Loudspeakers

Loudspeakers have changed dramatically over the past few years and nowadays you can get outstanding performance from your music or home cinema system from a vast range of stylish designs – some grand and imposing and others so tiny that you will barely notice them.

Your options are, broadly speaking, traditional wooden speakers that have been the mainstay of the speaker market for years and give great sound. They are available as bookshelf, stand mounted or floor standing designs and can look very elegant. If your goal is excellent reproduction of music then they are still the best choice, although they are larger than some of the alternatives now available.

The most common of these alternatives are known as sub sat systems, as they use a subwoofer to produce the bass frequencies with satellite speakers for the rest of the frequency range. The advantage of this approach is that the bass can go deeper than in most traditional speakers (particularly useful in home cinema systems) and the satellite speakers can be small. While some companies maintain this technique is the “correct” way to design a speaker system they can sound poor if they are not designed properly and if they are not set up properly in your room. We recommend sub sats, but only the best ones! They can be stand, shelf or even wall mounted with the sub tucked away near a wall.

The third approach to speakers is the custom installed way, where speakers are fitted discreetly into ceilings, walls and even rocks in the garden! This is a great way to lose those boxes but it generally compromises the sound unless you buy the very best. They are ideally suited to bedrooms, bathrooms, pools or patios where the ultimate sound quality is not the main requirement or the use of more traditional speakers would be inappropriate.

Whichever alternative you choose you will still need to think about how the speakers will react with the room and where you will place them. Our staff, naturally, have great experience in matching systems to rooms and will gladly guide you. Once you have selected appropriate speakers there are still decisions to be made. You won’t get the most from your speakers if they’re not properly supported or if you don’t use the appropriate cable. We have the answer to both problems – a range of effective stands and supports for speakers that require them, and a wide selection of performance enhancing cables.

We’ll leave you with a few suggestions to help you choose and then get the most from your loudspeakers. First off, some advice about power ratings: you won’t damage your speakers if you’re sensible with the volume control. When you hear signs of distortion, turn the volume down. In truth, you stand more chance of damaging your speakers by using a low-powered amplifier driven into distortion than you do with a high powered model used sensibly.

Loudspeakers are like car engines: they’re mechanical devices that need to be run-in. Treat them gently for the first week or two and you’ll find that as time passes their sound will improve noticeably.