Home entertainment systems. - FILE PHOTOS
THIRTY-SIX YEAR old Ricardo really enjoys watching his television, not only because of the sight, but more so because of the sound.
The bass is thumping, the top end is crystal clear and the mid-range has presence, so it is not surprising that his cable box is almost stuck among the music video stations. Still, he ventures into the movie channel territory often enough.
"Good sound makes all the difference. Imagine what the theatre would be like without the HP whatever sound they always talk about. Nuff time, without the sound, yu not even realise just how much the music and the sounds in the background set the tone of what is happening on screen. I mean, who can forget Freddie's fingers scraping on iron in the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' series?" he said.
However, while Ricardo's near pristine home entertainment system set-up is music to his ears, it is not quite a 'name brand' affair. He has simply run the sound from his cable box into his mini component set, getting great sound without spending too much.
NOT WORTH IT
In fact, he counts it as a lot of money saved, as he already had the high quality mini component set.
"The amount of money I would spend on a home theatre system jus' nuh worth it," he said. "Is a name brand, yes, but if you have a good quality set from long time all you need is a good line-in cord and you gone clear," he said.
"The sound from the dedicated home theatre system may be a little better and certainly much louder, but as with all things you have to check your needs as opposed to your wants. I don't need a system that can play for 100 people. Nobody really does. It is something that is in your home," he said.
There is also the factor of additional features from the component set. "You have your radio, you have your CD player, you have your tape deck, all in one place. An yu done know sey dem ting deh come wid remote, so you don't have to walk up and down," he said. He also points out that there are some mini-component sets nowadays that can also play DVDs, eliminating the need to buy that piece of equipment.
He has, however, made one adjustment to his component set. "The surround speakers did not carry enough top end. They were loud, but they had too much mid-range, as I was already getting enough from the main speakers," Ricardo said. To address this, he simply converted a pair of car radio tweeters to use by stripping the ends of a 'line-in' (RCA) cable.
He warned, though, that for this purpose bigger is not necessarily better. "What you are looking for is quality, not quantity. A lot of the larger minisystems have a lot of bass and mid-range, but not enough top end. It is better to get a smaller set with a subwoofer attachment and then buy a subwoofer if you want more bass," he said. "That way you control the volume and depth of the bass independently," he said.
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