Speaker Buying Guide
What size of speakers should I
buy?
How big is the room where you will
use the speakers? If it’s an average living room, about 20
x 15 x 8 feet (2,400 cubic feet), and you sometimes like
to listen at realistic (loud) volume, look for
moderate-size floor-standing speakers, typically about 30
to 40 inches tall, with one or two woofers about 6 to 8
inches in diameter. If the speakers are for a den or
bedroom, check out “bookshelf-style” speakers with one
woofer and one tweeter, about 10 to 20 inches tall.
I like deep bass. How do I know
how much bass the speaker will produce?
You can tell by the size of the
enclosure (box) and the diameter and number of
woofers--the large cone used for deep bass frequencies.
The bigger the box and the greater the diameter of the
woofer, the more deep bass the speaker will deliver. A
small bookshelf speaker about 12 inches tall will have
limited bass output but it will still be audible and
pleasant, but nothing like as much bass as you will get
from a floor-standing speaker with one or two large
woofers.
What does 2-way and 3-way mean?
A 2-way speaker divides the musical
range into two parts, bass and treble. It uses a large
cone woofer, about 4 to 12 inches in diameter, for low
bass frequencies, and a tiny dome-shaped tweeter,
typically about 1 inch or ¾ inch in diameter, for treble
sounds -- cymbals, percussion, and the like. A 3-way
speaker adds a third cone driver for midrange sounds,
hence the musical range is divided three ways. In a 2-way
speaker, the woofer handles all the bass and about half
the midrange.
How do I judge a speaker’s tone
quality?
Use recordings that you like, with
male or female singers, lots of good deep electric bass,
clearly defined drums and cymbals, and some strings,
piano, and brass instruments backing the singers. Can you
follow the individual notes that the bass plays? Are the
singers’ voices natural or do they sound nasal and fat or
aggressive and shrill? Are “s” and “t” sounds exaggerated?
Do violins and trumpets sound natural or are they harsh
and strident?
How do sealed or
“acoustic-suspension” speakers differ from bass-reflex and
“ported” speakers?
A bass-reflex speaker uses a hole
(also called a port or vent) in the box to re-direct bass
energy from inside the enclosure so that it couples with
and reinforces the bass from the front of the speaker. A
sealed or acoustic-suspension speaker uses only the energy
from the front, and discards the rear waves from inside
the box. Neither type is better than the other. Using the
same input power, ported designs tend to play a little
louder than acoustic-suspension speakers. If
well-designed, both types are capable of excellent sound.
What brand names should I watch
for?
Look for companies that specialize in
making only speakers. Brands that offer a huge range of
products can’t do everything as well as a company that
specializes. For example, the best motorcycles tend to
come from companies that specialize in building just
motorcycles. The same applies to speakers. Does the
company make claims about serious research in acoustics as
well as listening tests?
What are the differences in woofer
and tweeter material? Some use paper or plastic; others
use titanium or aluminum.
In the past, very good speakers have
used paper- or plastic-coned woofers, and tweeter domes
made of cloth or plastic. Recently, strong and
ultra-lightweight metals like titanium and aluminum are
being used with great success for tweeter and woofer
cones, but listen to the sound the speaker produces: look
for clear, distinct vocals, and lots of detail on
percussion, with bite but no harshness from trumpets and
sax.
What kinds of speakers will I need
for Home Theater?
At the front will be a pair of left
and right main speakers, a single center-channel speaker
on top of your TV for movie dialogue, a pair of smaller
surround speakers, preferably on the side walls but usable
at the rear as well, and a large single subwoofer, the
speaker for deep bass, usually with its own built-in
amplifier. That’s six speakers total, and ideally they
should be from the same manufacturer, especially the front
left, the center, and front right.
What kind of speaker cable will I
need?
Let the distance from your receiver
or amplifier to the speakers be your guide. For runs of 10
feet or less, simple oxygen-free copper 16-gauge cable
will be ample. For distances of 10 to 30 feet, use
14-gauge (the lower the number, the thicker the cable).
For longer runs, get 12-gauge cable. There is no need to
purchase exotic or expensive branded speaker cable. So
long as it is thick enough, there are no significant
audible differences in cables.
How do I estimate the size of
amplifier needed to power my speakers to good volume
without distortion?
Look for the “minimum required
amplifier power in watts”; if it is a range, use the
higher figure. For typical living rooms (see above),
receivers of 50 to 100 watts per channel will give you
lots of reserve power for “cranking it up.” Note: smaller
bookshelf speakers need MORE power, not less, to reach
adequate volume in the same room because they are not as
efficient as larger floor-standing speakers. For small
rooms, a receiver of 30 to 50 watts per channel will be
ample. Buy as much power as you can afford.
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Buy selected Axiom Audio Home Theater Systems and get a
FREE A/V equipment stand ($220-$290 value)
Shipping is Free within North
America.
Prices are displayed in US Currency. You must use
checkout to see Canadian Dollars. Products shipped
from Ontario.
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