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Sound Advice: Try to match speakers' sonic signatures
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D-Link SharePort Go II
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Question: I have a set of old Advent stereo speakers. Would they be of use in my home theater system for front speakers? They were nice sounding for stereo audio, and the home theater system speakers look so puny. My AV surround receiver is a Denon AVR-1312, and the speakers that came with it are Boston Acoustics MCS160. Or would I be better off retiring the Advents to Craigslist?
DAVE COOK
Answer: Ideally, you should have speakers that are "timbre matched," meaning they have the same sonic signature. This is what you have with the MCS160 speaker setup. As you have noted, the speakers are very small and as a result the midrange will likely sound noticeably thinner than the Advents.
It is worth trying the Advents up front to see if you like them better. The difference will be most noticeable with music.
Place the Advents an equal distance from each side of the TV, so if the right speaker is two feet from the TV place the left speaker is two feet from the other side. Go to the receiver's audio setup menu and set the center speaker to the "None" or "Phantom" position. This will take the center channel information and mix it equally in the left and right speakers, creating a virtual center speaker that sounds as if it is coming from the center of the screen. This usually sounds better than using a mismatched center speaker. You can get away with different surround speakers a lot easier than a different center channel.
It seems you like your Advents are unlikely to fetch much on Craigslist. If you stay with the small home theater speakers, why not go to Craigslist and find a nice stereo receiver for $25 and use them in a music-only system somewhere else in your home?
CES Recap, continued: The D-Link SharePort Go II was one of the neatest products I saw at CES. Traveling tablet users will love the way it combines several essential functions into a small package that is about the size of an iPhone and weighs 8 ounces. It is simple, elegant and affordable at $119.99.
The SharePort Go II can turn a wired Internet connection into a secure Wi-Fi hot spot. My Las Vegas hotel offered free wired Internet but charged for Wi-Fi, so I immediately realized how useful that can be as the wired-only connection kept me from using my tablet for Web surfing or playing online games as I relaxed in bed. It also can take an existing Wi-Fi hot spot and expand it to connect all your mobile devices.
The SharePort Go II also has an SD Card slot that can be used to wirelessly stream content to your mobile device. A USB port allows you to add up to 250 GB of storage, and a built-in 4000 mAh battery not only powers the SharePort Go II, but can be used to recharge your devices.
So, in one compact package you get a device that creates Wi-Fi hot spots, wirelessly transfers media from SD cards, adds storage and can even recharge your iPad or other mobile device. After seeing it, I know I want one for my iPad.
The D-Link SharePort Go II will be available in April.
First Published March 3, 2013 12:00 am
