Your MP3 player for the living room

Your MP3 player for the living room

Today, virtually everyone has an MP3 player or a mobile phone to listen to music. The problem lies in the fact that if you want to enjoy this music amongst friends over a meal one evening, the sound is not powerful enough. Therefore, speakers are a necessity if you want the people around you to enjoy the music. But how do you make a decision on which ones to go for? This guide will help you to understand the offers that are being released by the manufacturers at the moment.

The different options:

The simplest system

The basic system is just one or two speakers attached to a small amplifier that is connected to the MP3 player via the MP3 jack. There are some around for less than £5 but for this price you shouldn’t expect too much. The sound in general is quite poor, and the machine works on a “play, stop” button.
There are better quality models, which are inevitably more expensive. The prices can go up to around £50. This type of system is very basic and is intended for a younger user who is travelling a fair bit. This is a great option for listening to music at the back of the bus or over break time in the playground.

The Home Station

This is based on the same idea behind the previous system, but it has much more quality and it has a larger price tag to go with it. These are designed to be set up inside and they offer extra functions allowing you to convert an MP3 alarm clock into a fully functioning music center…
In contrast to the previous system we looked at, the connection is via a USB which allows you to charge the MP3 and to control it using a remote control. Also, there are music sound systems specifically catered for the Iphone and the Ipod where the connection is different to the traditional MP3’s. These sound systems are ideal for creating a bit of atmosphere at your place. They cost between £30 to £100.

PC Speakers

PC speakers can also be connected to MP3 players due to the jack connection. The big letdown for these speakers is that you have to keep the speakers close to a plug and that you have to change the track manually on the MP3 as there is no remote control.

Wireless Speakers

These are a new development and they allow you to send music to the speakers without any cable whatsoever from the MP3 or the mobile phone. It’s therefore possible to control the sound that is coming from another room. The price for these type of speakers goes from about £40 to £1,000.

Things to take into account:

Power

The power that we read on the technical files is given in Watts RMS (Mean Square Root), Musical Wattage, Watt Peak, and Watts peak to peak. These are the different ways of measuring the power of your sound system.

Watts RMS (Mean square root) is the power that an amp can provide continuosly at an unchanging pitch.  
Musical Wattage This is the average power that an amp can put onto a piece of music
Watts Peak This is the power that is instantly provided when a peak in the pitch of music changes
These measurements are, in general, based on averages which allow manufacturers to make misleading comparisons. When you buy your system, ensure that the power in watts listed on the box is in fact the Mean Square Root Wattage and not given in watt peaks. 

Frequency

The frequency measures the high-sounding output from the loudspeaker for each frequency.  The technical files release a fork of frequency of which the sound is at least half of the power.

Connection between the signal/sound

It measures the noise that comes through the amplifier. It is measured in db and it calculates the difference between the noise and the music and therefore has to be increased. A 100 dB connection is excellent.

THD

It measures the distortion introduced by the amplifier and it is calculated in percentage. A low percentage indicates a good amount of distortion. Check the THD level when the amp has full power. A good quality amp should have a THD interchanging between 0.1% to 10%. 

Compatibility of Connection

Check that the connection is compatible with your MP3 player. Go for speakers that can connect via Bluetooth and / or USB in order to get a better synchronization and to control your music better. Pay attention, in the event of a USB connection, ensure that the speakers will be able to read all the different audio files formats.

Remote Control

Test all the different functions of the remote control which is delivered with the sound system, as some manufacturers offer remote controls that can only control the sound level.