If music is important to you--indeed, if you find that your daily life requires a soundtrack--then having the best-quality sound may be your top priority. Forget those department-store all-in-one-systems. There's a whole world of high-end, high-priced audio equipment just waiting for your discriminating ears (and discretionary income).
Instructions
1. Let your listening habits and desires be your guide. You should assemble a system that sounds great to you, not a salesperson.
2. Assess your living and work spaces. A system that sounds incredible in a small demonstration room might sound crummy in a large, high-ceilinged living room.
3. Bring your own music when you shop. You'll know the nuances of that music better than demo CDs designed to highlight an audio system's strengths.
4. Listen to systems without regard to price range, at least at first. You want to hear--if it's perceptible--why prices vary so much. Try to listen to various components in isolation. If you're comparing two amplifiers, use the same CD player, CD and speakers during your test.
5. Select a system with separate components (including amplifiers and preamps). Each component should have its own power supply to reduce electrical interference between components. Get a power conditioner to further reduce interference.
6. Splurge on speakers, if you're making budget trade-offs. Crank up the music as loud as you're likely to play at home.
7. Shop for a digital audio receiver if you want your stereo to play Internet-based music or MP3s from your computer. Digital audio receivers are a new and varied breed of component. Some connect directly to the Internet via your broadband connection; others connect via your computer and can access MP3s on your hard drive. They require a network connection in addition to stereo cables. (See Network Your Computers.)
8. Buy high-quality cables. It makes little sense to connect top-end audio components with dime-store cables.
9. Link your high-end audio system into whole-house media and control systems. (See Buy a Home Theater System, Buy a Home Automation System, and Buy an Audio-Video Distribution System.)
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