Genius SW-HF5.1 5000 - Taking Care of Your Audio System
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Take Care of Your Audio System
In this section, let me introduce to you the concept of bass management or bass redirection. Although the audio system that we're reviewing right now, the Genius SW-HF5.1 5000, does not support internal bass redirection, this is a critical feature that must be covered, especially since dedicated sound cards support this feature.
First of all, what does bass redirection mean? In short, the subwoofer isn't able to automatically and internally "pick up" all bass frequencies; it only reproduces the ones coming directly from the woofer input. In laymen's terms, it does not send all of the bass frequency content to the woofer, and there is a specific leftover for the satellites too. This is noticeable only in 5.1 inputs, not with stereo input.
Of course, the easiest and most effective workaround is using a high-end sound-card that sports a "bass redirection" feature. If by any chance you don't have subwoofer output, then I'd advocate checking out the control panel of your sound card and hopefully you will be able to find there. If yes, tick it, and keep your fingers crossed!
Quality cutting-edge sound cards usually have both Bass Redirection and Crossover Frequency features. The latter generally depends on the Bass Redirection. With the help of Crossover Frequency, you can manually specify the frequency underneath the point where all frequencies are sent toward the subwoofer. It means that you can set a maximum to below where the low frequencies are redirected to the woofer.
Furthermore, if you increase this limit, your subwoofer should output a much deeper and powerful bass, while decreasing the limit means a lower amount of bass frequencies. Take your time to fine-tune this option, don't go very low or very high, and try to find the sweet point where your bass is not "colossal," but rather clear.
I can't stress it enough - the subwoofer should be very specifically configured. There's no point listening on insanely high volumes while it booms and shakes things in your room. That's by no means pleasant at all.
Furthermore, you need to understand that in 2.1, 5.1, and 7.1 systems, the internal amplifier isn't designed for "bass freaks." More often than not the distortion is caused by crazy settings on the amplifier. The source of distortions is not always the woofer. It's a general trend to claim that the speakers suck and rate them as inferior when the amplifier produces the distortions.
Moreover, if you ignore your common sense and continue stressing the amplifier, not paying attention to these distorted signals, don't be too surprised if either some of your speakers or the amplifier burns out! Trust me, this happens way too often. Yeah right, you can ask for an RMA, but you better be aware and act consciously, not like a crazy kiddie.
Last, but definitely not least, I strongly suggest using dedicated sound cards not only because they are more professional, sound way better, sport dozens of features, provide a much clearer signal, and improve your overall experience, but also because in some cases they can extend the lifespan of your tweeters.
Onboard sound chipsets tend to send a lot of parasite signals, which are extremely high frequencies and inaudible to human ears. If you are used to listening to your audio system on relatively high volume and on a frequent basis, due to the constant strain coming from these parasite signals, sometimes the tweeters simply burn out. This can happen even if the music you listen to is predominantly bass-genre and contains very few highs.
As for recommending sound cards, if you're an audiophile then I advocate M-Audio, if you're a gamer then Creative, because you're going to benefit from its hardware EAX (2.0) support. M-Audio is better for music and Creative improves gaming performance. If you use your system mostly as a home theatre, then both are satisfying. Both are exceptional manufacturers, but you can find other alternatives that are amazing.
Next: Final Thoughts >>
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