Speakers

When shopping for an audio system, it's important to remember that speakers are your most important component. A well-designed set of speakers can transport you from your living room couch to a concert hall, a jazz club, or a Broadway show. The most technologically advanced stereo components will not be able to work this sort of magic if they are coupled with a low quality speaker system.

Your speakers are the only components in your system responsible for sound reproduction. They create the sound waves that travel through the air and into your ears. For this reason, the quality of your speakers, as well as their placement in your home, is crucial to your experience as a listener. Choosing a high quality brand, such as Klipsch speakers, Infinity spekers, or JBL speakers is important.

When setting up your speaker system, you want to create the sensation of three-dimensional sound. Each speaker has its own sonic signature, which is commonly referred to as its "voice." Just as a choir singer's voice will sound different in a large cathedral and a small church, the placement of your speakers will have a profound influence on the musical sound. Some parts of your room will have what is known as bass cancellation. In these sections, your speaker's lower frequency output will be less apparent.

Other sections of the room will have bass reinforcement, where the sound of the bass will be augmented. In some rooms, the bass cancellation and bass reinforcement areas are actually pretty close together. Under these circumstances, even moving speakers an extra foot away from each other will make a huge difference in sound quality. if you are experimenting with different speaker placements, some people use masking tape to mark a speaker's position. That way, you can return to that position if it created a better sound quality than a placement used in a subsequent trial.