Intro:
Before you begin
Step 1:
Go to several stores
Step 2:
Take the time to listen
Step 3:
Ask questions
Step 4:
Check into warranties and return options
Step 5:
Examine different scenarios
Step 6:
Detect some obvious clues to better equipment

2torial #0577: Learn2 Buy a Stereo System (Continued) Detect some obvious clues to better equipment Receivers are tough to judge by looks alone. In general, they should feel heavier than you'd expect. They should have separate bass and treble controls, or an equalizer with at least 5 bands. When you look down through the vents on top, try to see if the heat sink (it looks like 'cooling fins') is of good, heavy gauge metal. If you can get a hold of a specifications sheet, see if it lists "continuous power into both "8 ohms" and "4 ohms". If it does, the figure for 4 ohms should be at least 25% greater than the figure for 8 ohms. Speakers should not be made by anyone who also makes receivers. They should be heavy, rather than light, and should sound solid, rather than empty when you rap them lightly with your knuckles. Look for rubber, rather than foam surrounding the speaker "woofers" and small domes, rather than cones, for the "tweeter". When you listen to them, make sure that the equipment they're hooked up to has the tone controls set to the neutral position. When listening, instruments and vocals should not "wander' around the sound field, but should be easily located. The sound should be natural, closer to a live performance than to a set of boxes in front of you. Finally, you should like the way they sound, don't take the salesperson's opinions at face value. Better CD players are solidly built. They don't make odd, strained noises when changing disks. When listening to them, see how well they avoid sounding overly "bright". You won't notice huge differences until you compare a very expensive unit with a less expensive one. Tape decks should have "soft touch" controls, rather than mechanical keys. "Dolby C" and "HXPro" are desirable features, as well as electronic counters, rather than rotating numerals. If you can get hold of a specifications sheet, check for a frequency response of as close to 20hz through 20khz +/- 3db as possible. Higher signal-to-noise ratios are better, and lower "wow" and "flutter" figures are desirable. Turntables should have heavy platters. Arm style (straight vs. curved), cartridge type (ceramic vs. magnetic), and drive type (direct vs. belt) each have their pros and cons. The best thing to do is opt for a higher-priced new model (just think of all the money you'll save buying records for 25 cents instead of CDs for 25 dollars!) or a quality used one. If you can land a turntable by Thorens, Linn, Oracle, or Rega (to name a few) at a garage sale, you'll be spinning your favorite tunes in style for sure.   -end- Learn More! or All steps at once (printable version)