any audio guru's in here?

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Solodays
the definition of surround is with 5 or more speaker right? doesnt matter if 5 of the speakers are $10 each or $1000 each, as long as it's coming from a 5.1 source disc and a 5.1 receiver, it's called surround? so there are no such thing as surround sound compatible speakers or not? haa, never really into audios until this very moment.

when are audio cd's gonna catch up with surround sound? audios cd are so outdated, it's been the same for atleast 20 years or so? as for movies, we are getting a new format within the year. blu-ray & HD-dvd. audio needs to change.

Well... 4.1 is surround also. (or 4.0 too)
I guess you could kind of make up your own 3.1 system with 1 speaker behind you too if you wanted.

But yeah, 5.1 is pretty standard and 6.1 or 7.1 are common as well. You can go higher than 7.1 also, but that's not too common.

Doesn't matter how much the speakers cost, but my point is for music I'd rather have two $250 speakers than five $100 speakers.
Surround sound doesn't need to come from a source with 5.1 discrete channels. PrologicII etc are still surround, but the receiver is deciding what's being played on what speaker, not the source disc.

Any normal speakers will be compatable as main, center, or surround speakers. Some are better suited to certain duties but they're all going to work.

There are some higher end music formats (like DVD-A) that are better than CDs.
CDs are still quite good for music.

DD and DTS from movies are still pretty darn good too if they do a good job with them.

 

[dr150]

Go to the real experts:

AudioCircle

 

[FFactory0x]

JBL ALL THE WAY!!! BEST WARRENTY EVER! 5 YEARS

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
wattage of your amp/receiver and the efficiency of the speaker will determine how loud it gets.

Like spidey says, go out and listen :thumbsup:

Do you have a budget in mind?

Correction: it is the sensitivity, not the efficiency, that affects the perceived maximum loudness. 🙂

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
wattage of your amp/receiver and the efficiency of the speaker will determine how loud it gets.

Like spidey says, go out and listen :thumbsup:

Do you have a budget in mind?

Correction: it is the sensitivity, not the efficiency, that affects the perceived maximum loudness. 🙂

Sorry. Most of the stuff in my pricerange tends to list efficiency or sensitivity ratings but not both measurements.

EDIT: the product he listed for example has an efficiency rating.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
wattage of your amp/receiver and the efficiency of the speaker will determine how loud it gets.

Like spidey says, go out and listen :thumbsup:

Do you have a budget in mind?

Correction: it is the sensitivity, not the efficiency, that affects the perceived maximum loudness. 🙂

Sorry. Most of the stuff in my pricerange tends to list efficiency or sensitivity ratings but not both measurements.

EDIT: the product he listed for example has an efficiency rating.

The sensitivity of a speaker is the loudness per standard input (1W/2.83V/whatever) at a specified distance on-axis. The efficiency of a speaker is the total acoustic power produced divided by the input power, which very very few non-pro speakers are measured for.

I think the best example of efficiency is that of a compression driver measured on a plane-wave terminated tube.

(this is all IIRC)

 

[James3shin]

how much are you trying to spend? what are you primarily going to use them for? Movies? Music?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
wattage of your amp/receiver and the efficiency of the speaker will determine how loud it gets.

Like spidey says, go out and listen :thumbsup:

Do you have a budget in mind?

Correction: it is the sensitivity, not the efficiency, that affects the perceived maximum loudness. 🙂

Sorry. Most of the stuff in my pricerange tends to list efficiency or sensitivity ratings but not both measurements.

EDIT: the product he listed for example has an efficiency rating.

The sensitivity of a speaker is the loudness per standard input (1W/2.83V/whatever) at a specified distance on-axis. The efficiency of a speaker is the total acoustic power produced divided by the input power, which very very few non-pro speakers are measured for.

(this is all IIRC)

Maybe a lot of these "efficiency" labels are really sensitivity then?

Mine have an efficiency rating given, not sensitivity linky

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
wattage of your amp/receiver and the efficiency of the speaker will determine how loud it gets.

Like spidey says, go out and listen :thumbsup:

Do you have a budget in mind?

Correction: it is the sensitivity, not the efficiency, that affects the perceived maximum loudness. 🙂

Sorry. Most of the stuff in my pricerange tends to list efficiency or sensitivity ratings but not both measurements.

EDIT: the product he listed for example has an efficiency rating.

The sensitivity of a speaker is the loudness per standard input (1W/2.83V/whatever) at a specified distance on-axis. The efficiency of a speaker is the total acoustic power produced divided by the input power, which very very few non-pro speakers are measured for.

(this is all IIRC)

Maybe a lot of these "efficiency" labels are really sensitivity then?

Mine have an efficiency rating given, not sensitivity linky

Yes, that is a sensitivity rating.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
wattage of your amp/receiver and the efficiency of the speaker will determine how loud it gets.

Like spidey says, go out and listen :thumbsup:

Do you have a budget in mind?

Correction: it is the sensitivity, not the efficiency, that affects the perceived maximum loudness. 🙂

Sorry. Most of the stuff in my pricerange tends to list efficiency or sensitivity ratings but not both measurements.

EDIT: the product he listed for example has an efficiency rating.

The sensitivity of a speaker is the loudness per standard input (1W/2.83V/whatever) at a specified distance on-axis. The efficiency of a speaker is the total acoustic power produced divided by the input power, which very very few non-pro speakers are measured for.

(this is all IIRC)

Maybe a lot of these "efficiency" labels are really sensitivity then?

Mine have an efficiency rating given, not sensitivity linky

Yes, that is a sensitivity rating.

So they incorrectly call it an efficiency rating along with a good chunk of the industry?

I guess I never really paid close attention to what it was called because both efficiency and sensitivity ratings seemed to be used interchangeably.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

"1 watt/1 meter: The manufacturer measures the sound pressure level (SPL) that a speaker produces with one watt of power at a distance of one meter. But this measurement is actually a measure of a speaker's efficiency, and not its sensitivity."

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-...ws/20030722/match_speakers.html?page=3

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
"1 watt/1 meter: The manufacturer measures the sound pressure level (SPL) that a speaker produces with one watt of power at a distance of one meter. But this measurement is actually a measure of a speaker's efficiency, and not its sensitivity."

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-...ws/20030722/match_speakers.html?page=3

http://www.jblpro.com/pages/pub/components/2426.pdf

[Nominal] efficiency is a percentage, not a variation of sensitivity. Efficiency in all other fields is also measured this way (as a ratio of output to input).

Your own link says:

"Efficiency is strictly defined as how much acoustic power the loudspeaker puts out for how much electrical power it is being driven with. If you feed a loudspeaker with 100 electrical watts, how many acoustic watts of sound does it produce? The answer is 'not many,' a typical moving-coil loudspeaker being about 1% efficient." 3

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
"1 watt/1 meter: The manufacturer measures the sound pressure level (SPL) that a speaker produces with one watt of power at a distance of one meter. But this measurement is actually a measure of a speaker's efficiency, and not its sensitivity."

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-...ws/20030722/match_speakers.html?page=3

http://www.jblpro.com/pages/pub/components/2426.pdf

[Nominal] efficiency is a percentage, not a variation of sensitivity. Efficiency in all other fields is also measured this way (as a ratio of output to input).

Your own link says:

"Efficiency is strictly defined as how much acoustic power the loudspeaker puts out for how much electrical power it is being driven with. If you feed a loudspeaker with 100 electrical watts, how many acoustic watts of sound does it produce? The answer is 'not many,' a typical moving-coil loudspeaker being about 1% efficient." 3

Ok, so virtually all these HT labels of "sensitivity" and "efficiency" are all really sensitivity ratings that are correctly labeled as sensitivity or falsely labeled efficiency ratings?

Just two different names for the same measurement, one being correctly labeled and the other being labeled as a related measurement but actually a measure of the same thing as the correctly labeled measurements?

So I'm a victim of non-standardized audio lingo?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
"1 watt/1 meter: The manufacturer measures the sound pressure level (SPL) that a speaker produces with one watt of power at a distance of one meter. But this measurement is actually a measure of a speaker's efficiency, and not its sensitivity."

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-...ws/20030722/match_speakers.html?page=3

http://www.jblpro.com/pages/pub/components/2426.pdf

[Nominal] efficiency is a percentage, not a variation of sensitivity. Efficiency in all other fields is also measured this way (as a ratio of output to input).

Your own link says:

"Efficiency is strictly defined as how much acoustic power the loudspeaker puts out for how much electrical power it is being driven with. If you feed a loudspeaker with 100 electrical watts, how many acoustic watts of sound does it produce? The answer is 'not many,' a typical moving-coil loudspeaker being about 1% efficient." 3

Ok, so virtually all these HT labels of "sensitivity" and "efficiency" are all really sensitivity ratings that are correctly labeled as sensitivity or falsely labeled efficiency ratings?

Just two different names for the same measurement, one being correctly labeled and the other being labeled as a related measurement but actually a measure of the same thing as the correctly labeled measurements?

So I'm a victim of non-standardized audio lingo?

That is correct.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
"1 watt/1 meter: The manufacturer measures the sound pressure level (SPL) that a speaker produces with one watt of power at a distance of one meter. But this measurement is actually a measure of a speaker's efficiency, and not its sensitivity."

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-...ws/20030722/match_speakers.html?page=3

http://www.jblpro.com/pages/pub/components/2426.pdf

[Nominal] efficiency is a percentage, not a variation of sensitivity. Efficiency in all other fields is also measured this way (as a ratio of output to input).

Your own link says:

"Efficiency is strictly defined as how much acoustic power the loudspeaker puts out for how much electrical power it is being driven with. If you feed a loudspeaker with 100 electrical watts, how many acoustic watts of sound does it produce? The answer is 'not many,' a typical moving-coil loudspeaker being about 1% efficient." 3

Ok, so virtually all these HT labels of "sensitivity" and "efficiency" are all really sensitivity ratings that are correctly labeled as sensitivity or falsely labeled efficiency ratings?

Just two different names for the same measurement, one being correctly labeled and the other being labeled as a related measurement but actually a measure of the same thing as the correctly labeled measurements?

So I'm a victim of non-standardized audio lingo?

That is correct.

Thanks for clearing it up 😀

 

[Howard]

Can I have the title Apprentice Soundman?

😉

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Howard
Can I have the title Apprentice Soundman?

😉

How about I get that and you get Soundman?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard
Can I have the title Apprentice Soundman?

😉

How about I get that and you get Soundman?

Nah, I know approximately nothing about audio encoding (DD, DTS, etc).

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Howard
Can I have the title Apprentice Soundman?

😉

How about I get that and you get Soundman?

Nah, I know approximately nothing about audio encoding (DD, DTS, etc).

When they start an audio forum area we can start a whole sound team 😛

 

[spc hink]

I vote for an audio forum. I would like to build a HT but I am somewhat overwelmed by all of the options. Learning about all the computer brands and what not was pretty easy but audio is sooooo much harder.

 

[axnff]

First of all - ignore wattage ratings. You're previously stated budget ($250) will not buy the low-sensitivity, high-fidelity speakers for which wattage means much of anything. With 64 watts, you can power an 86dbA sensitive speaker to 107 dbA (permanent hearing damage VERY quickly).

That budget isn't much, but last I knew, Polk was reasonably well regarded, as is Klipsch, Paradigm, Swans by Diva, Axiom, KEF (if they're still around, last I heard of them they had been sold) and a variety of other brands (basically, avoid Bose, SONY, AIWA, probably safest to avoid Best Buy altogether without a lot more research). Chances are that you will have to go with bookshelf speakers (smaller, usually one 5 1/4 - 6 1/2 inch driver and a tweeter) to keep costs down - but then you'll lose out on the lower octaves (bass and maybe even a bit of mid-bass). I asked this question on HomeTheaterForum before an got some recommendations for Advent, but that was a while ago...

This may be completely out of the realm of possibility based on intended use, but $250 goes a long way when getting headphones (Grado, Sennheiser, Audio Technica, AKG, Alessandro, et. al.) and an amp (start with a cheap cmoy, or even build your own). This is really only viable if you live alone and don't intend to play music for others, but it is one option....

 

[Nutdotnet]

I didn't feel like making a new thread about an HT question so I'll hijack this one for a second.

Where is a cheap place that I can pick up some ok Bookshelf speaker stands? I know I can build my own, but I don't have access to a table saw or anything of that nature.