All things change, and at last this page is going to be updated, along with the whole site.

If you do like what you read there, please do drop me a line. kjekyll@ihug.co.nz

Remember, this page is continually being added to and edited, so there will be mistakes all over the place, that does not mean I do not care about the subject matter, actually quite the contrary, I invite people to comment on what I have to say - I don't bite, well not too much...

After too much time I have come to a conclusion on quite a few things audio, I'm now in the development stage of what I consider to be the best compromise home theatre / audio system, but it will not be a loud killing monster, just listenable and accurate. No media is ruled out; butane surrounds, teflon coated polymer, proper paper speakers, and real tweeters - including loaded horn, the way that it was in the 70's and is now... But a curse on foam surround speakers, aka Bose (hate) Infinity and a few others, may your cheap quick buck methods forever burn in hell!  As I've seen over and again, speakers should not have to be overhauled every 5-10 years, foam is cheap and it breaks down over time - speakers should only die at the hand of too much music!

So what actually I am trying to achieve here?  My mission is to put what can seem like a confusing nightmare, into layman's terms. I'm currently sampling a few second hand components that I've managed to acquire, learning more than I bargained on. In doing this I have stumbled upon a number of like minded people with similar and generic views. As for my own views, in the world of audio and vision, this work is purely a personal one - to quote a line from a movie, "Opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one!" so I guess I'm allowed mine.

The best possible sonic or visual experience will always be limited by the weakest link. If you look inside the average; speaker, at the internal components or even the voice coil wires, or say a Tapedeck, DVD or CD player, you will see what I mean. In some cases the best interlinking cables in the world won't help these to sound any better. On a good system, to make a huge sonic difference seems remote - still I encourage people to explore every avenue, who can say what the weakest link in a system will be - us?

Well they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but when you combine pictures with sound, the end result could you make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, if you do it right. Now I'm not saying there is a right or wrong way to do this, music and visual perception are very personal, and what works for one person may offend the sensibilities of another. Okay, so we'll just have to agree that most things are a compromise, and that you must be willing to live with the limitations inherently accepted by a purchase. So as you read of what I am saying, please keep this in mind, I'm just trying add my own personal mix to all this - maybe help, even if it is just for myself.

I'm currently running nothing special, but think I know what I like to hear, so can I be you?

I find with each step I take, it makes me ask myself twice as many questions, am I on the right track?

I do not think money is the ultimate answer to sonic or visual perfection, but it sure can help.

At the end of the day, what we buy as a package is just someone else's answer to the same questions. Audiophiles all over the world constantly decry each other, there are so many stances, frankly it amuses me - they lose focus of the enjoyment, seemingly just wanting nothing more than to prove themselves as top dog. I'm going to try and be impartial, I am not selling anything, and don't think necessarily that what I have chosen as my gear, is anything like the best.

All I can really do is respect people's loves and hates, I am human too, so I understand personal stances, and on a budget, I think you can make assemble a better system than those people who spend tens of thousands on, trying to find a perfection not be there. Is throwing money at something just that, that's a hard one!  I have come across some sales people, who would take every cent of what you have, and out and out lie about what they are selling.

On the other hand, there are still some very genuine folk around, who do want you to get the best value for your money, it is hard for most people to respect a customer and at the same time love only money...  Back to audio, all I can advise here is, choose your advisors as carefully as your chosen gear, they will probably end up being interlinked. And please do your own thinking, if you are uncertain, step back and as hard as it may seem, try and be rational about such a passionate thing - like life!

I know many will refute this, but music really isn't about esoterics, it's about what you find listenable, what drives you on to want to watch another DVD or listen to another favourite album. If you just want to turn the thing off after a few minutes, or an hour, because of fatigue, there is something not right - you need to identify what the issue is, and move on. Don't play the power game, numbers of watts mean very little, because this is not about how loud they can go, just how good the system will sound.

Can I suggest the world is full of people selling something, music and video are marketed items, and make your choice: that song or movie - however motivated, then try and balance it with the physical constrains of your living environment. What you will look at and listen to will affect your decisions - and don't forget your hard earned money can be easily absorbed for little gain, if a seller has no genuine interest in music why are they trying to sell it?

We all have to live, I think value for money and backup is the best way to go for audio, but you need to know too many products, no one can do that I think. I'd love to talk to any of you who have come here and read this, gladly or sadly I'm in Christchurch New Zealand, still you can follow the link at the very end ot this page and email me from the rotating email figure there, see you there soon!

So okay, here is my humble assembly of equipment, in time I will put up links to follow all the red titles, working on that still, but it is proving to be quite an ask on some of the lesser known stuff.

In use

PC / MP3 / Ipod, now that is a very interesting arguement, not ever to use another audio component, and as the power of the pc increases, and if you get the mix right, with the proper amplification, send all that low end stuff back to where it belongs. But of course like everything, there are definite inclusions and exclusions to this, you have to get the mix right, and this is where I'm starting to form an unbiased view. I

Yamaha DSP-AX1 powering a Magneplanar SMG3a, as centre, Sansui SP-X8000 and Akai's SW-155's as mains, Philips very competent 23RH for special effects. Rears built by me, I should get some real ones when I shift, Vifa 10" driver, and Motorola dual horn loaded piezo, mounted at ceiling height, Welling Centre rear.

Counterpoint 12" subs times 2 - powered by a Kenwood KA-9X running off the sub out of the Yamaha.
Acoustat 121mk2 electrostatics, running off the Perreaux E2, alive and well and in daily use - what great speakers, from a golden age.
Sansui SP-7500X and SP-X8000, truly collectable speakers from the seventies, well made, and sound good even today.
Pioneer A-717, A-400, A 400X using them with an Infinity RS-4000, a great listening exercise, sound is pretty good, that Emit K tweeter saves the Infinity.
NEC AV-300 AV amp by NEC, I'd say collectable, mine is mint condition with remote, given to me when I brought the Infinity speakers.
Rogers Studio 1 It is interesting to hear these, compared to the newer stuff...

Things in the works, under repair etc...

Luxman ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Kenwood home theatre system, M-A300 and associated HT speakers - awaiting a new owner.
Tannoy 615 dual concentrics - waiting for parts for repair to a main driver (voice coil problem.) - I can't find any reasonable cost to repair these?
Infinity RS-5000 drivers sent away for repair, only have the smaller Emit drivers in these, much rarer, small is good in Tweeters :-).
Sony SLV-815, amazing VCR from sony, sadly head and power supply problems have seen it retire, unless I could find a donor machine.
NEC AV-300, AV amp by NEC, I'd say collectable, mine is mint condition with remote, given to me when I brought the Infinity speakers.
2 * Alpine AL-90 tape decks, 3 head dual capstan, Alpine equivalent of the Nakamichi Dragon, from the Alpine / Luxman era. Both brought faulty and being restored. Unbelievable sound from compact cassette, 20hz to 22khz +/-2db from any tape medium, truly a complex piece of machinery. I now have the full service manual for this.

Standard interconnects, svhs for video, mostly optical for audio - some Chord, Monster and home-made interlinks, with Naim, Monster and cat5e speaker cables.

Sources: (In the time order I have owned them.)
Pioneer PL-88F, front loading turntable, with optical track sensor.
Teac V2RX, 3 head tape deck. Owned by me from new, I have the service manual for this if you need one.
National NV-870 vcr. 2nd generation 1984 VHS hifi machine, still in perfect working condition.
Sony CD 507ESD, very nice sounding cd player from the 80's - flagship at the time and with digital out.
Sony TCK850ES good later model, 3 head, closed loop dual capstan "Elevated Standard" deck from Sony.
Sony SLV-EZ70 vcr 6 head. Good work horse vhs VCR.
Mitsubishi Black Diamond MP3000 - aka Sampo dvd player. My first DVD player. (Region lock and macrovision disabled.) DIED
Panasonic DMR-E20. My first experience at recording DVD's. (DVD-R and ram recordable.)
Nakamichi DVD-10S. To me looks like a direct decendant of their tapedecks, with the same level of attention to the audio stage. (Region free.)
Hiteker AD-810 dvd. Will play a piece of toast if inserted properly, visually not so hot - unless you actively cool the video chipset. (Was brought faulty and repaired, region free - progressive scan.) DIED
Hitachi DA-1000 cd player. First cd player produced by Hitachi 1983, a Japanese version of a Luxman machine. Even plays CD-r's. Anyone who says all the audio equipment of the 1980's was not well made, just hasn't looked hard enough!
Pioneer Elite DV-09 DVD player. Mine was an end run of a Pioneer flagship, any DVD player that weighs 16kg, with internal 4.5mm copper construction, you know attention to details is serious. And who said all DVD players are equal?

1.4 gig Athalon pc, sky decoder, dvd player.

Amplification: (In the order that I have owned them.)
Kenwood KA-9X: 1980 11kg, 120watt 20-20K, sigma drive, early eighties amp from Trio/Kenwood, powerful and clean sound for it's physical size, some copy cat style of the SX-9. Very large output transistors.
Pioneer A-717: 1987 18kg, 110watt 20-20K, dual powersupplies, the height of the let's make it real heavy thinking - so what were they thinking?
Perreaux Pre and Power E2: 1990 20kg, 286watt 20-20K, toridal transformer, fet output, raw honest horsepower, with a dash of finese.
Yamaha RX-V596: 2000. 11kg, a questionable 80watt times 5, likeable hometheatre amp - forget stereo, the old A300 was much better. But sweet DAC's.
Yamaha DSP-AX1: 2003. 28 kg, a believable 110watts times 6, plus effects amp, still being assessed, closer to the A300, truly a very dymanic HT amp.
Pioneer SX-9: 1980? First of the digital receivers, not a knob or dial in sight, plastic fronted, but when you look inside, you understand that this is not what it seems - truly impressive sound - you look at it and think "This should be rubbish!" but it just isn't!  Some of the best heatsinks I have ever seen. Just restored by me :) I'm looking for a replacement switch...
 

Eye interface:
Samsung 47" rear projection wide screen 100Hz. (Compare; composite, svhs, RGB.)

This has all changed:-)  it will be rewitten soon.

Okay so it is a mess of stuff, the Yamaha RX-V596 amp was the main interface, now running the DSP-AX1, a huge change in sound and power. The Sansui's are great as home theatre speakers, they are very efficient and work too well at lower power levels. At first I thought the 7500's were actually a better choice that the later model 8000's, mainly because of the 8inch mid speaker, compared to the two 5 inch mids of the 8000. Having lived with both now for a time, I prefer the 8000's, and the build quality of the cabinet of the 8000's is much better, with shorter and better flowing ports, cabinets with internal bracing, and careful attention to damping.

What I have learnt over the years, is that price sometimes equates to good listening, but don't rely on a good brand name to be always getting it right. I thought all amps were the same, their specs seemed to indicate so, but that is just a sales pitch, not all amps are created equal, most are created to a price limit - which equates to how much money some manufacturers can squeeze out of the buyer. Now don't get me wrong, I don't for a minute think that all sales people or manufacturer's are just in it purely for the money, but you must admit, it does play a big part in the whole end mix.

I admit straight off, I've been taken for a quick thrill ride by a sales pitch, only to regret it later - in my own time. Don't be afraid to admit this to yourself, it happens to all of us - unless you are from another planet, in that case you will never admit you are wrong, and everything you say and do is right, you truly will be the centre of the universe...

I'm a great fan of trying new things, make your own speakers and cables and all that, but I've had a mixed rate of success at this. Now days I prefer to modify / upgrade known platforms, if they are not what I consider to be classics, I just restore those. I think some products are immensely improvable, you can read about what people say, and get a feel for what would make the item better - sometimes it is as simple as adding or removing some dampening from a speaker box, setting the sub level lower, upgrading resistors, capacitors, or a few wires...

As this is edition 101 of my audio ride through life, it will of coarse be edited - if any of you find this interesting, let me know. Any and all comments are welcome.

Now we need to do the sensible thing, and break down what a system is made of:

The Source: Analogue and digital.

Record: Home audio began with the radio, and evolved here, giving people the chance to listen to what they wanted to, when they wanted to :-)  I think there's a close analogy with how video went from the cinema to the home also. Records and the components that surrounded them were all pretty much first generation devices. Rim driven and belt drive turntables

Tape: I think the pinacle here was the Nakamichi Dragon, still my Alpine Al-90 sounds pretty damn good, for a medium that is now gone out of fashion.

CD: Still with us, I find it hard to tell the difference between one deck and the other - of comparable build qualities, whioch suggests to me that I I need better speakers.

SACD:

MP3 and electronic.

Amplification: Classes, A and B, are the two modes used. Most amps mix these in a complex compromise. Class A is when the transistors are switched on fully, and consumes the same amount of power at full gain as no gain, there is no switching distortion or harmonics generated here. While the sound is considered superior, everything from power supply to cooling must be uprated. Class B is where transistors are basically switched on and off depending on the voltage swing, and usually work in pairs, switching distortion is generated when the voltage swing goes from one transistor to the other, for example, going from positive to the negative and back. Class B is much more efficient, generally drawing next to no power when the gain is set to zero. So what most manufacturers do, is have everything up to the main power output transistors configured as class A, and the last stage of amplification as class B, probably biased slightly on to assist in reducing switching distortion. As I've said before "Watts" really mean very little, dynamic headroom is everything. To double the listening level (in Decibels = 3db) of a, say, 70 watt amp, you must have a 700watt one, not a 140watt. Doubling of power does not equate to doubling of sound level. And watch out for those sneaky sales brochures, they will often twist the facts to make their amp appear to be very powerful, with lots of watts.

The power supply of an amplifier is a major part of the amplifier. If this part is underrated, nothing that precedes or follows this will be able to perform at its best. A large toroidal transformer (say 800va and up), decent rectification (fast response and high current, metal encased full wave rectifier), and large smoothing capacitors (say 80,000 to 250,000uf per +/- rail) are essential components. Of course the larger the capacitors, the more stress that is placed on the transformer and rectifier, since at turn on, a discharged capacitor acts like a dead short - nasty.

Also look for the amplifiers damping factor, the higher this figure the better, as it indicates how well the amplifier will control the speaker, since speakers will generate their own back emf (electro motive force), if the amplifier can't "Dampen" this, the speakers will sound loose and inaccurate.

The quickest way to read between the lines is look for key specs: the output at 20hz to 20khz all channels driven at the rated total harmonic distortion, also see what the power rating does when the load is changed from 8 to 6 to 2 ohms, if it levels out instead of doubling, it means the amps power supply will struggle to drive difficult loads, or control the speakers at higher volumes. And a real simple test is, how much does the thing weight, since most of the weight will be in the powersupply's transformer, and what power does the thing consume, generally, your can't make an amp run 5 times 100watts if the things max power consumption is 300.

Valve: Then there are value amplifiers, the reason they generally sound so smooth, is because of the way they have to work. Essentially a valve amp is pure class A, thus no switching distortion. Also they are a heater and filament device, sort of like a television set tube, rather than a silicon substrate device. Funnily enough, with use the valve will deteriorate, so every 5 or so years, the valves really should be replaced. As valves age, they tend to add more distortion into the signal they are amplifying. Having very little experience with valve amps, I wonder if after like 10 years, they might sound more like a solid state amp?  Given the chance, I will try a tube amp, and add more here.

In the real world people will drive their amp in the range of 1 to 5 watts most of the time. At these levels a good amp will have plenty of reserve, that it can supply on demand, consider a good amplifier as the supreme DC power supply, that acts like a very fast acting potentiometer. It is at these lower levels that the amps true character are revealed.

Cooling: Also a small comment on cooling, most components in an amplifier can operate at quite high temperatures, all except the capacitor, due to its make up, the dielectric (a component of the substance that separated the capacitors plates) is like oil, i.e. a fluid. If you look at most electrolytic capacitors, you'll notice that are a metal can, with a plastic / Bakelite etc. plug at one end, where the leads come out. The whole thing then, is sealed in a shrink wrap type cover, all this is to try and keep them sealed. Inevitably, with constant exposure to heat, capacitors will dry out, and either they stop being a capacitor and go open circuit, or worse turn in to a resistor.

Now every single electronic device, not just amplifiers, has a number of capacitors inside. So really you should put a little thought into how your hi-fi components are going to be housed / stacked, placing your valuable gear directly above or even on top of an amplifier may possibly reduce their life or performance. Ideally if you could, it would be best to keep your hi-fi components apart, with free air movement, and even a small dc fan to actively keep things cool. I've done this for years, and my 20+ year old gear has given me no problems at all - now isn't that cool!

Subs: Come in both active and passive form, i.e. they are either self powered with their own in build amplifier, or they run from an external amplifier. No matter the source of a sub, a golden rule is, don't drive them so hard as they become intrusive, in most instances they should add to the sonic experience rather than dominate or overpower it. Small cheap self powered subs like the Aiwa, while potentially boom boxes, if run reasonably low, can do a reasonable job until a better alternative at the right price can be found. Of course like any speaker, the placement will determine the final sound, more on that later.

Cables: Interlinks, I had no idea how people could spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on these. Maybe in this department I have cloth ears, only now am I starting to appreciate that even here, there are the right cables for every person / system / situation. Because of the amplification to follow the source and interlink stages, obviously any small difference will soon become a large one, so I will revisit this question in time. Speaker cables; now I can hear a difference in these, and think because of the higher voltages and currents, by simply changing these you can make your system sound more open and alive. Of course, there can be a downside to this, better cables can reveal hiss and hum and design flaws...

Speakers: The big and small, bass reflex and ported (front or rear), the Box and what you can do to help it not sing along with your music. To come : (Bracing, lining, stuffing, painting, weighting, spikes etc.) Placement. Time alignment. Efficiency, can be a great leveller, the more efficient the speaker, the less power is required from the amplifier for a certain sound level. Don't get me wrong, efficiency does not equate to sound quality, but if you like your music loud, it is way easier to use speakers like my Sansui SP-X8000 which are 98db 1m @ 1w, than say the Tannoy's which are something like 86 db, to make the Tannoy's as loud as the Sansui's, the 1 watt for the T's becomes... 86-89=2, 89-92=4, 95=8, 98=16watts. which is fine. But there is another angle to this, music and HT is very dynamic, and suddenly you may have a peak of say (98 to103 which is a load of 2 watts for the Sansui but 32 for the Tannoy, and so it goes on, 98 to106 = 4 for the Sansui's and 64 for the Tannoy etc. 98 to109 = 8 S & 128 T, 98 to 112 = 16 S & 256 T, 98 to 115 = 32 S & 512 T) I'm sure I've made my point. Suddenly a peak can demand huge things from an amplifier, thus the importance of head room in them, and to a degree the importance of efficiency in a speaker.

From the trend I'm seeing now days, most manufacturers are tending to smaller drivers and multiple porting. This is fine, but a 5.25 in base driver, no matter how it is ported, will never produce the real lows of anything bigger. In the real word, size really does matter, but of course with everything, the bigger you go, the harder the beast is to control. Large base drivers that are well driven, can sound as tight as a smaller and more expensive speaker. I think that is why now days smaller speaker drivers are in vogue; small, unobtrusive, less demanding - but maybe not as realistic in reproduction as larger driver or even eltrostatic speakers.

Cone: material is also another complex consideration, paper is lighter but not as rigid as injection moulded material, but on the other side, it is not as inclined to shout at higher volumes. I like paper cone speakers, somehow they sound more real to me - God I'm getting senile!

The bigger the box the more likely it is to be boomy, unless it is well braced internally, but everything has a resonant frequency - so even the best design may in reality have some nasty habits.

Porting: To my mind this is a good solution to lots of problems, and a good way to increase efficiency. Port size and length is a tricky compromise, but you can work out these with known formulas related to enclosure size, there is a need though, to get all the correct details pertaining to drivers etc. to get the right theoretical answers. Complications do occur in relationship to box shape, contents intruding into the box, like the speaker drivers themselves, box materials and claddings. Forward facing ports seem to be preferential because speaker placement is always a tough one, rear firing ports need at least a metre to work well, most rooms have to be lived in, and unless you live in a hall, space constraints will see you putting your speakers closer to walls that is ideal. Low frequency is a function of long wavelength, so if you put your speaker a short distance from the wall, the effect is to limit the porting effect. Also I like the forward facing ports for another reason, if you do find that the ports emit too much low frequency or it seems uncontrolled, you can always try the stuffing of the ports with common old drinking straws. This will limit the air flow, and you can adjust the effect by the length of the straws.

And then there is base reflex, with a passive radiator in the box, I'm not a huge fan of these, even though the Tannoy's use exactly this. More on this later.

I've often been tempted to try the following speaker configuration; 15 - 18 inch main woofers, an 8 and 5.25 inch midrange combination, and some form of tweeters, one large soft domed, one wide dispersion. Forward facing ports of course, six sided speaker boxes like my Tannoy 6's utilise, tri-amp so no internal crossover inefficiency - or at the worst, external crossover, with wire wound resistors, air core inductors, and poly capacitors, esoteric internal wiring, concrete and MDF construction, internal bracing, weighted at the bottom and mounted on a spiked platform for stability.

Room Placement: This is a very contentious topic, there are a number of theories (even mathematical formulars) for the ideal placement of speakers and equipment within a room. But only a purpose built room will give you a neutral environment to start from. Most of us can't afford this, so we have to temper our setup, with the knowledge that the room is going to colour our system - like it or not. The most common nastys that are added, are standing waves and unwanted reflections. More on this topic to come... (wall coverings, sound traps, floor coverings)

Video: Viewing mediums:

VCR, Well it all began here, didn't it. The means to watch a movie in your own home, no matter how humble that experience, it had to lead to bigger and better things. It's a shame that in most countries VHS won over Beta, because Beta was definitely the better platform. Still the analogue tape system was a good one, reasonably tolerant and reliable, the average player quite capable of lasting thousands of hours. Helical scan head wear was the major killer, and sadly the replacement of these, years after the player had gone out of production, meant a better but inferior built player was cheaper.
 

DVD etc. Svhs, composite, progressive scan. Direct and rear projection televisions.
The correct viewing distance can be calculated here: http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html
Focus and convergence setting for rear projection sets etc, can be manually set by the home user, but it is easily possible to make the picture worse, as well as adjusting it to your environment. My tv was horribly setup, the blue was always out of focus, and it rotated as well. As I delve into RGB, and looking a lot harder at the picture - maybe I'm getting the idea.

http://www.tnt-audio.com/int.html (A great site for almost all the technical info you could ever want, and great sections on how to improve your existing gear, some of it not for the faint hearted.)

http://www.hometheateradvice.com/story.php?sid=setup (A great site full of advice about setting up your room for home theatre.)

http://www.dvddemystified.com (Lots of information on this site in the FAQs section, as it says, almost any question you have will been asked here before.)

http://www.audioreview.com/defaultcrx.aspx (If you want to find out what other people think of most of the audio gear around, try here, then make up your own mind.)

http://www.audioenz.co.nz/ (A site with a selected number of reviews, probably more relevant to people here in New Zealand, considering what is readily available here.)

http://www.hifiheaven.com/ref-articles.htm (A list of links to some interesting sites, some links don't work, but most do. Something for everyone in this list.)

http://www.soundline.co.nz/ (Shops in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, carrying a range of mid' to high end stuff. With pics and reviews, another good source of what is available here in NZ.)

http://www.colinwalkingtonaudio.co.nz/ (A shop in Invercargill, that has a good website with a wide range of product for you to refer to, and what to expect to pay here in NZ.)

http://www.area450.com/phpBB/ (If you have a Mitsubishi Black Diamond DVD player, i.e MP2000, 3000 or I would guess quite a number of other players that use the generic Sampoo guts, this site contains the information to make it region free and VCR / DVD-R friendly. Works a treat.)

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html (A very good read on why you should think twice before buying Bose, or for that matter a number of other "JUST NAME" products.)