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Superb Sound: What to Look For From Your Stereo System

by Product Specialist

Superb Sound What to Look For From Your Stereo System

The goal of any stereo electronic engineer is to create a sound system that is completely neutral, meaning that any audio signal the system receives is completely unchanged from any original recording. Unfortunately, a completely neutral audio system is notoriously hard to come by. There are ways to come close to perfection with a stereo system, however. You just need to follow these five guidelines to know what it is you should be looking for.

A Good Internal Design

The first thing to look for in a stereo system is an internal design that maintains good channel separation between individual audio signals as well as a good signal-to-noise ratio. If you don't know exactly what this means, look at a stereo system's dB ratings. Try to find something that has close to a 120dB channel separation and a 117dB signal-to-noise ratio for the best results.

A Good Power Supply

Remember that any sound that comes from a speaker is just an information signal, which means it can be muddied by a sub-par power supply. Make sure that any stereo system that you buy has a good power supply.

A Sturdy Build Quality

When your subwoofer and speakers are playing at a decent volume, they create vibrations that will travel back to the audio components. A poorly-build sound system won't be able to handle all of these vibrations and will have poor sound quality as a result. Find a system that is sturdily built and won't vibrate too much when you use them.

Quality Electrical Components

Your sound system is a complex electronic device, which means it should have high-quality electrical components. Unless you're an electrical engineer and you know your way around a circuit board, only buy components from a reputable dealer if you want to be sure you're getting a system of a decent quality.

A System That Sounds Good

In the end, the best way to know if your stereo system is to just listen to it. You can pour over the specs of a stereo system all you want, but it won't mean anything if you don't like the way it sounds. Give a stereo system a test run, and only buy it if you like what you hear.