REWIRE YOURSELF

MODERN SYSTEM SOUND

REWIRE YOURSELF

Richard Robinson

I don’t know if you’ve stopped to look in the window of your local stereo electronics store recently or taken the time to browse among the display counters, but if you haven’t you’ve missed out on the fact that a remarkable change has taken place in what used to be called “the state of the art.” In fact, sound electronics have achieved staggering levels of sophistication, and simultaneously the cost of this often brilliant technology is literally half of what the “state of the art” was ten, even five, years ago.

No matter how you choose to listen to your music—record, cassette, FM stereo broadcast—the modern sound systems provide better sound, with more user control, than any of the innovations of ’60s and ’70s electronics. In part, this is because of the research and development of the “state of the art” over the past two decades; in part it’s because “the state of the art” has been reached, Overshot, forgotten, and electronics manufacturers have relaxed, producing components that now deliver more than they promise.

The current Consumer Electronics Show (a semi-annual trade show at which American, Japanese, and European manufacturers unveil their latest marvels) provides a preview of the components that will reach local electronics retailers during the next six months. If you’re still bumping along with a stereo system you purchased years ago, the following new toys may convince you that your ears deserve an update...

Perhaps you’ve noticed that stereo speakers are beginning to look more and more like they just arrived from outer space. Many different theories have been advanced as to what a speaker should do (and sound like), the result being that the listener can now find a set of speakers that will please his/her ears almost exactly. Take your favorite record or tape along to your stereo store and listen; you’ll discover that little speakers in metal boxes, big speakers in walnut veneer, odd-shaped speakers in even odder-shaped enclosures each have a distinct quality when they reproduce sound.

One interesting speaker system is the PS-8 Point Source Loudspeaker System from Audio-Technica. The idea is that stereo listeners want the left and right speaker, sound to create a really definite stereo image—“approaching true point sources” as the manufacturer describes it. According to Audio-Technica’s Marketing Manager, Milo Kosich, their new PS-8 ($179.95 retail) and PS-10 ($249.95) speaker systems do just that—“their chief departure from conventional designs being the radically smaller baffle they exhibit. By minimizing the baffle area, “diffraction is dramatically reduced so the reproduced sound comes from a specific point. Stereo imaging, as the result, is greatly improved.”

The traditional “platter and tone-arm look of the record turntable has been replaced with several different machines for playing records. There are any number of direct-drive turntables with computer controlled mechanics that will get the most accurate sound of the record; there are also slim boxes into which you insert your record, never to see (or touch it again) as the computer plays one side and then the other according to what buttons you push, and then there’s the front load turntable such as the PS-FL1 ($230 retail) which Sony has introduced.

The PS-FL1 is a fully-automatic, directdrive turntable that follows a “works in a drawer” concept. The entire turntable/ mechanism is a single unit which slides out of its holder so you can put on your record, then slides back in to play the record. As a result, you can stack other stereo components on top of each other. According to Sony High Fidelity Products General Manager Osamu Naka: “These turntables maintain the most accurate tracking geometry possible in a front-loading configuration.” Among the features of this Sony front-loading design are both manual and automatic start-stop-repeat controls, photo-sensors to select record sizes, special mute circuit to eliminate pops when the stylus is lowered onto the groove, a special no-scratch record spindle and an automatic dust cover.

There’s no doubt that the audio cassette has become the most popular way to listen to recorded music, especially for those who make their own tapes so that they can select just the music they want to hear in the order they want to hear it. Several electronics manufacturers have realized just how important the cassette is to a generation of music listeners-, and have produced cassette machines that make it extremely easy to make tapes and copies of tapes.

One such machine is the Sanyo MW15F ($199.95 retail) which is a portable cassette/radio system that features AM/ FM stereo, shortwave, powerful two-way speakers, and a double cassette recorder. With two stereo cassette mechanisms built into the same machine, the user can make copies of tapes quickly and easily— merely engaging the ‘synchro switch’ and pressing the record button. In addition, the MW15F has a continuous playback mechanism which switches to tape B when tape A has ended, allowing twice as much automatic playback as a one cassette player.

If you’re interested in the latest Walkman-type sound, Sanyo is also keeping ahead of the times with their new RP77 AM/FM personal stereo radio ($49.95), this particular unit featuring a built-in liquid crystal game board and clock as well as radio, all in a compact package that measures less than 3” by 6” by 2”.

The concept of a stereo system that is built along the same lines as a portable AM/FM stereo cassette “ghetto blaster,” but which features internal electronics that compare with thos'e in a sophisticated stereo system, has resulted in a number of ‘mini’ portable stereo systems such as the J3 Mini Portable Stereo from Hitachi. This system is amazingly compact, yet produces a powerful sound and includes a five band graphic equalizer, a stereo tuner, stereo cassette deck with soft touch controls, Dolby B noise reduction and a two-way speaker system with 3/4” woofers.

If you’ve ever wanted to turn your living room into the control room of a recording studio, JBL now makes it possible with their JBL L300 speakers which are the home version of their large studio monitors. The result is a speaker that can be played very, very loud with incredibly accurate reproduction. JBL is known for its solid sound speakers, such as their L250 which they say is “the most accurate loudspeaker possible,” and provides “high output capability with low distortion” for “wide dynamic range.” Even if you’re not planning to loosen the foundations of your home, you’ll find that a quality loudspeaker like those from JBL will deliver spectacular clarity at low listening levels.

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While the cassette is the champion of the personal stereo player systems that sell from $20 up, they are also the top choice as the tape recorder component of many home stereo systems. Metal tape and high quality oxide tapes along with accurate mechanics have made the cassette player/ recorder as good as the reel-to-reel tape machine for home stereo play. No matter what kind of budget you have to build a home stereo system, there’s a cassette deck that will fit your price range. For instance, AKAI has almost a dozen cassette decks from their CS-F12 ($179.95 retail) to their GX-F95 ($1195.00 retail). The CS-F12 will play/record on metal tape, has feather touch controls, a twelve segment bat meter and Dolby noise reduction. Not bad for less than $200. And for less than $1200, the GX-F96 is a totally computerized cassette deck that provides the absolute in tape sound with its solenoid controls, fluorescent meters, electronic tape counter and computerized bias equalization with built-in memory.

The heart of any home stereo system is the power amplifier. No matter how good your turntable or speakers are, the power amp will decide just how good the overall system sounds. If you’ve got lots of money to spend, a separate pre-amplifier and amplifier are the best solution, but most home stereo systems center around an integrated stereo amplifier that provides both pre-amp and power-amp functions.

Yamaha makes a number of clean sounding, dependable integrated amplifiers, ranging in power and price from their A-1060 ($800 retail) to their 1-460 ($220 retail). The A-460 will probably be just right for the modest home system with 35 watts of power per channel and very low distortion, plus a full range of user controls so the listener can ‘color’ the sound to please his/her ear. If you already have speakers, be sure to get an amplifier that will be powerful enough to drive them (consult your local dealer). But if you’re putting a system together from scratch, try to match up a speaker system (Yamaha makes several good ones) with a reasonably priced amplifier like the A-460 or the A-560 ($300 retail) which provides 55 watts per channel. If you get the right speakers to go with the right integrated amp, you won’t have to waste money buying power you don’t need.

Panasonic’s Technics components include several powerful, yet modestly priced amplifiers, ranging from their low cost SU-V3 (discounting at $188.00) which delivers 40 watts of power to their SU-V9 (discounting at $426.00) which pumps out a high speed 120 watts. All of Technics’ integrated amps provide first class advanced technology which assures the user the lowest possible distortion and excellent response, especially in the low frequency range. The result are amps that will give you strong sound from the crash of a cymbal to the thud of the bass guitar and bass drum—without the amp’s own electronics “coloring” the sound coming from the record to the speakers. There is also a “Micro” line of Technics components which pack plenty of wallop into the least possible space.

If you’re interested in combining preamp, power-amp and FM stereo reception in one component, then you’re in the market for one of the many high quality receivers now on the market. Among the receivers, you should consider those made by Pioneer. They range in price from under $200 to about $600 (the low-cost SX-4 discounts for $136, the top of the line SX-8 discounts for $544). Besides providing you with all the power you’ll need (SX-4 has 20 watts per channel, the SX-6 has 45 watts per channel, the SX-7 has 60 watts per channel, and the SX-8 has 100 watts per channel), you’ll also find a very sophisticated stereo tuner as part of the component. The SX-4, for instance, has a microcomputer control system that tunes in FM stations using quartz synthesis technology. In addition, the computer will memorize the position of your favorite stations (AM as well as FM) and let you switch from one to the other at the flick of a finger. Pioneer always has some new surprises for the consumer, so check with your local stereo dealer to find out what their latest innovations are.

Kenwood has receivers that feature a “high speed” amplifier section as an integral part of the component. So not only do you get digital frequency tuning of AM and FMstereo in the radio tuner secion, but you also can be assured of power amplification that will make your records sound almost “three dimensional.” Kenwood’s receivers range in power capacity from 30 watts per channel (KR-90) to 120 watts per channel (KR1000), so no matter how much power your speakers require, you can get a Kenwood receiver that will pump them up to the maximum with power to spare. Kenwood amp technology is especially good for solid rock music reproduction with a variety of speakers, so before you buy listen to several speaker systems powered by Kenwood components.

If you already have an amplifier system, but want to add FM stereo reception, there are a number of excellent tuners that will give you amazing radio reception. Sansui has both analog and digital display tuners, so if you want to ‘dial in’ an FM station in the traditional fashion, or just punch up the. numbers of your favorite station, there is a Sansui tuner that will do the job. Those who want to add a low cost tuner to their system might consider the Sansui T-505 (under $100 discounted) or the T-707 (about $130 discounted). If you want to. have your broadcasts sound like they’re coming direct from the recording studio, you should consider the likes of the Sansui TU-57 or TU-59 which have digital quartz synthesized tuning, automatic station location, noise cancellation, a light emitting diode signal meter and preset for both your six favorite AM and FM stations.

Whether you’re listening to your stereo system or just enjoying the sound of your personal cassette player like the Toshiba KT-53 (under $90 discounted), the sound you hear when listening to a cassette is seriously affected by the kind of cassette tape you’re using. Very often the quality of the cassette tape is not seriously considered by cassette users, but thinking that “any* old tape” will do is a mistake. First of all, you should always stick with a “name” brand like TDK, BASF, Maxell, Memorex, or 3M/Scotch. Then you must be aware that there are all kinds of tape available inside the cassette housing. TDK, for instance, offers an AD series, a Super Avilyn Dual Coating series and a Metal Alloy series among its cassette tapes; Maxell offers Low Noise, Ultra-Dynamic and Metal among its lines; Sony cassettes housing LNX, HFX, SHF, EHF, FeCr and Metallic tape.

The type of tape you use depends very much on the tape recorder you’re using it with. If you have a cassette machine that is compatible with metal tape and you can afford the somewhat steep cost of metal tape cassettes, then by all means use it if you want the best possible frequency reproduction.

If your cassette recorder is of more modest make, you can still get a quality cassette tape for it. Especially if you’re using the cassettes to record and play music, you should buy at least medium quality tape. For instance, Maxell’s UDXLI will give you great sound without the tape recorder having to have any special settings; TDK’s AD series can also be used without the cassette machine having to have any special settings,

Many Walkman and other personal stereo player owners should consider the accessories available that let the user bring his/her Walkman inside and mate it with a stereo system. Sony has a number of cables and adaptors that will do just that. The sound is surprisingly good. AIWA has a personal stereo that features two add-on speakers that are tiny (3V2 X 3V2 X 6V2) but powerful. These SC-A1 speakers cost only $65 a pair, and allow you to enjoy your personal stereo without headphones and also without hooking it up to your stereo system.

For those of you who want stereo to go in your car, Jensen has a full line of components that provide AM/FM stereo and stereo cassette play. Among the Jensen components to be considered are the R406 ($189.95 discounted) that has just about every control you’ll need, including presets for five stations, auto reverse on the cassette player, separate bass and treble controls, metal compatible tape heads and controls for loudness, contour and balance.