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Phlegmbot posted:What should I look for in speaker stands? I just bought some stands last year. What I read was to get a pair of stands that will, when the speakers are on them, put the tweeter of the speaker right where your ear level would be where you normally sit. Also, I looked for stands where the center pillar was fill-able with playground sand, more for stability than for any “acoustic isolation.” You may want to be careful about looking for these fill-able pillars, some cheap stands will seem to have a channel for the sand but this is not sealed and is only for the speaker wires. Finally, I actually use the “acoustic decoupling spikes” that came with my stands, even though I have hardwood floors. I set the spikes on pennies and the stands seem more stable and less likely to slide than if the flat foot was just resting on the floor. And I used four balls of Blue-tack per stand to keep the speakers on there. Before I did all this, I was convinced I’d knock one of my precious NHT SB-3s onto the floor. But with the Blue-tack and the sand, those puppies aren’t going anywhere. These are the stands I bought. AudioAdvisor.com sometimes has good deals too.
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Mar 26, 2007 16:54
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BillyGilmore posted:http://www.buy.com/prod/The_Klegg_M6_501_Surround_Sound_System/q/loc/58207/204216661.html Wow, those are some tiny rear end speakers. I personally don't see the point (or understand the physics) of spending $300 on micro speakers (including amp and sub) but, then again, I have no experience with HTiB. If you're dead-set on 5.1 for $300, then super cheap HTiB is basically your only option and I can't really give you any advice. I'd think every HTiB around the $300 mark would be about the same. But if you're amenable to just a stereo system, then $300 suddenly becomes a decent amount of money and will get you some drat good stereo sound for music and movies. (I kinda think any 5.1 system for less than $1,000 or even maybe $1,500 is a gimmick but what do I know?) Personally, if I had a budget like that, I'd go with either the Epos ELS-3s or the Infinity Primus 150s. I auditioned the ELS-3s and they sounded incredible for the price. I've never heard the Primuses but Stereophile loved both the Primus and the Epos, for what that's worth. Then, for an amp, I'd hit a few thrift stores or eBay and see if you can pick up a used 1970s-1980s Realistic, Scott, Fischer or Kenwood stereo amp for $10-$20. The Epos are 4 ohm, so you'd have to keep that in mind when looking. I'd think either of those speakers plus a decent amp would blow you away and would be miles above an HTiB system. Plus, they're both part of a 5.1 voice-matched "family," so you can upgrade in the future. Even if you gave me $1,000 to spend on speakers, I'd still go with stereo over 5.1 but then I'm more into music than surround. el_caballo fucked around with this message at 19:45 on May 11, 2007 |
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May 11, 2007 19:30
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OK Days posted:So I bought used amplifier and two speakers but it didn't include the cables to connect these two. Ive never had to really deal with these things so excuse me for my simple question: Those pin-type things are "speaker pins." They are really only good for use with cheap-o amps and speakers that have clip-style hookups for the speaker wire. You're supposed to crimp them onto the speaker wire with a pair of pliers... but they'll just fall off the second you move the cable around. Theoretically, they could be useful for when you're using speaker wire that is of a much lower gauge (thicker) than the clips on the back of the amp or speaker can handle. This would be in the case of a $50 Walmart boombox system, where it can only handle like a ~32ga. wire but the pins would probably still be too big for the clips anyway. Good speakers and amps have five-way binding posts and, while you can just twist the ends of your wire and screw the posts down on the bare copper, banana plugs on each end of the wire can be very handy and save a lot of time hunched over your entertainment center with cramped fingers. As for the wire itself, you can basically use any two conductor cable for speaker wire. I'm using Home Depot 12ga. two-conductor underground lighting cable. It's got a nice thick rubber shielding on it. Some people just cut the plugs off those heavy gauge orange extension cords and use the positive and negative for left and right. I would try to use the lowest gauge that your amp and speakers can physically handle but, really, gauge is only supposed to matter over long distances. Try and keep it between 12 and 18 ga. and you should be fine. Oh, and try to use the same lengths of cable to each speaker, even if one is closer to the amp than the other. Again, this really shouldn't make any difference sound-wise over short distances but it can be a good idea if you ever rearrange the room. Usually, you only get one cable in a "packet" but that's something you should ask the seller.
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May 17, 2007 18:07
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