Source Components
This section details the different source components that can be
connected to a stereo receiver, highlighting some of the pros and cons
of each. Some of these components are designed to adjust the sound
coming from other components, while some of the other components are
sound sources themselves. Stop in and see our selections in our Manitowoc Showroom.
People have been enjoying high quality audio from home stereo systems for decades. Besides great sound, one of the excellent features of these systems is that various components can be connected to them, allowing listeners to stay present with the new developments in audio technology. This is important because there have been so many of these types of developments over the years. From records, to cassettes, to CDs, music formats have evolved a great deal since the 1950s. Many listeners have music collections that are spread across all of these formats and by connecting different source components to their home stereos, they can listen to all of these formats in one place. Furthermore, other components can be connected to a home stereo system that allow listeners to tweak the sounds that come from their speakers. Here we will detail some of the source component options that are available to listeners, covering the benefits and drawbacks of each so that readers can decide which source components best suit their home stereo systems.
Cassette Tape Decks Tape cassettes represent older audio technology that was always valued for delivering music on a small format, rather than for the quality of the audio. Even while tape cassettes enjoyed popularity, there were higher fidelity audio formats around. Nevertheless, tape cassettes had a significant run of popularity, making music both portable and easily transferable. Because many people still own tape cassettes, a cassette tape deck is a good source component to connect to a stereo receiver.
There are single cassette decks and dual cassette decks still available. The former only holds one cassette, but this is suitable for playback and recording from other audio source components. The latter holds two tape cassettes, which is ideal for those who want to record from one cassette to another.
CD Players and Recorders Compact discs (CDs) were the next audio format generation to come after tape cassettes. This format brought digital audio to home listeners, representing an upgrade in sound clarity from the analog formats that came before. Digital recordings have less background noise, thereby delivering purer music to listeners. CDs also gave listeners the ability skip directly from one song to the beginning of another, and to move forward and backward within a song more quickly and accurately than they could with analog formats such as tape cassettes. CDs cannot hold quite as much music as tape cassettes can, but the other features seem to outweigh that drawback for many listeners.
Although newer digital formats have been introduced since the advent of CDs, many people still own and store music on CDs, making a CD player a good audio source component to connect to a stereo receiver. Not only are these designed as single CD players, but also as CD changers that can hold multiple CDs at one time. Many stereo receivers allow users to switch between discs, enabling the storage of multiple hours of music on a stereo system. Some CD players can also play the MP3 sound files that have been recorded to compatible CDs. MP3 are compressed versions of the larger digital music files that CDs typically use, allowing for the storage of more hours of music onto a CD. There are also CD recorders that make it possible to record music from other audio source components onto a blank CD.
Equalizers An equalizer is another feature that is built into many newer stereo receivers. This device allows listeners to adjust the sound frequencies of a piece of music, raising and lowering high, middle, and low frequencies to give a piece of music the tone a listener desires. It is possible to acquire a separate equalizer component if a stereo receiver does not already have one built into it, giving listeners the ability to adjust tone before the sound is amplified and sent to the speakers.
MiniDisc Decks MiniDiscs are miniature CDs that are housed inside of a plastic cartridge. They hit the market around the same time as CDs did, but never became very popular outside of Japan. They can hold the same amount of music as CDs can, and like CDs, the music that they contain is digital. One of the great features of MiniDiscs is that they can come with an anti-skip feature. This keeps the MiniDisc player’s laser reader in line with the disc for uninterrupted play in all but the most extreme cases of disruption. CD players tend to skip more easily, with a small bump capable of briefly disrupting playback. Furthermore, the MiniDisc cartridge helps to protect the disc from scratches, which can be a problem with CDs, sometimes making them unplayable.
Those that own MiniDiscs will be able to play them on their home stereo systems via a MiniDisc player that connects to the stereo receiver. Some MiniDisc players also have recording capability.
Radio Tuners Almost every newer stereo receiver comes with a radio tuner, and even most older receivers do as well. Only listeners who are assembling vintage home stereo systems will need a separate radio tuner. The good news is that these audio source components are readily available, and some can be very high-end pieces of equipment, delivering a very clear signal.
Record Players/Home Turntables Many listeners may consider the vinyl record a vintage audio format, but it is certainly a classic format. Moreover, it remains a preferred format for many audiophiles. Records create a warm sound that many listeners adore, with older records falling under the category of memorabilia. As such, many people have retained and built upon their record collections over the years. The good news for record fans is that the format can easily be played on a modern home stereo system, allowing listeners to tweak sounds the way that they want to through equalizers and preamps, while retaining the warm sound for which records are famous.
Those who want to listen to records on home stereo systems simply need to connect a record player or a home turntable to a stereo receiver. For anyone with a record collection, this is a must-have audio source component.
There are many more types and styles of source devices, way more than we can cover here, this is just a sampling of the most common.Stop in to our Manitowoc Showroom today.
People have been enjoying high quality audio from home stereo systems for decades. Besides great sound, one of the excellent features of these systems is that various components can be connected to them, allowing listeners to stay present with the new developments in audio technology. This is important because there have been so many of these types of developments over the years. From records, to cassettes, to CDs, music formats have evolved a great deal since the 1950s. Many listeners have music collections that are spread across all of these formats and by connecting different source components to their home stereos, they can listen to all of these formats in one place. Furthermore, other components can be connected to a home stereo system that allow listeners to tweak the sounds that come from their speakers. Here we will detail some of the source component options that are available to listeners, covering the benefits and drawbacks of each so that readers can decide which source components best suit their home stereo systems.
Cassette Tape Decks Tape cassettes represent older audio technology that was always valued for delivering music on a small format, rather than for the quality of the audio. Even while tape cassettes enjoyed popularity, there were higher fidelity audio formats around. Nevertheless, tape cassettes had a significant run of popularity, making music both portable and easily transferable. Because many people still own tape cassettes, a cassette tape deck is a good source component to connect to a stereo receiver.
There are single cassette decks and dual cassette decks still available. The former only holds one cassette, but this is suitable for playback and recording from other audio source components. The latter holds two tape cassettes, which is ideal for those who want to record from one cassette to another.
CD Players and Recorders Compact discs (CDs) were the next audio format generation to come after tape cassettes. This format brought digital audio to home listeners, representing an upgrade in sound clarity from the analog formats that came before. Digital recordings have less background noise, thereby delivering purer music to listeners. CDs also gave listeners the ability skip directly from one song to the beginning of another, and to move forward and backward within a song more quickly and accurately than they could with analog formats such as tape cassettes. CDs cannot hold quite as much music as tape cassettes can, but the other features seem to outweigh that drawback for many listeners.
Although newer digital formats have been introduced since the advent of CDs, many people still own and store music on CDs, making a CD player a good audio source component to connect to a stereo receiver. Not only are these designed as single CD players, but also as CD changers that can hold multiple CDs at one time. Many stereo receivers allow users to switch between discs, enabling the storage of multiple hours of music on a stereo system. Some CD players can also play the MP3 sound files that have been recorded to compatible CDs. MP3 are compressed versions of the larger digital music files that CDs typically use, allowing for the storage of more hours of music onto a CD. There are also CD recorders that make it possible to record music from other audio source components onto a blank CD.
Equalizers An equalizer is another feature that is built into many newer stereo receivers. This device allows listeners to adjust the sound frequencies of a piece of music, raising and lowering high, middle, and low frequencies to give a piece of music the tone a listener desires. It is possible to acquire a separate equalizer component if a stereo receiver does not already have one built into it, giving listeners the ability to adjust tone before the sound is amplified and sent to the speakers.
MiniDisc Decks MiniDiscs are miniature CDs that are housed inside of a plastic cartridge. They hit the market around the same time as CDs did, but never became very popular outside of Japan. They can hold the same amount of music as CDs can, and like CDs, the music that they contain is digital. One of the great features of MiniDiscs is that they can come with an anti-skip feature. This keeps the MiniDisc player’s laser reader in line with the disc for uninterrupted play in all but the most extreme cases of disruption. CD players tend to skip more easily, with a small bump capable of briefly disrupting playback. Furthermore, the MiniDisc cartridge helps to protect the disc from scratches, which can be a problem with CDs, sometimes making them unplayable.
Those that own MiniDiscs will be able to play them on their home stereo systems via a MiniDisc player that connects to the stereo receiver. Some MiniDisc players also have recording capability.
Radio Tuners Almost every newer stereo receiver comes with a radio tuner, and even most older receivers do as well. Only listeners who are assembling vintage home stereo systems will need a separate radio tuner. The good news is that these audio source components are readily available, and some can be very high-end pieces of equipment, delivering a very clear signal.
Record Players/Home Turntables Many listeners may consider the vinyl record a vintage audio format, but it is certainly a classic format. Moreover, it remains a preferred format for many audiophiles. Records create a warm sound that many listeners adore, with older records falling under the category of memorabilia. As such, many people have retained and built upon their record collections over the years. The good news for record fans is that the format can easily be played on a modern home stereo system, allowing listeners to tweak sounds the way that they want to through equalizers and preamps, while retaining the warm sound for which records are famous.
Those who want to listen to records on home stereo systems simply need to connect a record player or a home turntable to a stereo receiver. For anyone with a record collection, this is a must-have audio source component.
There are many more types and styles of source devices, way more than we can cover here, this is just a sampling of the most common.Stop in to our Manitowoc Showroom today.