Matthew Polk's Surround Bar 360

Matthew Polk's Surround Bar 360

You'd think I would have learned to trust Matthew Polk by now, but I attended an NYC demonstration for his new SurroundBar 360 with relatively low expectations. That's because there's a current vogue for low profile, multichannel "bars" that give flatscreen monitor viewers a low profile, single-mount solution to the "problem" of all those extra speakers a multichannel A/V system requires.

Speaker Buzz/ White Noise

I am relatively new to this Hi-Fi thing, and just switched over from my old receiver to a pre-amp/power amp set-up and I noticed that once I power up the power amp, regardless of the pre-amp's volume (so long as it is on) there is a faint buzzing or white noise being pushed through the speakers. Is this commonplace for pre/power amp setups, or have I done something wrong here, and how can i minimize this noise? Thanks!

What? specifications don't matter anymore? All high end equipment cheap, because specs don't matter!

Last week, while reminiscing over a pair of old ESS speakers I have, I decided to re-enter the audiophile world with a new vigor. To make a long story short and to the point, I started with my sources. I decided on a particular model (unnamed) of turntable and narrowed my choices of CD players to three. I purchased my turntable based on many reviews and SPECIFICATIONS from many websites and felt very comfortable with my selection.

Party in the Backyard

I just upgraded my backyard/patio system. I had an old pair of Bose bookshelf speakers that I replaced with some new Infinity P162's. What a pleasant surprise for $200 (delivered to my front door from Amazon). I will admit that the Bose actually sounded better outdoors than they ever did inside but the Infinity's are definitely a step up. The bass and midrange are outstanding. The treble sounds a wee bit grainy at times but I am probably exposing the weaknesses of my sources. Now I need to purchase or bulid some cheap stands. Any suggestions?

Peace,

Brian

Warped Subplatter?

OK, I replaced the platter on my Rega 2 without any problems. One of the reasons I replaced it, though, is because it appeared that the MDF platter was warped. It now appears that it is, instead, the subplatter that is very slightly warped. You can tell something is warped if you look closely when the platter is spinning, and the tonearm bobs slightly whenever any record is playing (like they are all warped).

So, two questions:

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