Home Theaters

there would certainly be an area devoted to the speaker from each manufacturer that put that manufacturer ‘on the map’. For the Vandersteen speaker company it would certainly be the Model 2, which has had a few improvements through the years, all the while staying basically the same.

the IIce is a very unassuming speaker when clothed (left), but hides a lot of thoughtful design below the grill cloth

Mr. Vandersteen builds a quality speaker, and has refined the basic design over the years, but has stayed with the same cabinet dimensions, the same type of grill cloth and has not changed the multiple small baffle look first made popular in the designs of earlier speaker magicians, like the Dalquist DQ 10. Although the materials of the cabinet have changed the inner design is also basically the same, consisting of high quality,speakers, although not made of exotic materials, first order crossovers, like those used in the VMPS line of loudspeakers, and attention to the very smallest details.

In the world of high end speakers, this unit, in all its incarnations, is a rock star. I don’t refer to the music with which it is comfortable, but instead the numbers it has sold, almost 200,000 units. That is amazing in anyone’s estimation.

The individual drivers are tweaked, not left in a standard form as many other speakers might be. The midrange has the magnet structure specially shaped so that the back wave does not color the sound. Speaking of back waves, the materials used to help attenuate the back wave from the speaker cones has been chosen to be the perfect complement to each driver. Glass wool was not simply stuffed in the back of each enclosure.

While many manufacturers are content to build enclosures made in a cabinet factory, the Vandersteen models are custom cut from high quality MDF using the CNC method for extreme precision. The best parts are used for the crossovers, and ultra high quality binding posts are used to get the signal from your amp to the speakers.

Like many other quality speakers where the ultimate price is not high, but the quality of workmanship is, these will reveal flaws in sub-par electronics and material easily. These are not speakers to be driven with typical Japanese electronics. On the other hand, they are speakers that will make for a stereo experience that will make you want to listen more, rather than less as years go by. Also, since they are relatively easy to live with aesthetically, there should not be much fuss from the significant others in the audience. If any problem arises, take them to the Vandersteen website, and show them the high quality finishes available for the cabinets - happiness will ensue. While there, you can pick out which speakers you will use to compliment the stereo pair, whether it be 3, 5, or 6 more speakers. (yes, Vandersteen makes a subwoofer!)

The baffle, and in places, the lack of the baffle, is the major part of what gives these speakers their remarkable sound, and allows listening for years without fatigue. The staggered baffle is used for time-alignment of the drivers. What this means is that the sound wave from each speaker is going to reach your ears at the very same time, because the voice coils, the driving part of the speaker, are perfectly in line from top to bottom. The sound is not something that when you hear it you will jump up from the audition seat and say , “By George, those speakers have time-aligned drivers!” - but you might just jump up and say, “These are the best sounding speakers I have ever heard in this price range!”

Oh, and the price range - about $2000 for the pair, depending on finish. Not cheap, but your ears will thank you, over and over through the years. 

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Technorati Tags: Vandersteen - II ce - time alignment - first order crossovers - VMPS - Dalquist DQ 10 - CNC milling - MDF

At first you might ask what this has to do with home theater. Well, many of us have satellite reception in our home theater setups, and some of the background things are quite interesting. It is good to see how some of this has worked toward changing the landscape of the cable and satellite industries. Soon it will be the cable card tuners that will be hacked, and similar tales will certainly come to light.

Christopher Tarnovsky has led a wild existence in the last few years. At thirty-seven, he seems to be the pre-eminent cracker of existing smart card technology.

Christopher Tarnovsky at his lab in San Diego

In an amazing tale told to Wired, Mr. Tarnovsky outlines exactly how being given a satellite dish and a couple of non-working smart cards, while in Europe working for our government, started him on his way to being a pirate and then a consultant for the satellite company he had been hacking.

The interview was granted just after he had been acquitted of the charges in a trial that took five years to unfold. Along the way, many charges have been leveled at him, both by the company he was working for, NDS Group (one time owner of DirecTV), and Nagrastar, a competing firm.

Although fired 2 years ago by NDS, he states he would like to go back and help them compete against new threats that are starting to develop. Of course, he also offered his services to the competition as well.

The story shows how the private sector is involved with technology and espionage every bit as amazing and intriguing as the military of almost any nation. The game of cops and pirates is played on almost every continent, and the only difference (one hopes) is that espionage of the industrial type should not be as conducive to losing one’s life.

By the way, over at the Wired website there is a fascinating short video of how he cracks the smart chips, including steps of cutting the chip out of the plastic card holders, applying fuming nitric acid to the protective layer, and then acetone baths before scratching off the last layer of protection, while increasing protection of other, vital areas, with the application of women’s red fingernail polish.

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Technorati Tags: cryptography - satellite hacking - smart cards - microelectronics - ECM - 5 year trial - industrial espionage

I know I was going to talk about a couple of speakers that, through the years, have been updated, and continue to amaze. I am still going to do that. However, something I don’t think I have really stressed in the time of this offering is very important to your total enjoyment of the system you build.

I know I have stated that one must go out and listen to real music, not reproduced, but produced, from non-electronic instruments. This is getting harder and harder to do, as not only are most of you inconveniently located to a place where symphonies are performed,  other types of music are rarely performed fully without amplification these days. Nonetheless, you should make every effort. Perhaps listening to non-amplified music is a goal to not be achieved, but strived for - kind of like the concept of limits in calculus.

The other thing might seem much more crazy than the first. Find  a high-end stereo store and go in for a demonstration. Be frank with the salesperson (I know about this, I used to be one). If you have no intent of purchasing anything, tell him or her. Truth is wonderfully refreshing, and hope springs eternal. Both of these truisms are what audio salespeople live by. On the one hand they are going to hope you change your mind and buy something, even if not today. On the other, you have been truthful from the start - that scores you major points. Salespeople approached in this fashion will usually be kind, patient, and amazingly generous with their time. This is especially true if you do one more thing - tell them at the outset to quickly move to any other customer that might appear.

  Not many have the budget to purchase a multi-thousand dollar tube amplifier (some would not want one if they could), such as these Audio Research models pictured here - nevertheless, being familiar with their sound is a good thing - it allows a reference to judge against

Now you can inquire about things that interest you - like the best (name your piece of gear here) that the store has to show off. If you show some intelligence, or at least some eagerness to learn, you will be surprised at what you pick up. You will be rewarded with a very nice time, listening to music of great quality, on great equipment.

This is one of those speakers I’m going to speak about soon.  If you’re lucky, you might get to listen to a pair of these on your ‘crazy’ outing! If you see one - definitely ask to listen!

Now the point of this is twofold. First, you will no longer be able to fool yourself into the idea that people who spend ‘that kind of money’ on equipment are crazy. Second, although you may not have the words to describe it (you know, not technical jargon, but the vernacular that the really rabid audiophiles use - words that you may have never heard before put to use in description of sound) but you will be able to say you heard the difference between bland sound provided by mediocre equipment, and the best sound available at a price. You will also be able to listen for flaws in things you are able to purchase, and know which flaws you can live with, and the ones that simply can no longer be tolerated.

If all you learn by this experience is why cables like this for speakers are better, you’ve accomplished something.

If you become friends with a dealer of ‘that kind of equipment’ two things might happen. You may become privy to sales coming up, allowing you to purchase some great stuff at a fraction of the list price - a boon to your system and your enjoyment of it, or you may simply continue the education that allows you to critique sound very competently, and allows you to build, within  the limits of your budget, the very best sounding audio/home theater system available.

Would either possibility be so bad?

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While this is not strictly a home theater piece, it is something that will affect us all in some way, and may affect your large screen HDTV - as some were built without the DTV tuner needed next February - there are many sets that were built before the standard for transmission was ratified, yet the sets have non-tuner inputs capable of HD performance.

perhaps you thought the government was paying the $40 for that certificate? You aren’t really that naive are you?

While the government is busy congratulating itself on the progress of the transition to Digital Television (DTV), the GAO report on it points out how ineffective our government is at what it does.

The report, issued in April, states how the transition is going well, and gives those who only skim the reading  thinking that all is going according to plan.

The report shows how many stations are already broadcasting the digital signal, and how many will be doing so soon. What is there, under a thin veil, is that the ‘facts’ are being distorted. Most of you are saying, “This is the government, what’s new about that?” You would be right.

The total facts - ooh, a new term, I think I’ll trademark it, and maybe license it to Fox News! - are that the report only speaks of the 66% of station licensees in the nation who bothered to respond to the inquiry. So when the term ‘vast majority’ is used in speaking of stations already broadcasting a digital signal, it really means those stations that the GAO is aware of. Suddenly it seems as though this might be an area where the FCC could do some good - this is their bailiwick.

Part of the ‘transition’ that is not being spoken about it the fact that not all stations will be forced to discontinue analog transmission in February 2009. That was a bit of a shock to some that I spoke to, but this is one of those ‘dirty little secrets’ the government is so fond of keeping. Many stations that are classified as ‘low power’ will not be forced to make the changeover, which, if you’ve been reading the news, should make the case for Best Buy completely.

Best Buy, and 6 other large retailers were hit a few weeks back with large fines for continuing to sell analog televisions. Now, I’m sure the government will push the fact that the point of the fines was the sign stating the television would be useless after February 2009 without some external help.  The ‘low power’ exemption will make the point very murky, as even in areas where no low power station exists, it can be argued that sets might be purchased for usage in those low power areas. This is simply another area where,  if it was so very important to go to digital television, the transition should have been 100%.

The way it currently reads is similar to what I’ve stated before - the government wanted to shift around some frequency allocations, so it could resell the space and make money - this is fact, as it was part of the ‘Debt Reduction Act of 2005′. Anyone who doubts the real reasons for the imposed switch to digital television should simply look more closely at the evidence. By the way, this was a pet project of John McCain, as he wanted to have some way to pay for the outrageous debt that was caused by the war games in Iraq. Also, to ensure that the force was made, Darth Cheney had to make an emergency exit, stage left, to return from the Middle East, to break a deadlock - this almost did not pass.

Back again to the GAO report - there are several stations across the country who think the transition will be so smooth as to not do any transmission in digital format before the 17th of February in 2009. Somehow these stations believe that the change will be so effortless that no problems will occur. Good luck to them.

Another problem with the upcoming transition is the problem of those little boxes. The nifty little boxes that are going to allow those nasty old analog televisions to continue to serve many - well, it has been predicted that they will be purposely shorted in supply, to force purchase of brand new digital television sets. You did not think any differently did you? After all, it is the television producers that are making the nifty little boxes. Would you, as a purveyor of equipment, not rather sell a $500 television over a $75 dollar add-on tuner? (and let us not be coy about who really pays for those $40 certificates…)

The winners in this, if you can call them that - they are still paying for the cost of transition - are those who have cable or satellite in their homes. No sharp pains of television withdrawal will occur next February, and these same people don’t have to shop for the last set top box available on February 16, similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s problems  in ‘Jingle All the Way’.

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That was something my grandmother used to say to me. It makes no more sense about some things today as it made back when she was alive. However, some instances lend themselves to this sort of inscrutable logic.

So it is with the choices I make here, when I write. I am writing about home theater, yet in the back of my mind, with nearly every word written is the thought that for many, and always me, the home theater system is also the stereo system, and it will see much more duty as that. For me, I watch a movie and rarely watch it again for some time. For many movies, I never watch again. This is not always because I did not like the movie. Sometimes, it is simply so good at doing its job that the story and visuals stay with me, not needing to be refreshed.

For music, it may have something to do with the fact that we remember less of what we hear than what we see, but I think it is something very primal. Music does indeed soothe. That may be why I choose to listen to music much of the non-working waking hours, instead of watching something.

With this in mind, I always try to think of how the system will sound as a music reproduction unit, and it makes choices different, and more difficult.

If a subwoofer is being chosen for what the usual ‘theater types’ refer to as LFE, or low frequency effects, it matters little how the unit sounds with real music. The subwoofer in these cases is being called upon to cause excitement, to enable the ‘like you are there’ nature to bombastic events, like explosions, jet aircraft takeoffs, and the obliteration of large objects.

this is the Original VMPS subwoofer, it sounds great with music, and does a good job with LFE, a really great buy if you can find one used. I have a pair of these used with Infinity Infinitesimal RS 0.12s. The sound is marvelous, and puts much more expensive systems to shame. (These are old now, but work well. Point here is that quality like this was normal in the 80’s, before people were convinced that great sound quality for entire room could be had from something the size of a toothpick [small exaggeration])

On the other hand, if my choice is a subwoofer because I want to hear the first octave of music, it is usually much harder a choice, as the sonic character of the sub will be much more noticed. The way it rolls off, and the main speakers take over must be much more smooth. The frequency response curve must overlap just so, and the upper harmonics of the sub must either match the drivers of the main system, or be eliminated. The subwoofer used for LFE simply has to be loud.

Apologies to George, but every THX setup I have ever heard is nowhere near what I call good sound - either in quality or quantity.

The choice of a good sounding low frequency device is made harder by the fact that so many people choose to compare against music, as is shown by the abhorrent sound quality of many THX-certified theaters. The low frequency effects are there, and in great volume, but they rarely sound convincing - at least to anyone who bothers to listen and compare. 

this is a current VMPS subwoofer design, it will give your system the punch you want for ‘effects’ yet sound good with music - what a concept!

When choosing the main speakers, the home theater user only casually interested in stereo reproduction will choose speakers that sound good, and make certain that the center channel speaker is almost identical to the left and right speakers. This is fine for the purpose of viewing movies, but when using this system as a stereo, for critical music listening, it is very close to impossible to have great sound from this type of setup.

if you’re looking for this

you definitely don’t want this!

The reason is simple. The two types of systems here are at odds, and so getting a dual purpose speaker system here is like having Hulk Hogan fill in for your favorite ballerina in a production of Swan Lake.  In a good stereo system, the two speakers are chosen to produce a sound field in front of the user, and the field must be a panorama. There is no center channel, and a good stereo pair will have no problem with a musician in the exact center, or anything else, for that matter. The thing that most do not understand is that this type of reproduction is relying on a great recording. That is to say that this is high fidelity reproduction. The system merely reproduces what is on the recording, whether tape, compact disc, or FM tuner is being used. If good sound is not in the original recording, it will not be reproduced by this system.

The home theater system, comprised of 6 or more speakers, unlike the stereo system of 2, or possibly 3 speakers, is designed to  sound less natural, to force the extremes of sound, and of directional cues in that sound. For this reason, the makers of many of these home theater speakers will purposely limit the sound field that the speaker is capable of recreating. This becomes especially apparent when going from 3 speakers in front for theater, to 2 speakers for music. The ‘hole in the middle’ is apparent, yet with a good stereo setup no hole in the middle would exist, if the recorded material was done properly.

All of this is written as a preface to the next couple of entries, where I will be talking about a couple of really fine speakers, that have been acclaimed as quality of both build and sound, and have been around for some years. These would make a great choice for the dual purpose system most of us have, and then the rest of the 5, 6, or 7 channel system can be acquired, trying closely to match the characteristics of the center, sides, and rear speakers to the really fine stereo pair.

(Can you guess what speakers I might be talking about?)

the HDMI interconnect - not only a demon of DRM, but also a positive force in control of componentry

Standards are a wonderful thing. The establishing of standards allows everyone to be on the same page. It allows cost reductions by streamlining the ways things work together. It would seem that all who manufacture in a market segment would be happy for standards, and adhere to them.

 and you thought the wiring inside was simple!

In 2008, it still is not so. Only the standards with the most stringent control are followed. Each manufacturer somehow feels that they must get ‘a leg up’ on the competition. So it is with the HDMI CEC standard.

As most know, HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interconnect, and now the CEC stands for Consumer Electronics Control. CEC is a feature of the HDMI 1.2 standard that should be implemented on every device with HDMI 1.3. Strange…you bet.

think about the connection mess that HDMI can save you from!

The CEC is designed (by a housewife masquerading as an engineer, no doubt, who detested any wires showing in her living room!) to allow things plugged together to work from one remote. Sounds great, and that’s how it was designed to be, eliminating extra remotes, IR blasters, and many other problems.

The problem is that not many people know about it, and the public needs to pressure all the manufacturers to standardize on a ‘cute’ name for it, and also allow full interoperability.

Right now, LG calls its version of CEC, SimpleLink. Toshiba calls its version CE-Link. Other manufacturers don’t bother with the cute names, allowing the prospective buyer to either dig for the specification, or remain ignorant. Ignorance can be a good thing, or so the folks at Sony think. You see, their CEC version only allows interaction and control of other Sony products. The unaware will probably think Sony has done them a huge favor, if only the customer will stay within the brand, not realizing that they are confining them in a way not necessary at all.

Remember, this is still an evolving standard, so it can change for the better.

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Panasonic DMP-BD30 - sleek, compact, and snappy!

One of the problems of almost all ( well, every one I saw) of the first generation Blu-ray players was the excruciatingly long start time from disc insertion to play. Perhaps this was due in part to the amount of anticipation that was supposed to build while the disc was loading, but it was frustrating.  The Panasonic DMP-BD30 improves upon this slow time to ready by a wide margin, and brings pictures up much more like a standard DVD player.

The unit works well with upconversion of standard DVD titles also, so keeping an older player around for that purpose is no longer necessary. Old Faithful can be retired to the bedroom, a kid’s room, or perhaps the den.

The unit is very compact, measuring 2.3 by 16.9 by 12.6 inches (HWD). This is significantly smaller than many other components, but fortunately the width is close to the 17 inches that has become a de facto standard. It will blend.

a good layout of rear ports

On its rear panel, the DMP-BD30 provides a wide array of video ports, including HDMI and component. Audio output options (in addition to HDMI) include coaxial and optical digital as well as stereo and 5.1-channel analog. Audiophiles will appreciate the BD30’s ability to deliver bitstream audio output to a compatible AVR (via HDMI) with high-quality audio formats such as Dolby Digital + , Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD (regular and Master Audio).

One thing a little absurd, especially after the latest shakeup in DVD players, is the lack of an easy way to update firmware. There is no ethernet port, an although there is an SD card reader, updates cannot be loaded from it. No, the method is downloading an update on a computer, then burning to compact disc, then loading into the player. It should work fine, but seems a little convoluted for the largest electronics company in the world to produce.

The SD slot loads and shows pictures very easily, and has a good browser for viewing in an order of your choosing. Perhaps another compact disc update will allow the SD slot to load firmware, so that compact discs will not need to be wasted on updates.

Picture quality is good, with all inputs, the controls on the front panel and remote are thoughtfully laid out, and the unit is a good value at its list price of just a nickel under $500. Hopefully, the unit will come down with further competition, and larger adoption by the viewing public.

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Have you ever wondered why some people pay ridiculous prices for speaker cables, while others will use anything that conducts electricity? The science and arcane magic of speaker wire is something that many people have no real idea about, and so terrible decisions are made, making for inferior quality sound, and sometimes money completely wasted.

thick with lots of individual strands - yes, that’s the ticket!

As I’ve spoken before, speaker wire of good quality is essential for a high damping factor, and the speaker control that it provides. What many simply do not understand, as evidenced by the choice of wire, is that since music reproduction is complex, there is no easy solution when it comes to speaker wire. Bass reproduction depends on a large amount of current moving through the wire, so a wire as thick as can be tolerated is what is needed. On the other hand, high frequencies travel on the outer part of the wire strand, due to something known as ‘corona’ or ’skin effect’. This means that a single strand of wire of a low gauge (low numerically, high in diameter) will not get the job done well. What works best is extremely fine strands of wire, bundled together to make a rope of sufficient size for the quality expected.

Kimber cable is one of the better designs, with many pairs per set, leading to lots of outer surface area, and great high frequency transmission

The other thing about speaker wires is length. Whenever a longer length is needed, the increased resistance offered by the run must be offset by a greater diameter. This is why, when making very long runs of wire, no less than 12 gauge should be used, and choice of a lower gauge still would, of course produce superior results. Finding gauges of finely stranded copper wire lower than 12 can be a problem for many, as the wire 10 gauge or lower is specifically meant for musical use, and those selling it know they can get top dollar. In cases where availability, or cost, is a problem, using multiple runs of 12 gauge is certainly acceptable. ( A few years ago, I had a living room set up where I needed to have speaker wires 36′ long to my Infinity Reference Standard 4.5s. This meant 4 runs of 36′, as this was a stereo, and the speakers were bi-amped. I used 12 gauge Monster Cable (the standard stuff) in quad runs to each connection. This meant I needed 576′ of cable, but this was much cheaper than using something much thicker, such as a very large Kimber Cable or AudioQuest Red, and it produced fine results.

if you are wiring a big job, like the whole house, bulk rolls are the best buy.

Later I changed to having the power amplifiers between the speakers, and using much smaller runs of 9′ per side. This shows the next thing in our lesson about quality. Keeping the amplifier to speaker connections as short as possible, and using high quality interconnects between preamp and power amps.

One last thing, In every case, what is needed for speaker wire is the purest copper wire that can be found. That is because copper is the best conductor of electricity among non-precious metals. Gold is better, and silver the best conductor, but obviously they are costly and would be prohibitively expensive. Also, with silver, oxidation would necessitate almost constant cleaning to keep the conductivity high.

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