Tertiary Tech : stereo

Showing posts with label stereo. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Cleaning A Speaker Suggestions For Maintaining Solid Sound

Speakers make up the final component of an audio system. The combination of cabinets and drivers brings music and movies to life, filling a room and enveloping the listener. As such, keeping your speakers clean both inside and out ensures years of high-fidelity performance.

Exterior Cabinets

The cabinets provide more than a structure to hold electronics; the shape, size, and materials help to reinforce low-end resonance and propel the sound forward.

Whether constructed from fine, rare woods or specially designed composites, keeping them clean prevents the accumulation of dust that can fall into the drivers and maintains the visual appeal. Unless the wood requires special care and oils, using a damp cloth (preferably microfiber) to wipe the surface should be sufficient. If desired, an occasional manufacturer-approved wood polish can be used to protect the surface.

Speaker Grills, the fabric cover that protects the drivers from bumps, pokes, and other environmental dangers, can be cleaned with a soapy sponge. After drying, lift off any remaining debris with a vacuum and a brush attachment.

Woofers and Tweeters (Drivers)

Nearly all speakers will have at least one Woofer (mid- to low-frequency) and one Tweeter (high-frequency) driver; higher-end models include additional units dedicated to specific sound ranges. Over time, dust build-up in the drivers adversely affects the quality of reproduction, making it muddier and less distinct.

Tweeters are made of very delicate materials applied as a thin sheet over a framework; as such, great care must be taken when cleaning. In most cases, using canned or compressed air will remove any dust. Take caution and keep the nozzle an inch or more away to avoid poking the surface physically or from the air pressure.

While the cones (low and mid-frequency drivers) are constructed of more durable material, they should still be handled with care. If applying compressed air does not complete the job, use a small soft brush or microfiber cloth to remove stubborn dirt manually. Again, proceed with care to avoid pushing the cone in or puncturing the skin (The sound Link Ray created by punching holes in his guitar amp may have inspired a generation of rock musicians, but it is a disaster when listening at home.

Connectors

The connectors are the most durable component on any speaker and do not often need cleaning to improve or maintain performance quality. Still, these connection points are made of metals that can deteriorate or corrode over time, including the overhyped use of gold.

Use a soft cloth to remove dirt or foreign particles from a connection point. If you are experiencing crackling, intermittent connectivity, or hum, a light application of contact cleaner can help.

A Little Care Goes A Long Way

While audiophiles can spend hours in isolation tweaking tweeters or adjusting coverage and sweet spots, a few simple actions will keep your system (of any size or quality) sounding great for longer.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

8-bit Nostalgia and Miss September 63's Influence on Tactile Controls.

I love my wife’s new nano, the slickness of the interface, its ease of use and the fluid movement of pages on such a small screen is pretty darn cool. I almost wish Apple would release a developer’s kit to add a control interface capability. Aww, com’on you know you agree, this would be the ultimate key fob.

Yet, am I alone in feeling that the new nano and even the iPad is well, soul-less? I am troubled- only somewhat mildly mind you (I DO work in the belly of the beast)- by the frictionless gloss of icons. In fact, in the spirit of true disclosure I have to admit that I do not get surround sound, having compared it to overblown quad some years back on a pro AV forum on AOL. I still, mostly, stand by that assessment today.

Which brings me to my main point; I miss the tactile feel of a physical interface. Perhaps it is simple nostalgia but I long for the clickty-clack-clunk of an 8-track tape, the solid mechanical ka-chunk of open reel tape decks, and the tactile feel and response of weighted gain knobs. I am not sure just why I love these knobs so much, the sheer pleasure of them in my hand – they just feel right, perfectly balanced in my fingers and against my palm. I could make an innuendo here, which would be apt and very Miss September 63, but I think you get the gist. So deep is my love for the classic high-end gain knob that I argued vehemently to include a version on a product, I was asked to do some preliminary concept work on. (I also wanted it to have a more ‘retro’ look with a maple or cherry wood front. Perhaps I do have too many vintage Playboys with their Cutty Shark ads). The product got its gain knob but the front is basic black and silver.

Additionally I tend to gravitate toward older looking games. I still watch in awe at the offerings G4 reviews and get that reflexive itch when I am near new game consoles but I am drawn by a greater gravitational pull – the text based Zork. If you have ever played this game, you know what I am taking about. It is a simple game really; it is a treasure hunt with fighting trolls, endless caverns, singing demons in hades and an abandoned dam. All of this, and your action commands, are in text for which you have to draw maps if you are to get through it all. It is work, hands on paper and brain imagining in 3 dimensions. Do you know the old saying, that things are far more provocative when a little is left to the imagination, yeah – Sophia Loren like.

So, why I am blathering on about all this? What point could I possibly be trying to make? I really dig this video by HOLLERADO:

The Video is a one shot, one chance to get it right, human analog of effects. 'There was a time when we made things with our hands'

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Birth of Modern Music, The Value of History- a mini tribute to Raymond Scott

Our time is one of daily paradigm changes in the technological, cultural and philosophical arenas, where today’s internet superstar product is granted 5 minutes of fame only to be usurped at minute 4.5- often by the same creator or venture capitalist. Despite the contributions to the revolution most of these individual –(and companies)- have made, they are destined to be remembered by only a few associates or researchers of the arcane.

I have been fortunate to have had many mentors –direct and incidental- who helped create or were involved from the onset in the early days of multi-image, AV and music recording. Most of their names would be unknown or, perhaps, considered irrelevant to current installers, content creators or even heads of companies in the industry, yet they practice or build on the architecture and processes that these folks established. I was also fortunate to have teachers in trade school who thought it was of great importance to at least expose us some of the history of the art and technology we were learning to handle. While much of the education in the glory of my ‘forbearers’ was somewhat erudite, I did get hands on training on split line RCA boards, refurbishing a Mellotron and the odd art of multiple projector slide shows. Much in the fashion of car restorers or mechanical archivist I was granted the oral history and hands on practical from these guys.

One of the many quirky personalities and remarkable innovators I discovered by association (and have loved to read about and explore his work to this day) is Raymond Scott. In a similar vein to the just as unique and visionary Joe Meek, Scott had a special relationship with music that helped change it forever. In fact he should be as well known as Les Paul for his contributions to music and the AV industry in general. Jazz musician, inventor of the sequencer and the person nearly every sound a vending machine, ATM or ring tone makes can trace its roots back to, in one way or another.

Like Alan Turing, Raymond Scott has posthumously developed a cult following for his remarkable insight and contributions. Turning may have saved the world and Scott may just have saved music. There are a number sites –which I list below – dedicated to the work and times of Raymond Scott, if you want a one example proof of his influence- chew on this. Mr. Scott had in his employ for some time a young electronics maven who he set to work helping finish and build circuits for his ' Electronium; that young man was none other than Bob Moog.

Even ‘dead’ technology has something to teach and knowing where things came from provides fodder for innovation and creative thinking. Are you teaching this information to your young wire guys and installers? Do you, or they, know about UNIVAC? Or why we call it a ‘ Bug’ when code is erratic?

I highly suggest finding the video collection of the ‘Connections’ series hosted by James Burke whose Scientific American essays the shows are based on. They may not answer the previous questions but it will start you on a path to thinking about ‘just how did we wind up doing it this way’ or ‘how anyone ever thought to do that!’

The past is not dead, we live it every day, we just have to where to look.