Hi-res audio, high-res music: Not the same thing The tracks you’ve ripped from CD are not high resolution, and you won’t find high-res music files at the iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Google Play stores, at least not yet. Upconverting those music files won’t magically transform them into high-resolution tracks, either. You can’t put in what was never there in the first place. High-Resolution Audio is Not: A 192 kHz up-sampled version of CD An up-sampled and “restored” version of an MP3 A high-resolution digital copy of a vinyl record A high-resolution digital copy of an analog tape A 24-bit recording played...
When deciding on what’s right for you, ask yourself the following questions: ·What is my budget? ·Am I using the speakers in a home theatre system with a sub or a dedicated two-channel system without a sub? ·Am I looking for the best quality sound in the mids/highs or just want something that plays loud with a lot of bass? ·Will I be bass managing these speakers? ·Spacing considerations: can I fit a tower in my room? Will my wife allow it? Just looking at these questions, one may come to the natural conclusion that it’s all about the bass. ...
One of my competitors said to me about 6 months ago. He would only stock speakers if they had good reviews from the couple of main reviewers. No reviews means no stocking or even testing. This struck me as a bit of a naive comment as what a reviewer hears and says and what the end user hears can be quite different. So I decided to check out some speakers and see how they reviewed. I chose the Heco Direkt Einklaqng, for a couple of reasons. The main one was when I looked at the speakers, I judged them on...
Are you building a new home? Wondering what to prewire? And what about all the new wireless technology? Do you worry if it’s worth it to prewire? I love the analogy Steve Jobs used when asked about PCs, Laptops and Tablets. He said as good as cars are, we will always need trucks for heavy lifting. The same is true when you build a home. There will always be heavy lifting to do in the home. For these applications, you want to use wire. As a rule, we recommend prewire the following items in new construction and remodels: TVs, Projectors...
Heard about Hi-Res audio and wondering what the fuss is all about? We’ve broken down everything you need to know so you can decide if it’s what your music collection needs. Hi-Res Audio: Next-gen sound Just as 4K and HDR have become the buzzwords of TVs, Hi-Res is the must-have standard for audio gear. You may even have noticed a little gold and black ‘Hi-Res Audio’ logo alongside some products, as if it’s an official seal of approval. But is Hi-Res Audio really such a big deal? It can be if the conditions are right, but there’s a lot of misleading information out there,...
What is it and why do we want it. THX is an acronym for “Tomlinson Holman’s eXperiment.” Holman created THX while he was working with Lucasfilm studio to devise a new standard for audio reproduction to ensure quality and uniformity across all theatre systems that would play the company’s audio. THX certifies that an audio system follows strict rules for ultra high-quality digital sound playback. These systems can be professional theatre or cinema sound systems, surround sound setups, simple home theatre systems, or a surround sound system just for your PC. THX Certification establishes a rigorous set of industry standards for audio...
HEARS THE DIFFERANCE In many modern homes today, the television with all its other media components isn’t just an accessory that is part of a room in the house — there is a whole room dedicated to it. This room has a number of different names that many people tend to use synonymously — media room and home theatre. However, there is a massive difference between each of these rooms, which is important to recognize, especially if you are interested in installing one or the other in your own home. Here’s what you need to know. General Differences Let’s start with...
So buying speakers can be very tricky and if you are new to the market I tell you there are tonnes of different kinds of speakers out there like a bookshelf, floor standing, in ceiling, on wall , in wall satellite speakers etc. All of them are made for different kinds of applications and you have to choose the best pair of speakers according to your budget and the room requirements in which you will be placing your speakers. In this article, I will be explaining to you all the detail of in-wall speakers vs floor standing speakers to get you the idea of...
It’s gone up in price but the latest Marantz CD player is absolutely worth it Tested at £400 OUR VERDICT – 5 Stars Marantz remains a master of the affordable CD player FOR Big sound Good timing and focus Fine build and finish AGAINST Favours easy listening over out-and-out detail Meaningful increase in price over CD6006 At no point has it been broken – a string of What Hi-Fi? Awards dating back to the turn of the 21st century attests to that – but nevertheless Marantz has gone ahead and fixed its 6000 series CD player every year regardless. This latest version, the CD6006,...
DAP Acoustic Research offers brawny and energetic bass, musical and smooth midrange as well as free, transparent high notes. At the beginning of this year in the “internet” appeared information about launching a portable player of the Acoustic Research AR-M200. An American company with decades of experience probably associates every self-respecting audiophile. It is true that the AR department dealing with portable devices (apart from DAPs are headphones and accessories) is relatively young, but noblesse oblige, so the opportunity to test the new DAP from this stable I was very pleased. Encouraged by opinions on the topic of Acoustic Research portable musicians,...
