Circuit City Electrical Store: Shopping At Circuit City Has Never Been So Easy

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Basics Conventional Satellites Subwoofers Center Polk Audio Speakers Glossary Speaker Types | Speaker Specifications Circuit City carries speakers from the top name brands in all sizes and price ranges. You can listen and compare between brands and models in our sound rooms to make the best choice or, if you know what you want and are ready to buy, many speakers can be purchased online! Also, our stores offer a one-year speaker trade-up policy. This will let you get the speakers you can afford today, and the speakers you want next year with full credit on your original purchase! All speakers work by taking the electrical signal supplied by your amp or receiver and converting it to physical motion. To create a 15,000 Hz tone, the speaker diaphragm vibrates 15,000 times a second. To create a deep bass tone (say, 30 Hz) the speaker must move 30 times a second and move a large volume of air. Since it is difficult for any single speaker to reproduce high notes and deep bass well, most conventional speaker systems use specialized drivers for each task. Two-Way Tweeters for the high notes. Midrange/woofer for the middle range and low notes. Three-Way Tweeters for the high notes. Midrange drivers for everything in the middle. Woofers for the low notes. A speaker with a separate woofer and tweeter is called a two-way system, one that adds a midrange driver is a three-way system (like the one on the right). A crossover network splits the audio signal up into different frequency ranges and sends it on to the appropriate tweeter, midrange, or woofer. Sometimes manufacturers use multiple tweeters and woofers to add to the dispersion and impact of the sound, but the number of frequency bands that the crossover creates determines how many "ways" a speaker is. For example, a system with one tweeter and two woofers (covering the same frequencies) is still a 2-way system. The basic goal of a speaker designer is to create a design that does not emphasize some frequencies at the expense of others and has low distortion while being able to capture all of the dynamics of a live performance. The speaker itself should be "invisible," meaning that with your eyes closed you should be able to picture the original musicians spread across the stage and not localize on two "boxes" with sound coming from them. It is possible to spend tens of thousands of dollars on systems which approach this ideal, but most of us must settle for something a bit less. Thankfully, today's designs and advanced materials can bring us fine sound at very affordable prices. Speaker Types If it's been a while since you've seriously looked for a pair of speakers, take a look around. The last couple of decades have taken us away from the traditional floor-standing box- -in some cases far away. Because of this variety of speaker designs, we now have more choices than ever- -choices in size, shape, and placement. Bookshelf Maybe it would be a little obvious to mention that this kind of speaker is designed to be put on a bookshelf, but despite its diminutive size many bookshelf speakers can do a stunningly good job of filling a smaller room with sound. That said, the sound quality of these speakers can vary widely. As you might imagine, because of their size, the biggest challenge bookshelf speakers face is producing deep bass that has impact. As a general rule, going up in price will either get you more bass or better over-all sound. The best speakers will give you both. Application: Dorm rooms, offices, bedrooms, "rear" speakers in surround sound systems Advantages: Small size, relatively low cost Disadvantages: Unable to fill larger rooms with sound, has difficulty with deep bass and high volumes Comments: The addition of a subwoofer can turn bookshelf speakers into a great, full-sounding speaker system. Floor standing Once again, the name makes the placement obvious-these speakers are designed to stand on the floor. Some floor-standing speakers have a familiar box shape to them, but many these days are towers that are much taller and narrower. Tower speakers have three significant advantages: 1) they bring the sound up off the floor and closer to your ears, 2) they take up less floor space, and 3) they tend to create a better "sonic picture," often called an image, than shorter, wider box speakers. The upside to floor-standing speakers is their ability to produce the bass smaller speakers lack. Good floor-standing speakers can reproduce all but the lowest frequencies you can hear, and the best ones will sound great doing it. Perhaps the biggest drawback of these speakers is their size; not everyone who wants great sound wants a monument to it in his living room. Application: Main system speakers in a larger room Advantages: Able to fill large rooms with sound, generate more sounds, and higher volumes Disadvantages: Large size makes it hard for them to blend into most décor Comments: Keep in mind that the tweeters should be at ear level when you're sitting. Standard box-type speakers may require speaker stands. Subwoofer/Satellite systems For many people, subwoofer/satellite systems (or sub/sat for short) embody all the advantages of bookshelf and floor-standing speakers without their respective disadvantages. Bookshelf speakers are small, but lack the bass of larger speakers. Floor-standing speakers can produce plenty of bass, but are large and difficult to work into a room's décor. Sub/sat speaker systems have very small speakers producing what they're good at--high and midrange sounds--and a larger box that sits on the floor producing the bass. The even better news is that the larger box--usually called a subwoofer--can be placed anywhere in the room. Go ahead and place it behind the sofa, you'll still get all the sound and won't have to look at it or decorate around it. We would be remiss if we didn't point out that the "subwoofers" in these systems are not true subwoofers, but simply the woofers the small satellite speakers lack placed in a separate box. Therefore, the addition of a subwoofer is worth considering, especially for home theater applications. Application: Typically used as speakers in a main system or home theater, but their size allows them to be used almost anywhere. Advantages: Great sound from speakers that can be held in your hand. Disadvantages: Most sub/sat systems do cost more than the least expensive bookshelf or floor-standing speakers. Speaker Specifications The first things you should know about speaker specs is that there are no industry standards. That said, the specs that do exist on speakers tend to tell you very little about how the speaker actually sounds. Specs are a good starting point, but don't use them in place of actually listening to a speaker. There's still no replacement for auditioning a speaker with your own music--or at least the kind of music you like. However, if used as a guideline, speaker specifications can help you get a speaker that will do your music justice. The trick is in knowing what all those numbers mean. Frequency Response Probably the most-quoted spec is frequency response. An ideal speaker would be able to accurately reproduce the full range of sounds we can hear; from 20Hz (the deepest bass we can hear) to 20,000Hz (the highest frequency we can hear). These systems exist, but they come at a price. But even today's budget systems can reproduce high notes quite well, so you'll typically see 20,000 Hz response even with speakers costing as little as $150 a pair. Much more difficult is moving the large amounts of air required for accurate deep bass response in the 20-80 Hz range (the bottom two octaves). Typically, speakers with larger or multiple woofers and cabinets do a better job in this area, but some new designs allow for the use of smaller woofers and cabinets. When you see a spec of 40-20,000 Hz for a speaker you should also look for a qualifying spec that usually reads "+ or - 3 dB." This means that the speaker not only responds and produces notes at 40-20,000 Hz, but that it does so with no more variance than a just-noticeable 3 decibel range. Any speaker specification without this qualifying statement is immediately suspect! Impedance Another useful spec to know is the "Ohm Rating" or "Impedance." Ohms are a measure of resistance to the flow of electricity and you need to know this rating to properly select a receiver or amp to power your speakers. Ohm ratings have NOTHING to do with sound quality, just the speaker/amp compatibility. All receivers today will work fine with an 8 ohm speaker, but stronger, higher quality amps can work with lower 4 ohm and even 2 ohm resistance loads. A speaker's impedance can vary widely while playing music- -sometimes an "8" ohm speaker will go as high as 32 ohms (not a problem) and as low as 2 ohms (could be a problem)- -so the rating we see is actually its nominal or average impedance. If you have a question about the compatibility between an amplifier and a pair of speakers, ask one of our knowledgeable Product Specialists for some help. Sensitivity Finally, you may see a specification called "Sensitivity" or "Sound Pressure Level" (SPL). This is measured in decibels and is typically between 85 and 100 dB. Higher decibel ratings mean that the speaker plays louder for a given amount of power input (1 watt). This can be important to consider when buying an amplifier since a speaker with 3 dB greater sensitivity will play at the same volume level with only half the power input. Although a speaker's sensitivity rating has nothing to do with sound quality, higher sensitivity speakers will definitely give you more bang (volume) for the buck. All speakers will sound different in your own home than in any store due to differences in room acoustics and placement, so it should go without saying that you should have return privileges within a reasonable time period (ours is 30 days). Once you have your speakers, experiment with placement a bit to achieve the best sound. In general, placing speakers on the floor and in corners will add to bass emphasis. If your bass is too loud and "thumpy," try placing the speakers on stands and moving them away from the corner a bit. Many people find that angling in their speakers to "fire" at their listening position a bit gives better stereo imaging. Speakers with rear-firing drivers or bass ports need a bit of breathing room away from the wall for best performance. Play around a bit and you may be amazed at the difference a little movement can make in your sound! When you are ready to buy home speakers, consider buying them online here at circuitcity.com. You can have them direct-shipped to you, and some models allow you to use our Express Pickup option, meaning that you can enjoy your new speakers the same day! If our store price is lower on the day you pick up your purchase, we will automatically adjust your purchase price to match the lower price. We cannot ship items outside of the USA due to manufacturer agreements. Home Page | Privacy Policy | Guaranteed Security | Automatic Price Protection | Terms Of Use | Contact Us | Circuit City Credit Card © 1996-2003 Circuit City® Stores, Inc. . Online shopping at Circuit City is affordable, easy and 100% secure. › www.Circuit City.com › www.Circuit City › Circuit City Electronics @ Circuit City-Online › Circuit City Electrical Stores

in Electronics Games Movies Popular Music Classical Music Home Audio & Video DVD Players and VCRs Televisions Home Audio · Home Theater Systems · Receivers · Home Speakers · CD Players and Recorders · Cassette Decks · Turntables and Accessories · Mini Systems · Audio Cables and Connections · Audio Tapes, Discs, Care, and Mics · Headphones · Audio Stands · Speaker Stands Portable Electronics Car Electronics Satellite TV Systems Audio and Video Accessories Audio and Video Furniture Sharper Image Camcorders and Photo Cameras and Camcorders Home Office Computers, Printers, and PDAs Peripherals and Accessories Internet and Home Networking Wireless Phones Phones and Office Electronics Office Furniture Software Music & Movies CDs and Cassettes DVD and VHS Movies Toys and Games Kids Electronics Video Games Gift Cards Services Weekly Ad Rebates Help & Services Join Affiliates Corporate Sales Investor Info Circuit City Info Careers Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Partnership Home Speakers Shop For Home Speakers Basics What do you want to learn about Home Speakers? Basics Conventional Satellites Subwoofers Center Polk Audio Speakers Glossary Speaker Types | Speaker Specifications Circuit City carries speakers from the top name brands in all sizes and price ranges. You can listen and compare between brands and models in our sound rooms to make the best choice or, if you know what you want and are ready to buy, many speakers can be purchased online! Also, our stores offer a one-year speaker trade-up policy. This will let you get the speakers you can afford today, and the speakers you want next year with full credit on your original purchase! All speakers work by taking the electrical signal supplied by your amp or receiver and converting it to physical motion. To create a 15,000 Hz tone, the speaker diaphragm vibrates 15,000 times a second. To create a deep bass tone (say, 30 Hz) the speaker must move 30 times a second and move a large volume of air. Since it is difficult for any single speaker to reproduce high notes and deep bass well, most conventional speaker systems use specialized drivers for each task. Two-Way Tweeters for the high notes. Midrange/woofer for the middle range and low notes. Three-Way Tweeters for the high notes. Midrange drivers for everything in the middle. Woofers for the low notes. A speaker with a separate woofer and tweeter is called a two-way system, one that adds a midrange driver is a three-way system (like the one on the right). A crossover network splits the audio signal up into different frequency ranges and sends it on to the appropriate tweeter, midrange, or woofer. Sometimes manufacturers use multiple tweeters and woofers to add to the dispersion and impact of the sound, but the number of frequency bands that the crossover creates determines how many "ways" a speaker is. For example, a system with one tweeter and two woofers (covering the same frequencies) is still a 2-way system. The basic goal of a speaker designer is to create a design that does not emphasize some frequencies at the expense of others and has low distortion while being able to capture all of the dynamics of a live performance. The speaker itself should be "invisible," meaning that with your eyes closed you should be able to picture the original musicians spread across the stage and not localize on two "boxes" with sound coming from them. It is possible to spend tens of thousands of dollars on systems which approach this ideal, but most of us must settle for something a bit less. Thankfully, today's designs and advanced materials can bring us fine sound at very affordable prices. Speaker Types If it's been a while since you've seriously looked for a pair of speakers, take a look around. The last couple of decades have taken us away from the traditional floor-standing box- -in some cases far away. Because of this variety of speaker designs, we now have more choices than ever- -choices in size, shape, and placement. Bookshelf Maybe it would be a little obvious to mention that this kind of speaker is designed to be put on a bookshelf, but despite its diminutive size many bookshelf speakers can do a stunningly good job of filling a smaller room with sound. That said, the sound quality of these speakers can vary widely. As you might imagine, because of their size, the biggest challenge bookshelf speakers face is producing deep bass that has impact. As a general rule, going up in price will either get you more bass or better over-all sound. The best speakers will give you both. Application: Dorm rooms, offices, bedrooms, "rear" speakers in surround sound systems Advantages: Small size, relatively low cost Disadvantages: Unable to fill larger rooms with sound, has difficulty with deep bass and high volumes Comments: The addition of a subwoofer can turn bookshelf speakers into a great, full-sounding speaker system. Floor standing Once again, the name makes the placement obvious-these speakers are designed to stand on the floor. Some floor-standing speakers have a familiar box shape to them, but many these days are towers that are much taller and narrower. Tower speakers have three significant advantages: 1) they bring the sound up off the floor and closer to your ears, 2) they take up less floor space, and 3) they tend to create a better "sonic picture," often called an image, than shorter, wider box speakers. The upside to floor-standing speakers is their ability to produce the bass smaller speakers lack. Good floor-standing speakers can reproduce all but the lowest frequencies you can hear, and the best ones will sound great doing it. Perhaps the biggest drawback of these speakers is their size; not everyone who wants great sound wants a monument to it in his living room. Application: Main system speakers in a larger room Advantages: Able to fill large rooms with sound, generate more sounds, and higher volumes Disadvantages: Large size makes it hard for them to blend into most décor Comments: Keep in mind that the tweeters should be at ear level when you're sitting. Standard box-type speakers may require speaker stands. Subwoofer/Satellite systems For many people, subwoofer/satellite systems (or sub/sat for short) embody all the advantages of bookshelf and floor-standing speakers without their respective disadvantages. Bookshelf speakers are small, but lack the bass of larger speakers. Floor-standing speakers can produce plenty of bass, but are large and difficult to work into a room's décor. Sub/sat speaker systems have very small speakers producing what they're good at--high and midrange sounds--and a larger box that sits on the floor producing the bass. The even better news is that the larger box--usually called a subwoofer--can be placed anywhere in the room. Go ahead and place it behind the sofa, you'll still get all the sound and won't have to look at it or decorate around it. We would be remiss if we didn't point out that the "subwoofers" in these systems are not true subwoofers, but simply the woofers the small satellite speakers lack placed in a separate box. Therefore, the addition of a subwoofer is worth considering, especially for home theater applications. Application: Typically used as speakers in a main system or home theater, but their size allows them to be used almost anywhere. Advantages: Great sound from speakers that can be held in your hand. Disadvantages: Most sub/sat systems do cost more than the least expensive bookshelf or floor-standing speakers. Speaker Specifications The first things you should know about speaker specs is that there are no industry standards. That said, the specs that do exist on speakers tend to tell you very little about how the speaker actually sounds. Specs are a good starting point, but don't use them in place of actually listening to a speaker. There's still no replacement for auditioning a speaker with your own music--or at least the kind of music you like. However, if used as a guideline, speaker specifications can help you get a speaker that will do your music justice. The trick is in knowing what all those numbers mean. Frequency Response Probably the most-quoted spec is frequency response. An ideal speaker would be able to accurately reproduce the full range of sounds we can hear; from 20Hz (the deepest bass we can hear) to 20,000Hz (the highest frequency we can hear). These systems exist, but they come at a price. But even today's budget systems can reproduce high notes quite well, so you'll typically see 20,000 Hz response even with speakers costing as little as $150 a pair. Much more difficult is moving the large amounts of air required for accurate deep bass response in the 20-80 Hz range (the bottom two octaves). Typically, speakers with larger or multiple woofers and cabinets do a better job in this area, but some new designs allow for the use of smaller woofers and cabinets. When you see a spec of 40-20,000 Hz for a speaker you should also look for a qualifying spec that usually reads "+ or - 3 dB." This means that the speaker not only responds and produces notes at 40-20,000 Hz, but that it does so with no more variance than a just-noticeable 3 decibel range. Any speaker specification without this qualifying statement is immediately suspect! Impedance Another useful spec to know is the "Ohm Rating" or "Impedance." Ohms are a measure of resistance to the flow of electricity and you need to know this rating to properly select a receiver or amp to power your speakers. Ohm ratings have NOTHING to do with sound quality, just the speaker/amp compatibility. All receivers today will work fine with an 8 ohm speaker, but stronger, higher quality amps can work with lower 4 ohm and even 2 ohm resistance loads. A speaker's impedance can vary widely while playing music- -sometimes an "8" ohm speaker will go as high as 32 ohms (not a problem) and as low as 2 ohms (could be a problem)- -so the rating we see is actually its nominal or average impedance. If you have a question about the compatibility between an amplifier and a pair of speakers, ask one of our knowledgeable Product Specialists for some help. Sensitivity Finally, you may see a specification called "Sensitivity" or "Sound Pressure Level" (SPL). This is measured in decibels and is typically between 85 and 100 dB. Higher decibel ratings mean that the speaker plays louder for a given amount of power input (1 watt). This can be important to consider when buying an amplifier since a speaker with 3 dB greater sensitivity will play at the same volume level with only half the power input. Although a speaker's sensitivity rating has nothing to do with sound quality, higher sensitivity speakers will definitely give you more bang (volume) for the buck. All speakers will sound different in your own home than in any store due to differences in room acoustics and placement, so it should go without saying that you should have return privileges within a reasonable time period (ours is 30 days). Once you have your speakers, experiment with placement a bit to achieve the best sound. In general, placing speakers on the floor and in corners will add to bass emphasis. If your bass is too loud and "thumpy," try placing the speakers on stands and moving them away from the corner a bit. Many people find that angling in their speakers to "fire" at their listening position a bit gives better stereo imaging. Speakers with rear-firing drivers or bass ports need a bit of breathing room away from the wall for best performance. Play around a bit and you may be amazed at the difference a little movement can make in your sound! When you are ready to buy home speakers, consider buying them online here at circuitcity.com. You can have them direct-shipped to you, and some models allow you to use our Express Pickup option, meaning that you can enjoy your new speakers the same day! If our store price is lower on the day you pick up your purchase, we will automatically adjust your purchase price to match the lower price. We cannot ship items outside of the USA due to manufacturer agreements. Home Page | Privacy Policy | Guaranteed Security | Automatic Price Protection | Terms Of Use | Contact Us | Circuit City Credit Card © 1996-2003 Circuit City® Stores, Inc. 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