Week of February 19, 2006 Q: I want to have a “music room” in my house, the choice being between a small, unused bedroom (10 x 11) and a fairly large lower level (30 x 30). A good pair of tower speakers would overwhelm the space in the small bedroom, but I’m wondering whether [...]
Week of November 13, 2005 Q: When watching television, the voices are quite often drowned out by the music and/or sound effects. As you know, TV speakers are usually quite inadequate so to get better sound we hooked it up to a receiver and 3 medium quality speakers, left, right, and center. That arrangement works [...]
Week of November 6th, 2005 Q: I have seen you throw out the term “bookshelf speaker” or “bookshelf-sized speaker”. What’s the definition and context for that term as you use it? -Phil Pyram, Shoreview, Minn. A: A bookshelf speaker is one that fits comfortably on a bookshelf and is somewhat larger than the tiny teacup-sized [...]
Week of October 23rd, 2005 Q: In a recent column you comment that you operate your own home system with large front speakers and forego a subwoofer. I also took notice when you wrote on your website that, even with a subwoofer, the front side speakers need to be big enough to handle the upper [...]
Week of October 16, 2005 Q: What is the best location to place a subwoofer? I have been told ideal placement of a in a corner with walls extending 6 feet. If this placed the woofer behind a large TV in a wood cabinet with the center channel speaker, would there be any ill effects, [...]
Week of October 2, 2005 Q: I am wondering if 12 gauge speaker wire is necessary or is 14 gauge all right? I am considering using 60 to 75 feet of wire. Also, could you say something about connectors please? What do you recommend overall? John Lindborg Rogers, MN A: .For connectors, bare wire, while [...]
Week of September 11, 2005 Q: I am looking into buying a CD changer and have a few questions. It is my understanding that if you connect a CD player via the analog outputs, you will be using the digital to analog converters (DAC) in the CD player. Conversely, if you connect it with the [...]
Week of September 4, 2005 Q: I have a surround sound receiver with speakers and a 27-inch TV with audio out jacks. How do I get my TV to play through my sound system? Brian Mattice Minneapolis, MN A: It is easy- simply connect the audio outputs to an audio input on the receiver (any [...]
Week of August 14, 2005 Q: I am interested in improving the audio component of my television (now and in the future). But currently I cannot afford the costs of a surround-sound home entertainment center, which requires numerous speakers. Moreover, the tiny speakers in the current systems, with or without a subwoofer, produce inferior sound [...]
Week of July 24, 2005 Q: I have some large-sized tower speakers purchased in the late 80s-early 90s. I am out of it as far as new speakers, except that I see that people now seem to buy small speakers. Has technology advanced so that now you get the same performance out of smaller sized [...]
Week of March 20, 2005 Q: I use an iPod with iTunes for Windows. Sometimes when I import a purchased music CD into iTunes, information such as Song Name, Artist, Album and Genre is not shown- all I get is “Track 1″ “Track 2″ etc. Why does it work sometimes and not others? I don’t [...]
Week of December 5, 2004 Q: I am thinking about buying a new television with HDTV capability and I can’t afford plasma or LCD flat-panel models. I’m looking for your opinion on the various pros and cons of projection models with LCD, DLP or LCoS technology. I really don’t know anything about the differences among [...]
Week of November 7, 2004 Q: My house is in the construction phase and I am having it wired for a home theater surround system. After researching alignment in many online discussion forums, I feel that I may not have a huge alignment error. Not being very educated with home theater, I ordered the wiring [...]
Week of October 3, 2004 Q: I want to organize my digital pictures and I don’t know which program is the “best” for storage and organizing the “albums/files” with Microsoft Windows. What program do you recommend? -Jo Griffith, Savage, MN A: If you are looking to store and organize your pictures, you don’t need a [...]
Week of September 19, 2004 Q: Is there a “best” brand of audio receiver, like a Ferrari, Rolls Royce or Mercedes may be considered the best cars? How do the brands stack up? -Jason Stein, Dravosburg, PA A: There is an “exotic” class of high-end audio components, with prices to match. When discussing the best, [...]
Week of August 8, 2004 Q: I am considering purchasing a wide screen HDTV-ready television. I have standard cable with some premium channels. My questions is this, if I don’t subscribe to the cable company’s digital service will the shows that say they are broadcast in HDTV come through in digital format? I can’t afford [...]
Week of June 27, 2004 Q: I don’t have a center channel speaker for my surround sound system and I understand it is essential. Any recommendations on a good quality center channel speaker for a reasonable price would be extremely helpful. Robbie Carlson, Savage, MN A: A center channel is perhaps the most important [...]
Week of June 6, 2004 Q: Which is a better camcorder format-Mini DV tape or the new recordable DVD? I realize the MiniDV camcorders are lighter in weight, making it easier to travel with. But is the media in a MiniDV easy to use as far as transferring video to a DVD? [...]
Week of January 4, 2004 Q: Is there any product that will effectively remove ‘red eye’ from pictures on my computer? -Donald Wallick A: Most image editing programs have a function to remove redeye from your pictures. When you use the redeye removal tools, use the image zoom feature to make the eyes as [...]
Week of December 7, 2003 Q: I am shopping for a rear projection High Definition-ready television set. The stores are really pushing LCDs and DLPs. They are thinner and lighter weight, and of course higher priced. If the quality of picture, in your opinion, is not worth the extra money I would like to [...]
Peace!
Axiom Loudpeakers
