVs and they were amazing!
When I sold hi-fi for a living, somebody taught me that you
should sit a certain distance from a screen -- the formula I seem to remember was five or
six times the screen's diagonal measurement -- or you risked eye-strain from the
brightness of the screen's output. But I sit closer than that to my computer's monitor for
12 hours a day, so that must be just a piece of urban folklore, especially since I can't
find any evidence to back up the claim.
I think that screen size is like doing the bench press --
there's no such thing as going too big. Get the biggest screen you can afford, as long as
it can deliver a picture you can live with. And I don't know about you, but with my
budget, an RPTV gets me a lot more screen than a CRT these days. I could certainly live
with any of the Zeniths I saw last summer -- and I think the new models are even
more affordable....Wes Phillips
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