OK YOU'VE DECIDED TO BUY A NEW SYSTEM. HERE'S HOW TO START: ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU WANT THE SYSTEM TO DO. IS IT FOR MUSIC ONLY? DO YOU WANT IT TO DO VIDEO AS WELL? WHERE AM I GOING TO PUT IT? AND THE LAST QUESTION IS DO I WANT TO BUY IT ALL AT ONCE OR START WITH WHAT I CAN AFFORD NOW AND ADD TO IT LATER? AM I UPGRADING OR STARTING FRESH? DO I WANT SEPARATE COMPONENTS OR IS A RECEIVER THE BEST WAY TO GO? ONCE YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ITS MUCH EASIER TO GO SHOPPING!
FOR MUSIC SYSTEMS UNDER $2000 AN INTEGRATED AMPLIFER SHOULD BE THE HEART OF A SYSTEM. FOR AN AUDIO/VIDEO SYSTEM UNDER $2000 A RECEIVER IS BEST TO HANDLE AMPLIFICATION AND SWITCHING NEEDS. TODAY'S PRODUCTS OFFER MUCH MORE THAN EVEN JUST 5 YEARS AGO. MANY "EXPERTS" WILL TELL YOU THAT SPEAKERS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE SYSTEM. THEY ARE WRONG. EVERY PART OF THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE CABLES, ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT. HOW DO YOU RATE THE IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCTS TO GET THE BEST SOUND FOR THE MONEY? SIMPLE..START AT THE SOURCE. FOR CD OR DVD BASED SYSTEMS THE PLAYER SHOULD BE PURCHASED 1ST. THEN THE AMPLIFICATION AND LASTLY THE SPEAKERS. ALL CABLES HAVE A SOUND. YOU NEED TO PICK THE CABLE BASED ON THE TYPE OF SOUND YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE EG. POWERFUL BASS, SMOOTH HIGHS, MORE DEPTH, FAST TRANSIENT RESPONSE. WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU WILL HELP YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT BRAND OF INTERCONNECT AND SPEAKER CABLE. IN GENERAL LESS EXPENSIVE COMPONENTS HAVE EDGY HIGH FREQUENCIES AND LOUDPEAKERS TYPICALLY NEED HELP WITH FREQUENCY EXTREMES AND TRANSIENT REPONSE. BY THE WAY THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "ROCK" SPEAKER. YOU CHOOSE SPEAKERS ON THEIR ACCURACY AND HOW THEY COMPLEMENT THE REST OF YOUR SYSTEM. KNOWING THE WEAKNESSES OF YOUR EQUIPMENT HELPS YOU CHOOSE A CABLE/INTERCONNECT THAT WILL COMPLEMENT YOUR GEAR. THE NEXT POST WILL CONTAIN SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. I'LL HELP WITH GIVING YOU GEAR TO CHECK OUT AND THEN YOU CAN CHECK OUT SIMILARLY PRICED GEAR ONCE YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.
