Phone:
(08) 8370-0192
Mobile:
0411 774452
classic-hifi@chariot.net.au
|
|
|
Herald Sun, Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Cheap surround sound can’t compete with stereos, writes Peter Familari
THE weak chink in surround sound’s multi-talented armour at a budget price is music.
Cheap-and-cheerful Dolby Digital systems can’t rival similar priced stereos when it comes to getting ripping dynamics, focus, poise and bags of refinement from music or DVD soundtracks.
A single pair of stereo speakers placed either side of a display monitor and driven by pedigree amplifier and DVD player is a cracking do-it-all system with a vivid surround-sound experience.
The only downside?
The lack of that all-enveloping sound provided by rear channel speakers.
Sure enough, home-cinema systems can handle movie sound with sonic muscularity and what seems like boundless enthusiasm.
And a few at the upper reaches of the genre are genuine musical maestros.
But most of the budget contenders are sonically compromised. The bottom end of the home-cinema market is littered with overpriced systems with a performance that falls way shy of the musical target.
Entry-level audio-video receivers are overburdened with multiple amplifiers and digital processing circuitry all sharing a single power supply.
Compared with the humblest but wellbuilt, plain stereo system using a two-channel amplifier with a hefty power supply, bottom-end receivers can’t compete.
Nor do six speakers built down to a price that would normally be spread over a single pair of stereo models.
Stereos can create the illusion of rampaging dinosaurs or waves cascading around the ear lobes with scale and awesome power.
And they can also bring refinement, presence and meaning to satisfy the most exacting music connoisseur.
If that’s your idea of an exhilarating armchair ride, here’s what you need for a stereo system.
Copyright © 2005 wired4sound |