Getting the Best Out Of Home Audio
Almost everybody loves to listen to music and their home and it is rare to find
someone without some kind of sound system in their house or apartment. Radios
and CD players are cheap enough to find a place in virtually every household.
While the sound quality on these cheap devices may not be very good, they still
qualify as home audio units.
For those with more cash and a desire for truer sound, the sky's the limit. Home
audio systems costing in the tens of thousands of dollars are available for rich
audiophiles. Most of us, however, have sound systems which fall somewhere
between the extremes of cheap radios and top-of-the-line components.
The most popular home audio device is the CD player. These can be simple
portable units or standalone components which are part of a sophisticated sound
system. The popularity of CD's is due to their high sound quality and
durability. In contrast to vinyl records for example, CDs keep on sounding good
even after many years of use.
The most common configuration of home audio is stereo sound. Stereo sound
systems have been popular since the 1960s and remain the basis of most audio
systems. Stereo systems have two speakers which are usually placed on the right
and left of the listening area.
A new development in home audio is the surround sound system. These are popular
for home cinema systems. A typical surround sound system places five speakers
around the listening area. A sixth speaker, called the subwoofer, is used for
reproducing low-frequency sounds.
No matter how simple or complex home audio system is, the amplifier is the
central component. Amplifiers take the small sound signal created by the radio
or CD or cassette and increase it enough to drive the speakers. Without the
amplifier, the sound would be to faint to hear.
The quality of the amplifier is one of the main factors in the overall sound of
the home audio system. A good-quality amplifier accurately reproduces the sound
waves as they were recorded. Cheap amplifiers can add distortion to be
reproduced sound.
Speaker systems are also very important for producing good-quality sound. For
the best sounding home audio, speaker systems must be made up of many different
components. Big speaker drivers are used for low-frequency sounds and smaller
drivers are used for the high frequencies. The frequencies are divided by
crossovers before being passed to the drivers.
New developments are being made in home audio technology all the time. Amplifier
designs are being refined and new materials are used for speaker drivers. These
developments are great for the consumer - better sounding audio systems are
available at lower prices.
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