Thursday, May 6, 2010

Audio Solutions New Website

Audio Solutions have launched the new and improved website. Navigation around our page is now a lot easier and has a heap of new features including a monthly newsletter with specials and product information.

Swing on over to www.audiosolutions.net.au and let us know what you think of the new look.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Choosing A Projecter

Choosing a projector can be a daunting experience and one that can easily become very confusing. The thing is, what was once an exclusive product available to only the wealthiest consumer has now become more and more accessible to everyone, with honestly amazing results. This post will hopefully make your purchase a little easier.

The first thing I would suggest is to buy your projector from a speciality store as opposed to the Internet or large chain store. Professional advise is priceless, as is follow up advice and support. Our consultants will take into account your circumstances and present you with the best possible solution.

Okay, so let's look at a few basics of projectors

Brightness
A very common mistake people make is judging a projector on its brightness alone. Yes it's an important factor but it's one of many and not as important as you may have thought.

The brightness of a projector is measured in ANSI Lumens (American National Standards Institute) Projectors come in a wide range of ANSI lumens.

Basically the darker the room that the projector is going to be in, the less lumens you will require. If for example, you have a dedicated cinema room with no windows or draw curtains then you can use a projector that has a lower lumens rating. If, on the other hand, you will have trouble blocking out external light, then you may need a higher lumens rating to be able to throw a quality picture despite external light.

The size of the room and the amount of people viewing the picture also determines how many lumens you will likely require. The bigger the image you require the further away the projector will be, hence it will need higher brightness levels to obtain a quality image.

Resolution
Resolution basically equals the number of pixels (picture elements) the projector will throw to your screen. More pixels= higher resolution= better picture. A high resolution will give you a sharper and crisper image with well defined edges.

Resolution is usually stated as two numbers e.g. 1920x1080. The first number 1920 refers to the number of pixels horizontally across and the second number 1080 is the number of pixels vertically from top to bottom. The term "native resolution" refers to a projectors total resolution e.g. 1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels total.

Again the resolution you will require all depends on your room and your needs.

Contrast Ratio
Contrast Ratio refers to the darkest and brightest areas of the image. High contrast ratios deliver whiter whites and blacker blacks. Your projector could have a great lumens rating, but if the contrast ratio is low, your image will look washed out. Contrast ratios of modern projectors can range from 3300:1 to 72,000:1 and even higher.

Once again, the contrast ratio you will require really depends on your situation.



To sum up, projector technology has come a long way and our team have years of hands on experience and have watched projectors evolve into what they are today.

There's no such thing as "one size fits all" when it comes to projectors. A projector that is perfect for one person will not necessarily be the right one for you. To get the best product, which doesn't always have to be the most costly, come and see us at Audio Solutions in Mascot to receive the service and advice that money just can't buy.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Some Nice Demo Discs For Your Next Audition

We all know when purchasing any new audio equipment you should always take along some music that you know inside out. These albums, though they lean toward my taste in music, are albums that really show the capabilities and the shortcomings of a system.

When auditioning a new system or piece of equipment I not only want to hear how good it is, but I want to hear what it leaves out and can't reproduce. It isn't uncommon for a speaker or amplifier to struggle to reproduce something that is on a certain disc.

A demo disc should also produce a wide range in frequencies and tones. This isn't always possible with one piece of music so bringing a variety of music will ensure your choice is one that suits your needs and tastes.

These albums do all of the above in some way or another for me because I know them back to front and I know how they are meant to sound. I'm always interested in other peoples demo discs and why they use them to audition certain pieces of epuipment. Please leave any of your suggestions on what you like to demo with and if we don't already have it here we will get it in.

Joni Mitchell - Blue


This is always a first choice for me when wanting female vocals and piano. Her voice has subtleties that will test a speakers reproduction of mid range and treble beautifully.








Air - Moon Safari


This is such a fantastic album all round. The production is stunning and will really sing on a good setup. With layers of rich sounds and some excellent female vocals, this is a definite winner.








Gorecki - Symphony of Sorrowful Songs



Whether or not you're a classical listener, you'll always benefit from becoming intimate with some form of it. This for me is an easy choice and one that has to be some of the most moving music I'm aware of. If your system isn't up to scratch, the first five or so minutes of Symphony No. 3 will prove it. It's incredibly complex and is so subtle that some systems will fail to show certain instruments all together.



Nick Drake - Pink Moon


This is a great choice when wanting acoustic instruments and mid range. It's a fantastic album with some beautifully recorded vocals that although subtle, will easily prove a systems worth.








Massive Attack - Mezzanine


Massive Attack's Mezzanine will instantly reveal the bass in your system and get those bass drivers moving. Be wary though, there's a big difference between bass that rumbles and bass that is properly reproduced. People are often impressed by bad bass reproduction because it's instantly gratifying. Living with it though is a different story, your ears will soon grow fatigued with bass that isn't neat and tight. This album also has some beautiful female vocals.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Media Centers


With more and more people after wireless and streaming audio solutions that meet their lifestyle needs, now's a better time than ever to look at some of the options available. Whether you're after a way of getting the music from your iPod or media stored on your personal computer to your existing system, or a complete solution from scratch, the range of products are increasing everyday.

Some of these products can seem daunting and overwhelming, but with the training wheels well and truly off, it's time to embrace a technology that seamlessly provides you with an endless amount of entertainment at one's fingertips.

You may already have a substantial library of music stored digitally on your computer or iPod and you want a way of streaming it into your exsisting home theatre or hi fi setup. Not only is this very easy, it needn't be as expensive as you may think. The Sonos products perform this task so well and would be my first preference when it comes to this example. Not only will the Sonos products bring your exsisting media to your ears but will also give you access to any song you want in an instant, which means if you don't already have a lot of your own digitally stored music you needn't worry as it's ready to be listened to instantly.

With included internet radio it also presents you with 25,000 radio stations from around the globe. This inevitably means you'll never be short of the new and exciting material that will satisfy every possible taste. Internet radio is such a fantastic medium that I often find myself tuning into some obscure jamaican radio station and listening in on something I'd never have had access to otherwise.

So to increase the accessibility of entertainment and get it into any area of your house, come in and see us at Audio Solutions for more advise on what these systems are capable of and how they will enhance your lifestlye needs.