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A Beginner's Guide to Good Audio
What qualities distinguish a good audio system?
Let's start with a misconception. "Wow! I'll bet that can play loud!" This, or something like
it, is typical of the newcomer's reaction to an audiophile's setup, particularly if the
speakers are large.
Why a system's loudness capability should be the measure of excellence isn't difficult to
understand. People install often quite costly sound systems in their cars. Some of the
larger specimens seem capable of shaking their host vehicle apart. The pavement
trembles when one passes by. A club's sound system is in the same league: ear-splitting,
gut-wrenching, floor-buckling output. With the exception of classical music, which is rarely
ever amplified, the same is true for most live concerts. Domestically, the average boom
box can break a lease. TV ads featuring hard-pumping woofer cones say it all.
On actually sitting down and listening to our hypothetical audiophile's sound system, the
newcomer will likely say "Wow!" again, followed this time by "It's so clear!"
Clarity. The term takes in a host of qualities. As strange as this may seem, one of
clarity's principal components is silence. A silent audio system -
an audio system that
contributes little to no noise of its own -
reveals the music all the more clearly at
listening levels from soft to loud.
Resolution likewise contributes to clarity. Imagine two mounds of sand in bright sunlight.
One mound is mixed with mud. It's difficult to see its individual grains. The other mound is
free of mud. You have no trouble seeing its tiny, glittering bits. And so it is with high-
quality audio. The music shines through. Nothing muddies the sonic image. You hear the
texture of a singer's voice almost as if she's in trte room. Instrumental timbres allow you
to distinguish the purposeful grunge of the rockers' gUitars. Violas differ from violins,
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