AV Adviser

Used speakers are tricky to price

There's not much to a speaker.  I should say that compared  to an av receiver there's not much that goes into a speaker.  You have the drivers, tweeters and woofers, a cabinet, circuit boards, some insulation, a grill.  That's simplified and hardly scientific but I'm trying to get a point across. 

Your speakers usually last much longer than other audio components.  There's just not much that can go wrong with them.  That is unless you overdrive them and blow out the drivers themselves.  You can tell if a driver is blown by just listening to it.  Or, if it's a woofer, carefully push the cone in with your hand.  Do you feel or hear a grinding or crunching.  If so the speaker is blown.  You'll need to replace it. 

In fact, it's quite easy to replace parts of a speaker that goes bad.  The most common ailment is that the "surround" which attaches the speaker cone to the basket becomes deteriorated.  Here's a diagram.

You'll first notice a bad surround as the speaker will begin to buzz or make a fart sound when there's low bass tones.  On inspecting it you might find that there's actual holes where the surround has decayed.  Simply touching the surround with your finger may cause it to disintegrate as you touch it. 

I've got a pair of McIntosh XR6s that had bad surrounds in the largest of the woofers.  Here's a couple of pictures. 

In the old days surrounds were made of cloth, and though the sound may not have been as good they didn't go bad. 

I removed the woofers from the cabinet and took them in for replacement of the surrounds.  It's much better than trying to transport huge speaker cabinets. 

There's a few places in Cleveland that repair drivers.  I took mine to Audio Craft.  Another downtown shop is Empirical Sound.  I believe that Elctra-Sound on Brookpark Rd. also offers this service.  It's best to call a store first to see if there's a surround available for that sized driver. You could do it yourself but it's a bit difficult and the glue used is somewhat toxic meaning a ventilating mask is needed. 

Once the surrounds are repaired the woofer is as good as new and that's where pricing on used speakers becomes tricky.  If you go by Bluebook, yes, just like cars AV gear has a Bluebook, the price on used speakers aren't reflective of any sort of repair work you may have had done.  Speakers can last a long time as long as you take care of the cabinet and don't crank them too loudly.  It's just that in the used market you won't be able to sell them for too much.  On the other hand, you can find some great deals on used speakers. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

Macworld shows interconnectivity with home audio and video

Lately I've been showing how Apple's operating system is being integrated into home audio and video products the same way Microsoft's internet explorer has been for years.  It's nice to get confirmation on this trend from someone else. 

The popular tech insider site, Gigaom, writes about this melding of Mac's iOS and home theater as seen at Macworld 2012, Macworld | iWorld 2012 highlights for home theater nuts and audiophiles.  In the story are topics I've discussed in recent months like Epson's projector and digital to analog converters (DACs).  It's really not surprising and mirrors the fact that Apple has overtaken Microsoft in revenues during the past year. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Bang & Olufsen introduce "affordable" line up of products

Bang & Olufsen, the Danish audio video company whose products are pieces of art with a price tag to match, have introduced a new line of "affordable" components called B&O Play.  Most will find their affordable line still a bit steep in price. 

The first product to launch in the new subbrand is the Beolit 12 Airplay.  It's designed after a transistor radio they produced in the 1970s.  It looks gorgeous with loads of power and is even retro in the fact that it only plays in mono. 

The Airplay in the name is a giveaway.  Yes, it syncs with Apple's Airplay as well as having a mini input to plug in a device that might not be on a network.  It's also quite portable and can play off the battery for about eight hours. 

When I first heard about the piece I was thrilled that I might be able to afford something from B&O.  Actually I do have a great B&O turntable but I bought that used.  Then I looked at the price tag of $800.  I guess affordable is a subjective term. 

Here's another write up on the Beolit 12 Airplay from the New York Times, Bang & Olufsen’s Homage to Its Past.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 Edit (1.30.12):  I got an email from Jon Erikson of B&O "The BeoLit 12 plays in Stereo.  It has a left and right driver and does have left and right imaging."  I apologize.  I got my info from the New York Times who stated that it was mono.

4K so much better than 3D

My dislike of 3D is evident if you read my blog with any regularity.  I feel as if the technology was pushed to market too soon and forced down the consumers throats.  And it looks like the consumers have simply spit  the format out, rejecting it for good reason.  Active or passive glasses, wearing glasses at all and little in the way of content, what's to like about 3D?

I'll give you a new technology that absolutely trumps 3D.  It's called 4K resolution.  In simplest terms it's more high def than high def.  It offers a picture that is staggeringly stunning. 

CNET offers us a primer on 4K, What is 4K? Next-generation resolution explained.  It's the next video technology I'm really excited about.  Granted, it'll take a number of hurdles before it makes sense in our homes but let's see the powers that be get behind this instead of wasting their time with 3D. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

Watch where you put your speakers or what you put on them

I was just looking at a review from CNET's Christopher MacManus on a home theater system he saw at the Consumer Electronics Show, Hands-on with Unity home theater.  He gives a favorable recommendation but it got me thinking about speaker placement. 

MacManus was turned off by the design of the set up where the subwoofer sits vertically in the center and a speaker bar rests horizontally across the top of it creating a T shape where the speaker bar also acts as a place to put the flat panel TV.  His concern is that there's no place for a lower shelf to house a game console and the like.  My worry is vibration from the speakers and subwoofer that are in direct contact with the TV. 

I don't care what the spin is, there's no way vibration is good for your video and audio components.  The idea of my TV sitting on top of a platform that constantly vibrates is just not happening.  Those vibrations can, in time, loosen soldering joints, circuit boards and all sorts of internal components.  That may easily send your TV to an early grave. 

The speaker bar contains the tweeters which, granted, don't create too much in the way of vibration, but the bar sits directly on top of the subwoofer.  A subwoofer vibrates like crazy.  I've seen systems set up where, due to lack of shelf space, audio or video components are set right on top of the subwoofer which usually resides next to or behind the TV.  That is just bad design.

Another thing to be wary of when dealing with subwoofers and large floor standing speakers is what you may place on top of them, even momentarily.  Speakers use magnets.  The bigger the speaker the bigger the magnet.  Most of the time the speaker housing is sufficient to keep that magnetic field from escaping the enclosure.  I'd still be very cautious about laying a watch or your iPhone on top if it. 

I have a mobile DJ business and sometimes the photographer will put his camera right on top of my speaker.  First of all I don't want anything on those speakers because eventually vibrations are going to knock whatever rests there to the floor.  Secondly, there's a chance that the magnet in the speaker is going to do damage to their camera. Remember, speakers aren't tables.  

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Interfacing Apple's Siri With Crestron Control

This is awesome.  Before Steve Jobs passed away he hinted that he'd cracked the problem with controlling a TV without a cumbersome keyboard or remote.  It seems assured that Apple will unveil a TV of their own within the next year or so.  Speculation is that his control solution is Siri, the audio assistant built into the iPhone 4S.

Carnes Audio Visual has achieved such control and more by taking the Siri technology and interfacing it with Crestron's sophisticated control system.  Here's the Forbes story on it, Siri Takes Its Place in the "Smart Home".  Better yet, here's a video put together by Carnes to show it off.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

Making Your MP3s Sound Better

As more and more of us leave our CDs to collect dust, opting for the convenience of MP3s, there's got to be a way to make the inferior digital files sound better.  There are a couple of different options.

The first are software based products that usually interface with iTunes.  These programs reach into iTunes and take over the playback, changing the sample rate to match that of the original file.  Of course, if the file is only 128 to begin with it's not going to help much. 

Stereophile named one such program, Amarra, one of their products of the year, Stereophile's Products of 2011 COMPUTER AUDIO PRODUCT OF THE YEAR.  Be prepared though, this software isn't cheap.  The top of the line product runs $695. 

There's a couple of other software based solutions such as Channel D's Pure Music which runs $129 and Stephen Booth's Decibel at $33.  The big drawback for me and many others is that all of these only run on McIntosh computers.  

The better choice in my opinion is an outboard, good old-fashioned audio component.  I like these better since they'll upgrade streaming music as well as MP3 files.  They're called DACs or digital to analog converters.  You install them between the output of your PC soundcard and your stereo amplifier.  There are numerous DACs like M-Audio's Audiophile 2496 which actually is installed into an empty slot on your PC.  More traditionally there's Cambridge Sound's DacMagic.

I'm not going to say these devices will make your MP3s sound as good as a CD but it's a step in the right direction.  And if you're hooked on the simplicity and convenience of your music being a click away it's an investment worth making. 

Cambridge Audio's DacMagic

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

A Look At Noise Cancelling Headphones

I'm in the market for a new pair of headphones.  And I'm talking headphones not earbuds. 

For earbuds I've resorted to buying the Best Buy brand which run $5.00.  I'm just tired of shelling out $20 for a decent, not great, pair of earbuds and having them short out within a few months.  Besides I don't use earbuds other than for yardwork and outdoor bike rides.  Folks that live in large cities and use public transportation use headphones much more than the rest of us. 

I fly quite a bit, and I end up looking at those business travelers with a bit of envy.  They sit there so comfy and uninterupted with their noise cancelling headphones.  I want a pair. 

Bose has been the leader in this category for some time.  Now other manufactures are moving in to take a piece of this market.  The New York Time's David Pogue reviews a number of these headsets this week, Headphones to Shut Out the World.

It's these type of reviews that you and I must rely upon.  Gone are the days when you could go to a store and try out the various makes and models yourself.  These stores are far and few between anymore.  Most independent retailers have cut inventory, presenting scenes with one of each type of product.  There's no more line up of similar products for you to demo. 

I actually have no real problem with this sort of thing.  I'm a fan of critics and reviewers.  For many years I've relied on music reviews to influence my album purchases.  I read what the critics say before I go see a movie.  Why shouldn't I rely on knowledgeable people to steer me toward the right audio or video purchase?

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Another "How To" Build A Home Theater

I could take a crack at writing a story on how to build a home theater for this blog but why bother.  I design such systems for work.  And though we have a rule about not reinventing the wheel on each project, I do have to take into account the personal and unique aspects to each customer and their home.  So I share others attempts at designing a theater for the masses. 

Here's one from Consumer Electronics Net, Super Bowl Special: How to Build the Ultimate Home Theater.  The author, Chuck Tannert, outlines specific makes and models for each piece of equipment.  It's a subjective thing, everyone has their favorites and some push certain product for various reasons.

  As I've said in the past, this industry is too competitive now for inferiority.  It's more important to look at the prices.  At any given price point there's a number of manufacturers that make a good product. 

Sometimes a certain piece of gear doesn't have the right number of ins or outs or a certain bell or whistle to make the system easy to operate.  That's the key folks.  Ease of use.  It's important to find a custom designer, such as myself, who can make sure it will all function properly.  There's nothing worse than an a spouse who's upset because they just can't figure out how to work the home theater. 

If you hgave a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Stop SOPA and PIPA

Today is the day of the internet blackout to protest bills in Congress and the Senate.  The legislation is aimed at stopping online piracy which is a good thing.  The problem is the language of the bills is far too reaching and will damage the internet in the United States.  The bills are a form of censorship. 

Big corporations would like to take control of the internet, taking away an individuals right to a fair playing field online.  This legislation would be a move in that direction. 

Here's a partial list of those supporting this legislation:  RIAA, MPAA, News Corp, TimeWarner, Walmart, Nike, Tiffany, Chanel, Rolex, Sony, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, VISA, Mastercard, Comcast, ABC, Dow Chemical, Monster Cable, Teamsters, Rupert Murdoch, Lamar Smith (R-TX), John Conyers (D-MI)

While here's a list of those opposed to it:  Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, eBay, AOL, Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr, Etsy, Zynga, EFF, ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Darrell Issa (R-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Ron Paul (R-TX)

Many of those in opposition are going dark for 12 hours beginning at 8am today as a form of protest.  Craigslist, for example, will direct you to a landing page about the bills and how you can help defeat the measures by contacting your representatives in Washington DC, Craigslist, About SOPA and PIPA.

In solidarity with the opposition I, personally, will refrain from using the internet today other than for business email.  You might consider doing the same.  At the very least, contact your congressman and do not buy products from those in support of this misguided plan.