Uber Newb Questions

Vanhool

I am new here, i am just going into my junior year of high school, Been interested in audio for about a year now, however i am just starting to get really interested, but i have no idea what the simplest things are like, impedence, sensitivity, what makes a good speaker, those kind of things, if somepeople could answer even just a couple of these questions it would be awesome, thanks in a advance.:)
Van

Drumingman

Browse around the site, look under education, and start reading these threads.
Welcome to the club.

Polk65

Welcome to the Forum.

If someone in a white van comes up to you in a parking lot offering to sell you speakers at a great discount... RUN!

The best thing you can do in my opinion is take marketing and advertising for what it is. Visit your local library and book stores. Read some speaker design books and magazines. Go to several stores and spend time listening to different brands of speakers. Listen to a certain brand for at least a week or two before moving on to the next. Bring a favorite CD so that you are familiar with the sound. If the store equipment has treble and bass controls, turn them to flat.

Vanhool

Thx everyone for being so awesome. I tried this with another "audiophile" forum, and they were ****$holes. But you guys are awesome, thx for all that info. over the past years i have looked over a couple simple designs, Bass Reflex,and the enclosed type. Both of which i have built to an extent, bubt they were crap because of the stuff i used to put into it, pos crossovers, and 10$ drivers. but i was just bored and needed something to do. so i just wired a cheap computer speaker amplifier and used these for computer speakers for a crap computer. but back on subject (im not very good at staying on subject:) ) i have gone and listened to a few speakers at a CC near where i work, but i never stayed long cause i got dirty looks from the salepeople, maybe it had something to do with my dirty, sweaty, paint covered work clothes, but then again i have no idea, lol. But thx again everyone for being so great.
Van

mhardy6647

Here are some other references that if nothing else help define and/or explain terms. For example, even lots of 'audiohiles' don't know the difference between sensitivity or efficiency when it comes to loudspeakers!

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/reviews/20030722/match_speakers.html?page=1

http://www.3dzaudio.com/speakers_glossary.html

http://mixguides.com/studiomonitors/Basics/audio-glossary-basic-monitors/

steveinaz

Welcome aboard Van Halen..errrr Vanhool!

audiobliss

I'll try and address a few your questions here, though you've already got some good responses.

impedance
Impedance is typically used to refer to the resistance a speaker presents to an amplifier, and is measured in ohms. Most speakers (at least in the 'consumer' world) present 8ohm loads, whereas a lot of audiophile speakers are 4ohms or less. Now's a good time to point out that these are nominal ratings. Mean, they're the average impedance the speaker presents to the amplifier. In reality, the actual impedance load varies every second, depending on the particular frequency, the recording, and perhaps some other factors. So, with this in mind, we realize that our easy-to-drive speakers rated at 8ohms nominal actually dip down to 6ohms or even as low as 4 ohms at times.

Now, to try to understand the idea of impedance. The best way to visualize it that I've come up with is to think of a water pipe. The diameter of the water pipe represents the impedance load the speaker presents to the amplifier. Let's take a regular sized water pipe (8ohm nominal speaker) and a pump (amplifier) that's working to keep the pipe full of water. The pump has to work hard enough to keep water coming in the pipe as fast as water's running out of the pipe, but given that it's a regular sized pipe, that's not a problem. Now let's take a small water pipe (10ohm nominal speaker). This smaller pipe can carry less water, so the pump (amplifier) doesn't have to work as hard to keep up with it. So, the pump (amplifier) can relax a bit and still do the job just fine. Now let's move on to a HUGE pipe (4ohm nominal speaker). This pipe can handle LOADS of water, and now the pump (amplifier) has to be working flat out as hard as it can all the time to keep the pipe full of water. And it might not be able to even at that.

Completing the analogy, the lower the impedance load, the more the amplifier has to work. The more power is required of the amp. The more current it has to be able to deliver. Current is much more important in amps than the watts it can make. High-current amps are able to keep up with low-impedance loads (huge pipes), even if they're only rated at 45 or 65 watts per channel (wpc).

This is why HK receivers beat the snot out of Yamaha, Onkyo and Denon receivers. Whereas the latter receivers are rated at 100+ watts per channel, they're not high-current amps and not only can't handle low-impedance loads, but can't even handle 8ohm loads near as well. The HK receiver is proably only rated at 65 watts per channel, but it's a high-current design, so it can handle low-impedance loads and have even greater control over 8ohm loads, resulting in a nicer aural presentation.


sensitivity
Sensitivity ratings tell how many decibels a speaker can reach given a certain amount of power input, usually something like 1 watt at 1kHz. In other words, it's a measurement of the speaker's efficiency, or how well it turns the amplifier's output into sound (not how well in regards to sound quality, just decibels). The more sensitive a speaker is, the less power it needs to achieve a given decibel level. The less sensitive, the more power it requires.


what makes a good speaker
The best answer to that question is to let your ears decide. You can't point at any one thing, say an enclosure design, or a certain cabinet material, or a driver or specific type of driver, or wiring, or insulation, etc. and say 'that makes a better speaker'. What counts is 'synergy', or how all the parts work together. Everything has to compliment each other in order for it to reach the desired goal. So, the only thing that is truly telling, that will decisively determine what's the better speaker, is your ear.

Like someone else said, take a favorite CD and listen to some speakers for an extended period of time. Really get to know the speakers. Then compare them to some others. Take your time doing this, and you'll end up with the right speakers.


Hope that helps just a little bit. Hang around, read a lot, listen more, and have fun!

audiobliss

Vanhool

Thx, that helps alot. once again thx guys for helping me.

reeltrouble1

In the pipe analogy Voltage is the amount of "pressure" pushing the amperage moving down the wire referred to as current flow. Its easy to get confused.

As far as H&K there fine making a solid competive product, other companies make just as nice and even better receivers than H&K including the Onkyo, Denon and Yamaha. All of them make High Current model amplifiers, which what high current actually is, is not exactly clear cut. Receivers are pretty much intended for HT these days, there are some exceptions but in general they are for HT applications. Which receiver sounds better is subjective.

Welcome to Club Polk.

RT1

burdette

If your school has an electronics class available, take it. Or check a local community college for a basic electronics (even electricity) course.

Also, check your library for (or buy) a book like "The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook" by Vance Dickason.

Be careful of the bug... I bought a stereo in high school instead of a car...

McLoki

You already have alot of great answers to the questions you initially asked. One thing I would have to recommend is get to some stores other than best buy and circuit city.

I didn't see listed what city (or even state) you are in, but it would be worth your time to search HERE (yellow pages) Click on "Retail shopping" (twords the bottom of the page) put in your Zip Code, click home electronics, then click on stereo equipment. Scroll to the bottom of the page (should be white rather than yellow) and click beyond your zip code (if needed).

This will give you some ideas on different shops in your area. Give them a call and find out what speaker lines they carry. Schedual a time with them on a Sat. to sit and listen to a few CD's (bring them with you). Dress casual (think business casual, not shorts and a t-shirt) and plan on spending a few hours browsing around. Take a small notebook and write down what you like or don't or just what sounds different about some of the different speakers you listen to. Don't forget to write down what other equipment is used (amplifier, cd player, etc.) You are not just auditioning a speaker, but a complete system at this point.

Buying stuff is always fun, but you can have a good day just going out and getting your listen on to see what is available and what makes one system sound better than another to you.

Enjoy and welcome to Club Polk,

Michael

AndyGwis

Hey Vanhool,

You are already on the right track. It's better to ask questions and learn before you buy; a mistake many of us made when getting into this hobby. I bought some sale stuff then tried to figure out what the hell it did. Luckily, it was polk gear and worked out just fine for me. Keep learning and you will make better purchases and save a bunch of money.

Also, the stuff you find used either on ebay, audiogon, craigslist, or at garage sales is a better place to start for a youngster on a budget than Best Buy, Circuit City, or any of the higher end audio stores. I would definitely go demo some higher end gear to see what you like, then use that knowledge to find more modestly priced used items that exhibit the same qualities.

Unless, of course, you are independently wealthy or have insanely rich parents. Then, buy whatever you like, then sell it here for cheap when you get bored with it

zombie boy 2000

AndyGwis wrote:

Unless, of course, you are independently wealthy or have insanely rich parents. Then, buy whatever you like, then sell it here for cheap when you get bored with it

Hear, Hear:D

Vanhool

Yup, i also made the mistake u mentioned above...... about a year ago i purrchased a small, cheap, system when i actually had money and when i was first getting into it, i kick myself now that i did, but i cant change wat i did so i can only hope ill be smarter in the future. so i wont be looking to buy anything for a while, or until i purchase a car. and no unforunatly i am not wealthy and neither are my parents. however i will start looking at some stores around me, but they cant be far cause i dont have a license......stupid dmv and their stupid test........but i will start looking for speaker companies that i like the sound of. oh and i live in covina in socal

zombie boy 2000

Best of luck to ya... and Welcome to the Forum:)

Looks like you have a head start on most of us.

mhardy6647

Vanhool... don't they make those big-butt tour buses?

Vanhool

Lmao, ya they do, thats where i got my nickname. me and my small group where heading up to camp in a Vanhool bus, and we were really, really bored so i look up and theres one of those "call attendant" buttons, and it was yellow with red letters "Vanhool", once again we were bored. so i said to one of them, Vanhool!, and so we started chanting Vanhool!! for about an hour, making up songs about it and stuff like that and thats how that particular nickname came about.......lol.

cheddar

Welcome to the club Vanhool,

Take physics! Between wave theory and electric circuits, you will own the class projects and you will probably be able to teach your teacher a thing or two before you're done .