To continue the story, naiuwi ko yung loudspeaker nung hapong iyon, ibinigay naman ni tita n g buong puso. Yung compo system sira na kaya ipinamigay na lang daw. Medyo mabigat ha, buti na lang may arkilado akong revo noon.
So what’s the connection?
Heto na nga, pagdating ng bahay (rented apartment) at medyo makapagpahinga (at tulog na ang mga kids), ininspeksyon ko yung 2 speaker, I’m crossing my fingers na sana buo pa kaya kinuha ko yung analog multitester ko, tsek ko muna baka shorted masira pa receiver ko. Kinuha ko yung reading sa speaker terminals, parehong ok yung reading! Teka, magandang senyales to a. Pinunasan ko yung baffle ng MC cleaner saka nilinis ko yung cover, aba parang bago na uli!
Then, kinuha ko yung receiver ko na nakakahon pa dahil itinago ko muna. Yamaha RX-V440 na nabili ko last Christmas pa (P15,000) as a gift to myself after receiving my 13th month pay na unfortunately ay hindi ko pa nagagamit talaga dahil no budget for speakers pa. Biruin mo, magla-lapse na yung warranty hindi ko pa nagagamit. Kahit madami-dami na rin akong na-audition at na-canvass na speakers e hindi pa rin ako makabili, dami kasing gastusin, I have to replace my computer’s video card, tuition pa ng kinder-1 ko ng panganay, and others pa. Baka sakalin na ko ni misis kapag bumili ako ng speakers at this point in time. Anyway fully tested naman iyong receiver ko for one week dahil ipinagamit ko muna sa friend ko na may HT setup at ok naman ang performance.
After carefully unpacking the receiver, ipinuwesto ko sya sa a/v rack ko then connected the analog out of my nextbase dvd player to the receivers analog input (wala pa akong digital connector). Stereo lang muna dahil ang aim ko naman ay malaman lang kung tumutunog yung speakers. Nung ikokonek ko na yung speaker saka ko naalala na wala nga pala akong speaker wires! Hagilap ako ngayon sa toolbox ko kaya lang wala na pala akong extra wires, kaya ginawa ko na lang ginamit ko muna yung extension wire na gamit for washing machine. (hehehe… lagot kay misis nito).
After some moments of tinkering with the connections and other stuff, it’s time to power things up so pinindot ko na yung power switche starting from the AVR (automatic voltage regulator), then dvd player, tv, and finally the receiver. All volume controls were at their minimum, then I played the acoustic collection pdisc. I gradually turn-up the volume of the dvd player up to 30% then gradual din yung pag turn ko sa volume ng receiver. Gwala! I have audio! Buo pa yung dalawang loudspeaker na by the way ay 3-way bookshelf with 3/4 inch dome tweeter, 3 inch mid driver and 8 inch woofer. Bass reflex yung encolsure na makapal judging from knocking the sides and by lifting the loudspeaker which weighs maybe around 5-8 kilos each, with dimensions of (WxHxD) 12 x 24 x 10 inches (typical na baffle dimension noon na wide and shallow, unlike ngayon na narrow but deep).
And guess what? The sound emanating from the speakers were clean and crisp, not too bright and with enough deep bass. I tried tinkering with the setup menu of the receivers (of which is plenty, typical of Yamaha) and set the main speakers to ‘LARGE’ and with subwoofer set to ‘OFF’ , while the center and surround channels were set to ‘SMALL’. In this way, bass handling will be directed to the two ‘Front’ speakers, which will result in more bass reproduction since I’m only using two speakers and I’m confident that they can handle bass decently kasi narinig ko na tumunog ito noon at maganda ang sound even at higher volume level. I tried positioning the speakers to get a better soundstage, hindi ko na pinakialaman yung DSP mode ng receiver kasi analog connection naman gamit ko, then played the “Whenever, Wherever, Whatever” and “I’ll Be” tracks on the cd. Sound reproduction was fine, male voices were not too thin, ngongo, nor too chesty and the bass was not boomy either. Sound was also clean, I can even hear yung pagkaskas dun sa gitara kapag lilipat ng key, natural din yung sound with minimal coloration (almost close as ‘live’ guitar playing, I know kasi naggigitara din ako). Maybe it helped na tahimik na yung environment at that time (past eleven na yata yun) kaya even in around 20% volume of the receiver e malakas na yung sound. Medyo inantok nga ako sa pakikinig kasi enveloping yung sound (bukod sa pagod na rin ako) saka nakapikit ako habang nakikinig. After some more listening to other tracks (rock, new wave, disco, nursery rhyme) medyo nagligpit lang ako ng konti, at natulog na ko.
I’m not saying na perfect yung set-up ko since I’ve only tested it palang sa music, but all in all, I can say na agad that I’ve found a nice complement to my receiver, of which ay naaalikabukan lang na speaker dati. Sometimes, talagang you’ll find treasure in garbage or in the most unlikely places. At minsan lang talaga, you just have to use your resourcefulness to achieve something. Siguro next project ko for my ht ay mag-design ako ng stand for my speakers, then ipagawa ko dun sa gawaan ng bintana para hindi masyadong mahal.
P.S.: Meron na ba tayong thread dito about DIY speaker project? As I’ve said, very limited kasi internet time ko dahil prepaid yung phone line sa bahay kaya mas madalas na nagre-rent na lang ako, or minsan konek ko yung phone line sa office, hati pa ang internet time sa computer, music, ht, and others.
Haaay life... so many things to do, so little time.