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Customising your music system

Karl J Mendonca

"I know, it's only rock'n'roll, but I like it...," go the lyrics of a classic Rolling Stones track. Most of us love our music, but the million-dollar (or actually seventy to eighty odd grand, to be more exact) question is - how much?
Let's face it, as individuals in the 21st century, we're all victims of convenience, and more so in the area of audio technology. And don't try to play innocent; at this moment there's a compact music system adorning a prominent niche at your humble abode. But here's where we separate the boys from the men.
If you consider yourself a self-respecting music buff, it's time to customise your music system. All you need is a little time, perseverance and loads of money. While there's a plethora of dealers and authorised outlets to visit, the challenge lies in finding a combination of components that will fit your specific listening requirements. A lot of outlets may deal only in specific components manufactured by a few companies, so you may have to make a couple of stopovers at different outlets before you hit on a prize-winning combination.

Grappling with the jargon
Since you will have to be pretty fluent in the terminology of watts, RMS and ohms, this next bit is a jargon buster, dedicated to orienting the average consumer in the ways of audio-parley.

Watt: Although the term is now blatantly obvious in its written format, it could flummox a novice. Watt or RMS (Root Mean Square) is the basic unit of power for amplifiers and speakers. This translates into real terms as to how loud your amplifier and speakers can play at. The higher the RMS value, the louder the speakers. Watts per channel is a term used to state the output per channel (the right channel and left channel refer to the right and left speaker). So if the power output is stated as 20 watts per channel, it is 20 watts per speaker.

Ohms: May sound conspicuously religious, but it's nothing more than the resistance put up by the equipment and is very important while mixing and matching the amplifier with the speakers.

PMPO: Finally, we expose a common myth propagated by smart marketing. PMPO (Peak Music Power Output) is the peak value of output and has no definitive bearing on the basic performance of your system. Most dealers strongly recommend that consumers ignore any given PMPO specifications and instead pay attention to the other variables mentioned earlier.

Before you part with cash
A basic system has four do or die components: an amplifier, a cassette player, a CD player and a pair of speakers. The permutations and combinations are endless, and you are at liberty to choose from a myriad of options. There are some basic tips and guidelines that need to be adhered to in the general spirit of the affair.

• When choosing your system, it's important to keep the natural acoustics of your home in mind, and most professional dealers will normally recommend an optimised combination.

• It's important to keep your music collection in mind while selecting a CD player and a cassette player; you can leave out either one if your collection is entirely cassette or CD oriented.

• The output value, or watt value, on your amplifier depends on your individual requirements. The concept is simple; pick an amplifier with a higher watt value for louder sound!

Customising the system
Speakers are, perhaps, the most important components next to the amplifier. A speaker has three basic sub-divisions, woofers (lower range or bass), mid-range, and tweeters (high range or treble).
Depending on the space available you can choose between two set-ups: the combined tower set-up or a split-level speaker. The second option has an omni-directional woofer that can even be placed under a sofa, with the mid- and high-range speakers placed later to optimise sound.
The smallest, and by no means the least important, components are the actual speaker and connection cables. The point of a souped up system that loses its edge because of inferior cables defeats the purpose of the exercise.
It is important to buy speakers and amplifiers with the same ohm value. For example, speakers with a four-ohm resistance will only play with an amp of a matching four-ohm resistance. When combining speakers and amps, amp should always have a slightly higher RMS value than the speakers should, as this 'opens out' the speakers and optimises their performance.

Where upgradation of your amplifier is concerned, it can be split into a dual pre-amp and power-amp configuration. One amplifier will act only as a control, while the other is a power source, which in turn reduces interference, thereby increasing the clarity of sound. The only major upgrade possible is the power amp system, so make sure that your amplifier has a 'pre-out' option round the back.

What it will cost you
Dealers have graded system set-ups into three categories - the lower and middle set-up and the higher-end set-up based on the pricing of components. While the prices of the components will fluctuate, we've compiled a general list of recommended brands by dealers to give you a rough idea of what the market is like. There are hundreds of other brands, which you can check out at leisure, but the price bracketing is more the focus.

• The lower end

• The middle range

• The higher end

Here is a popular combination of components as recommended by a major dealer in Bombay, La Kozy Electronics. A Yamaha AX492 amplifier, ALR Jordan Speakers (2M), Yamaha Stereo Integrated CD (CDX 393, Mark 2) and a Merantz Tape Deck to round off the equation. The costing: around Rs 80,000 for what the dealer calls a 'fairly mediocre system'.

There are a number of independent Indian brands in the market that cater to a very selective audience. Although in the case of amplifiers, we haven't quite reached international standards, speakers like Lithos, Telome and Pandam are up to mark and can save you around 50 to 60 per cent over the other foreign brands with around the same quality sound.

The cable connectors (technical term for wires), which may seem a rather trivial buy, can cost up to 10 per cent of your actual spending budget. Companies like Kimber Kable, Monster and Straight Wire are some of the recommended names and depending on the length of wire required, the price can come up to Rs 3,000, on the whole.
The pricing may be rather steep, but as most sellers and buyers corroborate, it's well worth the money. Unfortunately, the option of paying in installments is not open as of yet, but you can buy your system in parts compromising until you have the complete set. For example, you could buy just the amplifier at the first go, move on to the speakers and so on.

Now that it is yours..
Once you've carted your music system home, taking care of it is not as mammoth a task as you may imagine. However, there are a couple of do's and dont's.

• Don't place the set in direct sunlight.
• Don't stack the components.
• When not in use, do cover it to prevent dust accumulation.
• Dust the set, every once in a while (preferably once a day).
• Keep it away from open windows.
• It doesn't really matter where the system is placed, so long as your speakers are well connected and adjusted (trial, error and personal taste) according to the acoustics of the room.
• Make sure the speakers always back the wall for support and rest on a padded floor.
• There are a couple of guarantees that run from brand to brand, but more often than not these are very rarely followed up unless you're lucky to find highly motivated dealers.

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