Newbie: Specs & Measurements (1 Viewer)

[FryDog]

I'm new to the Home Theater world and am trying to learn more about speakers and subwoofers. I have a nice list of prospective speaker systems to purchase, to which I will include at the end of the post along with the prospective receivers as well.

I see there are several measurements when looking at speakers, but I don't know what they mean or what I should be looking for. Here is a sample of what I'm talking about (this is the AVS x-ls speaker):

# Crossover: 1750Hz, 2nd order
# Frequency Response: 55 Hz to 20 KHz (± 3 dB)
# Impedance: 8 Ohms nominal
# Efficiency: 87 dB (@ 1 watt / 1 meter)

Are larger numbers better?
Are larger ranges in the numbers better?

I just don't know.

If you know of a good place for a newbie like me to go, read and educate myself, please let me know. Hopefully, the resource can explain in simple/newbie terms as to what the measurements mean along with an example.


Speakers
* Klipsch Quintet III
* Polk Audio RM20
* Definitive Technology ProCinema Series
* AV123 X-Series (Center x-cs, Fronts & Backs x-ls)
* HSU Ventriloquist VT-12
Subwoofers
* AVS123 x-sub
* HSU VTF-1
* HSU STF-2
* SVS PB10-NSD
* Klipsch Synergy 10
Receivers
* Harman Kardon AVR-247
* Yamaha RX-V661

 

[SethH]

Welcome to the forum!

Crossover -- that crossover measurement on a speaker is the point at which the sound shifts from the woofer to the tweeter. At this point this really probably is not of concern to you at all.

Frequency Response -- This is pretty important. This tells you what frequencies the speaker can reproduce. As some background, a young, healthy person can hear frequencies from approximately 20Hz-20,000Hz. Frequencies below 20Hz can be felt if produced at a high SPL. Most bookshelf type speakers will dig down to between 45Hz and 80Hz just depending on the size and quality of the components used.

Ohms -- This is the amount of resistance. Most speakers will be either 8 or 4. 8 is pretty standard though. If you happened to purchase 4 ohm speakers you would want to verify that the amplification section of your receiver could handle a 4 ohm load.

Efficiency -- This tells you how much SPL will be produced per speaker @ 1 watt @ 1 meter. For example, the speaker you listed will produce 87dB of sound at 1 meter when given one watt of power. Each time you double the power you increase the SPL by 3dB. So, in this example, 2 watts produces 90dB, 4 watts produces 93dB, 8 watts produces 96dB, etc. Typically speakers I've seen are rated somewhere between 80 and 105.

From your list of items I would say the following:

Listen to all the speakers if at all possible. You have several decent options on there and you really cannot compare speakers based on statistics or frequency charts. They sound different to different people and everyone has his or her own preference.

The subwoofers are good choices too, but subwoofers CAN be better compared on statistics and frequency charts because they play so deep that slight tonal differences do not make a huge difference to most people. From your list I would focus on HSU-VTF1 and SVS-PB10.

Both receivers should be very good. Just read reviews and compare features and how each would fit your needs.

 

[FryDog]

Very helpful response... I really appreciate it, thank you!