Guru Tips and Tricks

Getting into downloading music can be intimidating with all of the different formats that are out there, which is why we’ve put together this handy guide to help familiarize you with some of the options.   We’ll take you through the best format to download digital music as well as the pros and cons of each.

What Does Bit Rate Mean?

Mp3 is still the most popular format for digital music.  When we talk about downloading music in the mp3, it’s all about the bit rate.    You probably know that computers use zeroes and ones to represent data, and a bit is a single zero or one.  The bit rate of an mp3 refers to how many of those zeroes and ones per unit time are processed both when the track was encoded and when it’s decoded or played back.  The more bits per unit time, or the higher the bit rate, the closer the mp3 will sound to the original wave form that it represents.  When the bit rate is too low, the mp3 will have what is called artifacts, that is it will introduce noise that wasn’t present in the source material and basically ends up sounding like your music is coming out of a digital toilet instead of a speaker, and that’s not good.

The highest bit rate that is available for mp3 is 320,000 bits per second, or 320 kbps for short.    By comparison, CD quality is about 1400 kbps.   While a higher bit rate mp3 will give you superior sound quality, the interesting thing is that most people can’t tell the difference between a 256 kbps mp3 and CD quality, and practically no one can with a 320 kbps file in a double blind test.

For fun, you can try comparing different bit rates or formats of the same track at home to see if you can tell the difference.  Although if you really want to nerd out, you should have someone play them back for you so you don’t know which you are hearing.

Constant vs. Variable Bit Rate

In addition to a constant bit rate, like the ones we have been discussing where the bit rate stays the same, there are also variable bit rates. With a variable bit rate,  the bit rate changes depending upon the complexity of the source material.  If you imagine a full orchestra all playing at once versus a solo acoustic guitar, the orchestra is going to require a higher bit rate to sound faithful to the source because the waveform is more complex and contains more sonic information.   So with variable bit rates the bit rate decreases when less information is required to give an accurate representation of the wave form.  The highest bit rate variable files are sometimes called V0 for short.  Typically a V0 file will have an average bit rate somewhere around 225 kbps, but as you might guessed from the name, it varies.

Lossless and Lossy Formats

Mp3 is what is called a “lossy” format, which means that as the waveform is compressed some of the information is omitted as the mp3 is encoded.  As I mentioned this isn’t so much of an issue with 256 and 320 kbps bit rates because the mp3 is close enough to the original waveform that our ears have trouble picking out the missing frequencies.  That said, there are lossless formats where the file will be an exact copy of the source.  One popular lossless format is FLAC.  Even though FLAC is lossless and you don’t lose any fidelity from the original source it is still compressed.  The way it works is that the file is uncompressed as it is played by the software you use for playback.  Since it is compressed, the file is about two thirds of the size of an uncompressed wave file.  However FLAC files are still quite large.  A typical album in mp3 at 320 kbps will take up around 120 MB of space, whereas an album in FLAC will be in the vicinity of 400 MB.   The drastic difference in size is because the FLAC files are at a much higher bit rate, which means more data per unit time.

So one advantage to mp3 is that they will take up less space on your computer, ipod, phone or wherever you store your music.   Another drawback to FLAC is that it is not supported by iTunes, however Apple has their own version which is called ALAC.  There are a couple popular media player software options that do support FLAC are Foobar2000 and Winamp and both are free.   Checkout the user interface of Foobar2000 below:

These days storage is not as much as an issue as it was before with hard drive sizes becoming larger and larger, so basically you want to download the file the highest available bit rate that you have space for and that will be compatible with your playback method whether it’s a physical media player like an ipod or software like itunes or windows media player.   If you do go with mp3 we recommend a bit rate of 256 kbps or 320 kbps.

AAC is another lossy format like mp3 and it actually offers better sound than mp3 at the same bit rate.   AAC is used by iTunes and is also what you are listening to when you watch Youtube videos or play games on a Nintendo DS or Play Station 3.  The quality of a 256 kbps AAC file should be close to that of a 320 kbps mp3 file but it will take up less space, so if you go with a lossy format, AAC is a great option.   AAC also supports bit rates up to 320 kbps just like mp3.

Ogg Vorbis is yet another lossy compression scheme that is supposed to have better sound than both mp3 and AAC.    Ogg has been around since the 90s but it’s never really caught on, probably because of its awful name, which kind of makes it the Beta-max of digital music.    Since it’s not that popular, it isn’t supported by iTunes or Windows Media Player, but it is supported by apps built on the Android platform.

That wraps up our look at the different formats available for downloading music, we hope you enjoyed it.  In the next blog, we will tackle some of the different sites and places where you can download music legally.    Thanks for reading and as always, trust your ears!

Speaker Placement, Imaging and Soundstage (2 Channel)

Hey everyone, today we’re going to quickly talk about speaker set up and listening.   It’s important to realize that other than your speakers, the most important thing determining musical quality is where you place your speakers, and your seating position in relation to those speakers.  Sadly, with little commercial interest to defend the crucial role speaker placement plays, this subject is often neglected… So, with that being said, let’s talk about it a bit!

If you have a newer receiver with some type of auto room set up and calibration setting, you are off to a good start, but correct speaker placement will only further enhance that for the best performance.

Speaker Placement and Bass Response

Room placement will have quite an impact on the bass performance of your speakers, but this not only depends on the type of speaker you have, but also how close to the rear and side walls they are.  Generally speaking, when thinking about placing your speakers, try and keep the tweeters around the same height as your ears will be when you’re seated.  So, for bookshelf speakers, try and place them on a stand if you can.

 (Notice the height of the bookshelf speaker compared to the tower. The tweeter height is almost identical.)

With tower speakers, ideally you’d want those at least 2 feet off the rear wall if you have the room as this will help tighten up the bass performance.  Also, try and avoid corner placement if you can, unless your speakers are specifically designed for this (which is rare).  Corner placement is ok for subwoofers, but that’s another discussion all together.

Now, what I’d recommend is to play a good quality recording that has a steady bass line.  When the music is playing, walk around your room and you may be surprised in just how uneven the bass response can sound in different areas.  You’ll find that as you move the speakers closer to the wall there will be more bass, and less as you move them further away.  What you’re listening for is even bass that is fairly even, but also clear and strong, but tight- not boomy or droning.  This will take some critical listening on your part, but be patient and you’ll find a sound that is most accurate and to your liking.  Trust your ears!

SOUNDSTAGE

A worthy pair of speakers can perform an amazing illusion reminiscent of watching a 3-D movie.  When correctly placed, a three-dimensional sound stage magically appears between your speakers. Instruments and sounds appear to come from locations where your eyes tell you there’s nothing! This isn’t magic, its physics! Making this happen dramatically requires getting many things right – good stereo material, controlling room reflections, good speakers – but most importantly, getting your speakers and listening area set-up properly. Fortunately, this is pretty easy:

1. The listening area needs to be right in the center of both speakers. Use a tape measure if you want to get really accurate.
2. The distance between the speakers should be 75% to 100% of the distance that you are from them.  I like to think about making an equilateral triangle between your speakers and your seating position.
3. As I mentioned, you’ll want to keep your speakers at least 2 feet away from walls and the floor (tower speakers are OK on the floor.) Don’t worry too much if this isn’t practical, if you move them closer to the wall, the virtual soundstage will still appear – it just won’t have the same depth.
4. Likewise, you’ll want to keep your listening area more than 2’ from any walls or large reflective objects.
5. It helps to have a room that deals well with sound reflections – sound absorbers like rugs and drapes, sound scatterers like bookcases and “things” all help.

Soundstage and Imaging with Surround Sound 5.1/7.1

We briefly talked about how with a good pair of speakers, fine tuned room placement and a great stereo recording, you can recreate an amazing 3 dimensional soundstage and stereo image of sound that magically sounds like it’s coming from in between both speakers.  Try it, this is awesome!

Now, what about home theater 5.1 set ups?  Well, as you can expect, this is different than the first two because instead of trying to recreate a 3-D image and soundstage with only two speakers, we just add more speakers with a specific role of reproducing the 5.1 movie soundtrack and making “surround sound”.    Generally a surround system consist of 5 or 7 speakers, (two front, a center channel and surround or surround back speakers, plus a subwoofer for the low bass)   Speaker placement is still very important for a surround system, but not for creating a sound stage, but for placing you, the listener in the middle of all of those speakers.  Aside from placement of surround system, level calibration and subwoofer adjustment are going to be where you spend the majority of your time, fine tuning your system.

Room livability

One should never forget that the whole idea is to create a room for enjoyment – making sensible compromises in the name of comfort or aesthetics is certainly no crime. Besides — your spouse won’t let you get away with putting those speakers in the middle of the bedroom anyway.

Moving gear and couches around isn’t fun or glamorous. Which is why many of the guidelines we discussed are aimed at helping you position things well with a minimum of “experimentation” But once you have completed this important (and free we might add) exercise, you’ll be amazed at how good your system sounds.  Most importantly, trust what your ears enjoy!

Getting the Most Out of Your Room

What are the most important components in your home theater? Your room and your speakers. What this means is that how your speakers and your room partner up directly effects the quality of your home theater experience.

Most rooms are fairly accommodating, but there are a few tips to be aware of. It’s best if your room is no smaller than 200 square feet. For smaller rooms place your viewing area (that’s where your TV goes) along a short wall. For larger rooms either a short or a long wall work equally well.

Too many bare-naked surfaces in your room will reflect and distort the sound. Carpeting, drapery, upholstered furniture and that favorite lounge chair all work together to enhance acoustics. Oddly enough, a bookcase located behind the seating area works exceptionally well as a bass trap, to reduce room reflections and to help smooth out the high and mid range signals. A bass trap is something that reduces room resonances that can cause your bass to be too boomy.

Finally, be aware of lights that reflect off the TV screen. Try turning on all the lights at once then plop down in your seating area. If any lights are reflecting off the TV you have three options: move the offending lights, reposition your TV, or watch with the lights off.

In Case You Didn’t Know: Rooms shaped like perfect squares are not so good for home theater systems. Rectangles, triangles, octagons and spheres are all welcome.

Putting It All In Its Place

Start with yourself. It is best to center your seating between the room’s sidewalls to optimize surround sound performance. If possible, position your seating just two to three feet away from your back wall.

Now for the juicy stuff: speaker placement: Let’s start with your three front speakers. Your left, right, and center. How they’re positioned in relation to each other can dramatically affect sound.

• All three should be positioned at approximately ear level and at equal distance from the seating area.
• If you have a home theater speaker system, for every 10 feet of distance your seating area is from the TV, add seven feet of spacing between your left and right speakers. For example, if your viewing area is 20 feet from your TV, your left and right speakers should be spaced 14 feet apart. For music only systems, an approximate spacing of ten feet between your left and right speakers is ideal.
• Center channel speakers work best if they are on top of the TV. If your center speaker is the common style that has two woofers on either side of a tweeter, it’s important to aim the speaker directly at the seating area.
• Nearby walls can dramatically affect a speaker’s performance. You should follow the manufacturer’s recommendations as to speaker positioning. If this information isn’t available, a good rule-of-thumb is to keep the speakers at least three feet from the sidewalls, one foot from the back wall and flush or in front of the entertainment center furniture.

Next are your surround sound speakers. Positioning is crucial in order to enjoy the ambient, non-localized sound that home theater is known for. Keep in mind there are two kinds of designs and several surround formats all with varying numbers of speakers.

• All side and rear surround speakers work best for home theater if they’re somewhere between ear level and two to three feet above your head.
• It’s also important to make sure the front speakers are as close to being the same distance from the main viewing area as possible.
• Dipole speakers work best when positioned alongside the listening area.
• Non-dipole (conventional) speakers can be made more diffuse sounding by aiming them away from the listening area.

What about your subwoofer? Pretty much any location in the room will produce bass that will sound like it’s coming from your other speakers. However, this doesn’t mean all room locations are created equal. The quality of bass and how seamlessly the bass integrates with the other speakers are both affected by the subwoofer’s location.

• Try to keep the subwoofer(s) on the same plane as the front speakers. If this just isn’t possible, avoid placing the sub behind the listening area.
• Unless you like boomy bass, keep subwoofers at least two feet away from corners.
• Using two subwoofers creates a more level bass throughout the room. If you do this, resist the urge to be symmetrical with their placements. This will actually create an uneven bass sound.

Homework:

Powered subwoofers have some controls you’ll want to set properly. Take a seat in the viewing area and employ a helper to do the grunt work.

1. Start with the “crossover frequency”. Set it to 80 Hz or less. Settings above 100 Hz and your ear will be able to locate the subwoofer (and you don’t want that).
2. If there is a “phase reversing switch”, listen for the setting that creates the best bass for your seating area. Sometimes there is no noticeable difference. If the subwoofers are in the same plane as the front speakers, the “normal” or “0 degrees” position is usually right.
3. Adjust the “volume” until the bass level sounds right—not too boomy yet not lacking in body.

Once you’ve hit your ideal settings, live with them for a week or so. After that, if you’re still happy, you’ll probably never have to touch the settings again.

By: Mike Hopkins
Aperion Product Manager

Think Video Games Are Just For Kids?

Think again! Studies have shown that the average gamer is over thirty years old and new high definition videogame consoles like the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 usher in a new era of gameplay — integrating seamlessly into a modern home theater setup. Taking full advantage of this by hooking your console up to an HD-ready display and multi-channel receiver will give you the best performance possible. Now you can become totally immersed by the combination of HD gameplay and surround sound. It’s that impressive.

So How Do I Integrate It into My Home Theater?

If you can hook up a DVD player, you can hook up a game console. Similar to DVD, a television and a multi-channel receiver are required, and using the right connections is key for optimum performance. If you have an HD-ready display, you’ll want to use component or HDMI video cables and an optical digital cable to wire it up for sound. New game consoles set up just like a DVD player or receiver, they have an on-screen setup menu and you can tell the console what types of hardware you’re using, as well as configure your personal settings. Once you have all the right connections and configuration done, it’s game time! If you have a child in the house, prepare your ego for a bad beatdown.

What else can these marvels of amusement technology do?

Most next generation consoles also act as a High Definition DVD player, a media pc, and a hub to connect your personal computer to your home theater system. The HD-DVD (Xbox 360) or Blu-Ray (Playstation 3) drives let you watch high-definition movies in multi-channel surround sound. What’s more, using your console with either a wireless or wired network connection, you can access all the music and digital photos on your computer. Your mp3’s are streamed directly from your computer to your console, then played or viewed through your home theater. You can also access the internet through your console, and have it displayed on your TV. Currently your options are limited to web surfing, but the options are increasing. Finally, another feature that is particularly interesting is the ability to stream HD programming from your computer’s hard drive. You can actually use a video tuner in your computer, record your favorite shows to your hard drive, and watch them in high-def on your home theater – using a video game console! While this may make the mighty entertainment industry shake in its boots, it’s a real bonus for you.

In Conclusion

With home theater and PC’s coming closer together, the game console is a perfect bridge for the two. The processing power of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are comparable to many top of the line home PCs. The real advantage to the consumer is that having video game consoles competing for your attention brings the price down, which means you win!

By: Professor Humphries

Speaker Engineer

Speakers Working Together

Spend some quality time with your room. It’s as much a component in your home theater system as any of the electronics you’ll buy.

Variations on this theme sometimes include:

1. A specialized center channel speaker.

2. More surround speakers (assuming it’s okay with your receiver).

3. Specialized dipole surround speakers for a more diffused, non-directional sound.

4. A subwoofer built into the left and right front speakers, usually accomplished by tower speakers.

The Center

Audio lovers revere the center channel speaker as the most important speaker in your home theater system. The reason is two-fold. First, it’s a hard worker, producing more sound than all the other speakers combined. And second, it’s the speaker most of the dialogue comes from. Unplug it and it’s kind of hard to follow a movie. The center speaker differs from your old stereo speaker in several ways:

• It’s size and shape allow it to go on or near your TV monitor.
• It needs to be magnetically shielded for CRT TV’s.
• It usually isn’t designed to reproduce really low bass. Many speaker engineers think they work better if they can’t reproduce bass since bass is so affected by the surfaces around the speaker.

The Fronts

These speakers lead double lives. In their home theater life they handle most of the soundtrack and off-screen effects. In their stereo life they transform into the main speakers when you’re listening to CDs. Fortunately, conventional full range stereo speakers or bookshelf speakers with a subwoofer work for both of these applications.

These speakers differ from your old speakers because:

• A greater effort has been made to get the high frequency drivers near ear level.
• They are matched to the drivers in the rest of the home theater speakers.
• They are usually magnetically shielded so that in their home theater role they don’t interfere with your TV picture.

The Surrounds

All hail to the speakers that give home theater its spacious, enveloping sound. There are two schools of thought as how best to accomplish this:

1.Dolby Labs recommend using a bookshelf speaker (could be the same as your fronts and center) positioned so they are not aimed into the listening area. 2.THX, on the other hand, has championed a dipole design. What is dipole? Take the quick lesson.

A Quick Lesson On Dipole:

Consider this, if you wire two identical speakers out of phase with each other and you are equal distance from them, you won’t hear either of them without the room reflections. While one speaker is pressurizing the air, the other is rarefying. The result is that the waves cancel each other out.

Now, if you place these speakers back-to-back and put them on a wall at equal distance from you, you’ll hear reflected sound. This makes the sound very diffused and hard to localize. This is known as dipole and what THX recommends.

From In-Wall to In-ceiling

In-wall and in-ceiling speakers have been developed to accommodate rooms that don’t have space for standing speakers. They can mount inconspicuously in the wall or ceiling. These speakers can offer good performance but, if you choose this option, you’ll want to get them from the same manufacturer that made your box speakers assuring tonally compatibility.