How To Set Up A Stereo/The Speaker Audition/

How to set up a stereo system

    Buying the correct components for your individual needs is just the first step in reaching your goal of owning a fine stereo system. It is amazing to see quality components set up in such a way that it is impossible to get maximum sound quality from them. A two channel (stereo) system consists of one pair of speakers, one or more source components, and amplification.
Speaker placement: This is probably the most important aspect of setup. Without optimizing the speaker's position in relation to the room and your seating area, it will never perform to its full potential. Both speakers should be placed along the same wall, facing your listening position. Ideally, they should be separated from one another by at least six feet, and probably no more than ten. Speakers too close together can sound "cramped," too far apart and they lose a tight center image.
If your floor is carpeted and spikes were included with your floorstanding speakers, they should most definitely be used. The spikes (points go down) will couple the speakers to the floor, making them more stable

and generally improve the quality of bass. This is one of the easiest ways to improve the sound of any speaker. Smaller speakers need to be elevated so that the top of the speaker is 30 to 40 inches from the floor. Solid speaker stands (with spikes) are recommended. The room boundaries are an important consideration. Your speakers should be positioned out from the rear and side walls at least 12 to 18 inches. If the speakers are too close to the side walls, imaging will suffer. Moving a speaker closer to the rear wall reinforces bass, but soundstage depth will probably be hindered. Speakers like to have some breathing room around them .

If you stuff your speakers into a tight spot between pieces of furniture, their imaging and sound quality will suffer. The optimum position for a speaker's placement is rarely in the first spot they're placed. Trial and error is the only way to determine where the speakers will sound the best, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
Component placement: The equipment stand is a surprisingly important part of any home stereo system. Beyond aesthetics alone, there is performance and convenience to consider. "Open-air" cabinets with no doors, sides, or backs are generally the best choice. Because there are no sides to interfere with the sound waves these cabinets are nearly "invisible" to your speakers. The open-air design lets the equipment run cooler and allows very easy access to the rear of components. Metal stands, with their weight and density, tend to perform better than wooden stands. Large wood entertainment centers look good and are very popular but they severely compromise the system. These wall-units reflect a large portion of your speakers sound, restrict ventilation and cable access, and totally ignore vibration. Remember, vibration is detrimental to sound reproduction. The more vibration you can control, the better. Many of the open-air cabinets use floor spikes and shelf spikes to reduce vibration.
Cables: Interconnect cables are used to transfer audio (and video) signals between components. It is extremely important to use good quality brand name interconnects if you want your system to sound as good as it can. The free cables that came with your CD player, VCR, or amplifier should not be used but replaced with a cable that matches the quality of your components. The difference in picture and sound can be substantial. We can recommend cables that are appropriate for your system. As a general rule, your system will be properly balanced if your speaker and interconnect cables total 5% to 10% of the cost of your stereo system.
Your system will only sound as good as its weakest link, and for many people, that is their speaker cables. If you are using cheap or thrown-in speaker cables, replace them with a brand name audiophile cable. These speaker cables come in two basic types, one of which should be well suited to your system. The first type is braided (multiple-stranded) cable. A heavy braided cable made with hundreds of strands of oxygen-free copper will be a large improvement over the thin "lamp cord" you may be using.
The second type of speaker cable is a design called single strand. These cables are made of solid core copper or silver, and each strand may be individually insulated to prevent interference from adjoining strands. These designs tend to be a little more expensive and are very popular with audiophiles. AUDIOQUEST is a highly respected manufacturer of this type of cable. Compared to the braided cables, you can usually expect better high frequency response, midrange clarity, bass definition, and imaging.
If your front speakers are capable of being "bi-wired" you should do so. We will help you select the bi-wire speaker cable that is right for your system. Look for four (or more) speaker wire connectors on the back of your speakers instead of the usual two.
Surge suppression: Just like computers, audio systems are highly susceptible to damage from power surges, voltage fluctuations, and lightning. At the very least you should protect your valuable system with a high quality surge protector. Be prepared to spend a little money for this. The truth is, the cheap $20 models at discount stores are nowhere near adequate. Depending on your individual system, you may be vulnerable to surges from electrical outlets, roof antennas, cable TV lines, satellite dishes, and phone lines. If what you want is a good basic surge protector, we will be happy to recommend a PANAMAX model that is right for your system.
Beyond simple surge protection there is line conditioning. A line conditioner purifies the electricity that runs your system. Electrical power leaves the plant clean but becomes polluted (with electro-magnetic and radio frequency interference) along the way to your house. The result is a dramatic drop off in the picture quality of your television, and a serious reduction in the sound quality of your stereo system. TICE AUDIO PRODUCT, INC. line conditioners remove this interference and improve the performance of every TV and every audio system. They also protect your valuable system from harmful power surges and voltage spikes.

The Speaker Audition

    When auditioning speakers you should always listen to music even if you are going to use them in a home theater system. Music is a much better measure of quality than movies. Music is harder to accurately reproduce and much easier to focus on. We know of many speakers that sound good for movies and sound terrible for music. Visa-Versa, we don't know of any that sound good for music and terrible for movies. When you are shopping for speakers for home theater, audition front speakers only. Find the fronts you like the best and then match them with a center and rear. Almost all front speakers made today have matching front and rear speakers from the same manufacturer. Speaker manufacturers will have timbre matched front, center and rear speakers. They will generally use the same style of enclosure, crossover components, and most importantly the same drivers. This insures they will be timbre matched (same tonal balance). If you don't have speakers that are timbre matched you have a chance of having a mismatched system. For instance a car panning across the front speakers. The car sounds like a Ferrari in the left front, and then it moves across to the center speaker. It now sounds like a Porsche 911 in the center speaker. Then it moves back to the right speaker and the sound changes back to the original Ferrari.
When shopping for any component it is best to bring a few CD's that you are familiar with.  If you are shopping for Home Theater equipment you might want to think about bringing in your favorite DVD or LD discs. Also, listen to more expensive systems than what you are looking for. Most of the time it will show you how much better of a sound more money can buy.