Overview

You love good music. Your goal is to buy stereo equipment that makes the music sound "live"--as if you were in the studio with the musicians. From an aural point of view, when you listen to good music, you are listening for four things: imaging, soundstage, frequency response and dynamic range.

• Imaging means that high-fidelity components, combined with a good recording, create a sonic three-dimensional space. The drums are to the left and in the back, the piano left front, the stand-up bass on the left, the rhythm guitar off to the right, the singer in the middle, and so on.
• Soundstage is defined by how wide this imaging is. A wide soundstage extends beyond the left and right speakers. A narrow soundstage is music confined to the space between your speakers.
• Frequency response is the top and bottom frequencies, or waves, a system can reproduce, usually measured in hertz. The upper end of the frequency range is analogous to "treble" and the high tones, say from violins. In-between are mid-range sounds such as guitars, voices, piano and almost everything else. The lower end frequencies are the bass sounds. The wider the frequency response, the more high frequencies and the deeper the bass you'll hear.
• Dynamic range is the total range between the loudest and quietest passages expressed in decibels. Any dynamic range over 90 dB is considered excellent. The greater the dynamic range, the greater the impact of the music.

With good equipment, you should be able to hear the softest passages, the most obscure instruments and the deepest bass.

A high-fidelity stereo system consists of three items that are basic to any audio system, whether it is personal or portable, for car or home, inexpensive or costly.

• Loudspeakers: The devices that physically create the sound waves your ears are able to receive.
• Source (output) components: CD players, turntables, tape decks and other devices that produce the sounds.
• Amplifiers: Equipment that amplifies the signal from source components and transmits the amplified signal to the speakers.

Features

The main job of a home stereo system is to reproduce sound from a variety of formats including CDs, records, tapes, radio and even video sources. The components of a stereo system should be assembled to allow these devices to be interconnected into an amplifier or receiver. The connectors for all this equipment are called phono plugs.

The rear panels of home stereo components have sets of phono jacks, for connection to jacks on the amplifier. Your amplifier also has terminals to which speaker wire is connected. If your system includes a radio or "tuner," there should be a terminal for a FM antenna -- typically a thin piece of wire called a dipole.

The front panel of a component has controls and a function display that advises what the unit is doing. Most components include a headphone jack, which can be quarter-inch or eighth-inch (mini plugs). Quarter-inch jacks are usually found in tabletop components, though mini jacks are becoming more widely used. These mini jacks are used in personal cassette and CD players as well. Plug adapters allow you to change from one size plug to another.

There are three basic home stereo system configurations: compact systems, rack systems and component systems, made up of individual pieces of equipment, often from a variety of manufacturers.

A compact system is an all-in-one system that includes a radio and cassette player or CD player - and sometimes all three. Separate speakers enable you to position them to create the best sound field. Speakers that are distanced from each other create a better soundstage. Compact systems can be tabletop, shelf or portable.

A rack system is one in which components from one manufacturer are matched and sold along with a rack or cabinet. The components usually include a receiver, a CD player, cassette deck (increasingly eliminated as CDs gain popularity) and a set of speakers. Rack systems rarely include record players anymore, and many are packaged as "home theater" systems that include an audio/video receiver with surround sound and multiple speakers. Some manufacturers provide special color-coded cables that make it quick and easy to hook-up your system.

The greatest range of choices in sound quality and features lies in the third option, a stereo system of selected components. Here, the CD player, amplifier and speakers are chosen separately for their individual qualities. In most cases this will result in a better-sounding system.

Entry-level components offer value and performance for a low price. The difference in sound between a compact system and a high-end system is noticeable to even the most inexperienced listener.

Most stereo systems are designed to provide sound for one room. Multi-room systems enable homeowners to distribute music throughout the house. Multi-source, multi-zone systems offer the most flexibility, enabling homeowners to listen simultaneously to different sources in various rooms. Wall-mount keypads allow users to select power, sources and volume. Control signals can be transmitted to specific components via wireless radio signals or internal wiring.

Connections

NEVER connectcomponents with the power on.

Each piece of stereo equipment connects via two cables (right and left), often called "interconnects," representing each of the stereo signals. When connecting equipment -- both components and speakers -- it is critical to plug the "right" plug into the "right" jack.

The "right" plugs and jacks on both the equipment and the cables are almost always red, the "left," white, black or gray. If you are connecting video sources such as a VCR or DVD player, that cable is always yellow.

Just remember "red is right" and match colors, and you won't have any hookup problems.

Amplifiers and receivers have input jacks identified for the connection of specific components. With the power for all the components turned off, plug a red-tipped plug into the red (right) output jack on the back of the component, the white, black or gray (left) plug into the twin jack. Plug the other ends of these cables into the corresponding jacks in your receiver.

Speaker wires are not phono jacks, but something resembling ordinary lamp cords. Still, the rules of left and right apply.

Interference

Go to the free online self-help guide that outlines what causes electronic interference and how to work with others to solve it. Published jointly by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), an organization representing Amateur Radio operators, and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

When you hook up a number of products that are close together, try to keep AC power cables from crossing or touching component interconnect cables, especially video cables. The electric power flowing though the power cord can cause annoying interference -- called EMI, for electro-magnetic interference -- that you may hear as a faint clicking or a low hum, or see as faint wavy lines on your TV screen.

In addition to electro-magnetic noise, there are many infrared and radio frequencies present in your home that can cause interference in audio devices. Any device that transmits a signal, such as remote control devices, radios, antennas and even cordless phones can cause interference.

If power lines and cables are not kept apart and interference persists, you may want to buy EMI filters. These tiny devices clip onto cables and wires and absorb stray signals.

Most AC plugs are now polarized. If yours are not, sometimes just turning the plug around in the AC outlet can eliminate electrical interference.

Vibration

Many floors are unstable, and a CD or record player may skip when you walk by the player. To solve this problem, you can install isolation feet under the device. These are small rubber pads that act as shock absorbers to keep your player from skipping.

Isolation feet also are handy when equipment is stacked one atop the other. Components produce their own vibrations that can affect other equipment. These vibrations can sometimes distort or "muddy" the sound. Isolation feet help absorb these minor vibrations, and also help provide proper ventilation between stacked components.

Headphones

Headphones are available in two varieties--open and closed.

Closed headphones have cup earpieces that fit around the ear. The wearer hears only what is coming out of the earpiece, and only he or she will hear the sound.

An open-air headphone has earpieces that fit over the ears, enabling the wearer to hear outside noise and conversation along with the music.

Headphone cables often are annoying or not long enough. Many manufacturers now offer wireless headphones, which transmit the sound from your system to the headphones via small transmitter/receiver devices. Some of these wireless headphones operate on infrared, or line-of-sight beams, like your remote control. Most, however, operate using an RF frequency, allowing the sound to be transmitted around corners or through walls like any other radio signal.