1. WHERE AND HOW

We only have one chance to buy the sound system of our dreams before we would have to pay 200% taxes, and it's frightening. Many people are perfectly happy with a simple compact set and that is fine. But for those for you who intend to purchase something more sophisticated, please read on.

When does technology become a nightmare? When you find that you are overwhelmed with complicated controls which seem to take a doctorate in order to read the instruction book. Someone once told me that if an instruction book takes longer than Mahler's 2nd to read - forget it. As a matter of fact buying a system is in itself a bit unsettling. Salesmen push around decibels, Dolby's, DAT's on axis responses... Add to this the cocktail of tweeters and woofers and it makes you think you're in a pet shop as well. Even a semi-sophisticated listener can be overwhelmed. So what do you do?

The first and most important rule of thumb: If you are measuring two different components of two reputable firms and you can't hear ANY difference between them, choose the less expensive.

Below are a few tips for the soon to be owner of a $300-3000 super 5 sided rearpointed bass extended stainless steel system, which can do everything but wash the dishes.

Compact one system vs components - When you begin to buy any system you need to take the following points into consideration: finances, size of your listening area, type of music you listen to, and finances again. Most of us are not audiophiles. If you are, then in all probability you won't need any advice from me. The cost to someone who is totally dedicated to achieve that near perfect sound is relatively not important.

There are difference in sound between compact systems and chosen components, but whether or not these differences are enough to make you choose a component is a personal decision. Most compact sets sacrifice at least one component, usually it is the speakers. The truth is almost no companies really make all their components. Today they may buy the tape deck in Hong Kong and the speakers in India.

WHERE TO BUY: Small discount shops that deal in 220 appliances usually offer you a package which is cheaper than you can get in a specialized store. Remember the person behind the counter probably knows less than you do. Don't let him talk you into some no name brand - "This is what I have at home". Your best bet is to first decide by going into different stereo stores and listening. Only once you know what you want or at least have a few options then go ahead. Try for a brand name - house names may be cheaper but despite the claim of the salesman "This is made by Bose under a different name" you never know what you are buying. Bigger and flashing lights don't mean much. Having a receiver which looks like the cockpit of an F16 may look impressive, but... Just because its a brand name - Pioneer may make really good receivers but their speakers though not bad are not considered on the same level.

Remember some major stereo stores may be able to refund your sales tax if you show them the item is being shipped out of your country.

How do I divide up the money I have?

Today few people are buying phonographs. Most buy a tape deck, CD and speakers. Many experts suggest 40% for the speakers, 30% for the receiver, 15% for the tape deck and 15% for the CD. What is important is not the exact percentages but rather to correct the mistake made by too many people. When we buy a stereo our first item of purchase is the receiver and we're swept away on wattage per channel. The same is true of the other components. Once we are almost finished we turn to the orphan speaker and ask ourselves how much do we have left. Yet the final product in the hearing is going to be limited by the speakers.

Now for a radical statement: The main difference in components is the features, not sound quality. The only component that really has a personality of its own is the speaker. Which is why we'll start with it first.

The best advice I can give you is to listen first, especially to speakers, then read the specifications. Simply put, don't allow numbers to overrule your ears.

2. SPEAKERS

A speaker is both the simplest an the most complicated of all the components. Think for a minute what is it really - just some boards, a few drivers and a bit of stuffing inside that is supposed to turn an electrical signal into an acoustical signal. Even if you listen to a great pair of speakers in a showroom it may sound nothing like it when you get home. What it breaks down to is simply you listen, you buy and you hope for the best.

How do I begin? 1. Price - this is an automatic limitation yet it is not a guarantee. There are really expensive speakers which sound pretty awful as well. 2. Size - except for show , if you live in a small apartment having a speaker the size of your refrigerator doesn't make too much sense. Although you may want to later convert it into a walk in closet. There are efficient small speakers specifically made for the apartment dweller. This also includes certain types of speakers known as omni-directional which need to be placed some distance from the walls. A good example of these are some of the Bose models. If you only have room in a corner or on a shelf make sure that your speakers will be able to give their optimum in these settings. 3. Music - Some people claim there is a certain sound to a company or even a region. By and large this is no longer true. What is true is some speakers will enhance certain types of listening styles.

4. Styles - really, speakers are a type of furniture as well which means if you are into traditional or antique furniture it may be a bit incongruous to have something which looks like a nightmare from an art school graduate.

5 Listening requirements - if you have a heavy room with lots of drapes or wall to wall carpeting then you will need higher output, as you will if you listen to a lot of Rock and Roll which has greater average levels than classical music

What about all those numbers? Speakers are rated both according to their sensitivity and their wattage. Sensitivity is measured by Sound Pressure Level (SPL) at one meter from an amplified input of 1 watt. So?.. Well the higher the rating the more sensitive the speaker the more efficiently it will run on less wattage. In other words, quantity not quality. If you wish to hear a full range with a weaker amplifier you can increase the sensitivity of your speakers. The other way is to simply buy a stronger amplifier. Anything over 90db spl is considered high sensitivity. One last warning. There is a little thing called Ohms which sounds like some guru chant. It is really the electrical load put out by the amplifier. Most speakers use 8ohms. Check top to make sure your speaker and receiver are compatible, this is especially true if you intend to drive more than one speaker.

Final Steps Choose a piece of music which you are very familiar with, preferably vocal. Have the salesman play it on the same receiver and the same CD/tape deck AT THE SAME VOLUME. A speaker tends to sound better when played loudly. Do a quick A/B switch to see if you hear any difference and most of all take your time. By the way, your ear doesn't have a good memory. If you listened to a speaker 10 minutes ago you will probably not be able to compare it to anything else.

3. RECEIVER

The receiver is basically a tuner, preamplifier and amplifier all rolled into one. For 95% of us that's enough.

How do I know what to buy? Wattage - There is no question that the strength of your output and clarity is partly dependent on the wattage. What people seem to forget is that there is a difference between 50 and 100 but almost no difference between 50 or 60 watts per channel. Anything above 50 is considered fine.

Presets - these allow you to change channels at the touch of your finger. In this country there aren't that many stations to choose from, so 10 preset stations is more than enough.

NOTE: Radios offering digital tuning allow you to tune according to frequency increments. For example, in the US, FM stations are tuned on frequencies ending in odd numbers (100.7 or 95.5, etc...). In Israel, the frequencies of the stations can end with any digit. MAKE SURE that your digital tuning is compatible with the frequecies in Israel. If it is not, it can be changed here by and expert for a small fee.

What are the basics - volume balance, source selection, tone controls and radio presets. Second in line are a loudness button, mpx filter, two tape monitors (for tape to tape dubbing). If you have a large apartment you may want to have an option of 2 speakers with an A/B switch.

Unlike speakers very few people can hear tonal differences between receivers. Rather you choose a receiver according to watts per channel and features. Remember there is almost no reason to spend extra money on AM stereo, dolby fm or even video switching.

4. COMPACT DISC PLAYERS

CD players like receivers have little sound difference between models. Again here we are only referring to features like oversampling, index search repeats, programming etc. According to a recent survey in a popular stereo magazine less than 20% of the people who own CD's use all the features. Most simply pop in a disk and relax. The two features that are probably most important are the oversampling where 4 is considered minimum and whether you want single or multiple changers. One other feature you may consider is a headphone jack with a volume control, without it the sound coming out is too loud to be comfortable.

5. TURNTABLES

There are still some people who enjoy listening to their old LP's. If you don't have a turntable and wish to buy one, then first and foremost don't overspend on the turntable and underspend on the cartridge. The sound you really hear is the cartridge as much as the table itself. A good cartridge can set you back $125. There is a debate about the differences between direct drive and belt drive. One advantage of the direct drive is that it can easily match Israeli cycles.

6. TAPE DECKS

How many heads ? Dolby who?

Tape decks fall somewhere in between speakers and the above two. There is a difference in sound quality and especially noise reduction between models. Yet it is not as strong as in speakers.

Options: Two vs three heads - what does the head do? The tape head is a type of electromagnet which forms a magnetic pattern which is then read when you playback the recording. There is a microscopically small gap between the poles where the head touches the tape. Why is this important? Because the optimal gap which would insure the best signal to noise ration (getting rid of the hiss) is greatly different 3-5 times between recording and playback. Naturally if you have only two heads one for eraser and one for the rest you will have to compromise.

There is one other advantage to three heads. If you make your own recordings you may want to monitor the recording. Only a three head deck allows you to compare in real time the recording with the original track. The construction of the head is also important. Try to look for ferrit or sendust alloys which are considered stronger and longer lasting.

Noise Reduction: Tapes have hiss - there is no getting around the fact. Without getting bogged down in the technical aspects suffice it to say that the Dolby company found a way of getting around the problem. Almost every decent tape deck is equipped with what is known as Dolby B - there is a sign of a back to back D. It generally gives you a noise reduction of 10dB., which though helpful is still far from optimal. About 10 years ago they came out with a new dolby called Dolby C which has a noise reduction factor of 20dB. Tapes recorded in Dolby C can be played on B and vice versa although there may be a little muting of the high range. Most decks today come with both options.

Recording meters: Almost all good decks have LED meters which ostensibly show you recording levels. Sometimes they are misleading. Many of them have what looks like 12 increments. On closer inspection you may notice that they run in segments which means you only really have 4. Look for 16 segments and watch the intervals between each segment.

Counters and timers: One of the nicest features on my deck is the ability not only to see how much time has elapsed but even how much time I have left. This is important for someone who makes a lot of recording and wants to see what song you have room for, thus eliminating having a song cut off in middle.

Autoreverse: Many deck advertise reversible heads offering continuous play of 90 minutes. This may be convenient but remember you do sacrifice something in return. When the tape head flips over, the alignment is slightly different which may produce a slight aberration on the second side.

Other useful and not so useful functions: One of the feature which has become fairly common is the intro. It allows you to hear the first few seconds of a song before running on to the next. Blank scan "sees" a space which isn't recorded and skips over it with fast forward. Fine adjust bias allows for small changes in the bias control. Most people wouldn't even know if it was working! MPX filter is already standard. It helps filter out some of the unwanted noise from FM broadcasts.

Last but not least - Some salesmen will try to convince you that a component with a 15-25,00 FR (frequency response) is worth X more than a 30-19,000. Numbers are tricky. Yes it will be technically and scenic better but will any of us be able to tell the difference, I doubt it.

DAT -Digital Audio Tapes: Basically they're still too new and too expensive. In a random survey in Jerusalem, I found no stores which carried them and two which in the best Israeli tradition tried to convince me they don't exist.

7. TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY

What to do if I own a stereo already: If you plan Aliyah in the future then you can already buy a system which is compatible with Israel. Most receivers are also available with a 110/220 50/60 switch.If you are buying a turntable you can get a direct drive rather than a belt drive. This allows you to change the speed at will even though you will still need a converter or small transformer for the current..If you already have a turntable many stereo technicians can switch it over so that the speed and volts are the same.

Tape decks also come in switchable models. I have been using one of my decks (Teac) which is a 110 model on a transformer with no telltale sound differentiations. Most decks run on 15-25 watts. Remember if you use a transformer it should be about 30% greater than the actual need. For example if your wattage input is 80, then use a 100 watt transformer. Do NOT use one of the small Franzus converters or you may destroy your machine. Speakers are of course no problem.

8. CUSTOMS

For some strange reason customs will allow you to bring in a receiver, a tapedeck and either a CD or a turntable. If you intend to bring in all of them simply declare the turntable (sans cartridge) which should be about $150. Remember to show your receipt.

By the way if you want to bring in 2 sets of speakers, then you have to list your stereo as a Quad set. Although I can't guarantee it. Customs is for the most part reasonable if you can show that your receiver has outputs for 2 sets of speakers.

In conclusion, like many of your aliyah purchases you may be tempted to get the best, because "this is my only chance". Decide before you start what is your financial limit, leaving a bit of headway and stick to it.

Happy listening and let me know if you have any good CD's!

elibir@jafi.org

Last Updated November 14, 2005