Queries in 'Ask the gurus' section

[rocksterraghu]

With my little experience of over 6 months at Team-BHP, most of which is in the ICE section, I have noticed that queries generally miss out certain details which prove to be vital for the gurus to answer the question(s). This eventually, compels the gurus to ask a few questions in turn, delaying the entire process.

I had a small discussion with Navin over PM and I've come up with a draft of how people could post their queries in the 'Ask the gurus' section.

For Novices: (Seeking advice on a new setup/ upgrading their current setup):

1. Your Car: _______________

2. Your current setup (If any): ________________

3. Your Budget: ______________

4. Do you drive most of the time or is it chauffer driven? __________________

5. Your Music preferences (Genres, favorite artists, etc.): ___________________

Additional Information:

6. Are you ready to sacrifice your boot space/modify door panels? : _________________


For people having trouble with their system:

1. Your car: _______________

2. Your current setup (Please mention details with model numbers if possible): _______________

3. Description of the problem: _______________


I would like the others to offer suggestions/comments liberally. Thanks!

[Sam Kapasi]

I really appreciate the effort Raghu. This would make things more uniform in our eccentric and wayward ICE section.

But personally I abhor monotony. And the various ways and methods that people ask ICE questions keep me smiling and interested. I suppose this would serve as a handy guide for newbies with questions. Well done.

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I really appreciate the effort Raghu. This would make things more uniform in our eccentric and wayward ICE section.

But personally I abhor monotony. And the various ways and methods that people ask ICE questions keep me smiling and interested. I suppose this would serve as a handy guide for newbies with questions. Well done.

Thanks Sam bhai! I understand what you say.

It was just a thought. I think we need to keep this section as entertaining as it has always been. No compromise on that!

[navin]

Sam it is handy. It also serves as a ready reckoner to those who might forget a thing or two.

[rocksterraghu]

I came across an article and found it to be interesting. This may help our members audition ICE equipment better. I've put it here, since it would not be termed hijacking.

While auditioning a setup,

1. Expectations: If you expect it to sound good, it is likely to sound good. Vice versa, if you expect it to sound bad, it is likely to sound bad. Try to keep an open mind. Better yet, try to compare speakers without knowing which brands you are listening to. In this sense, the less you know about the speaker you're listening to, the better.

2. Second Speaker Sounds Best: In a comparison of two items, people tend to prefer the second item. This is one of the bases of the Pepsi challenge --- present the Pepsi second. This effect is sometimes used by dealers to favor a specific speaker.

3. The Louder Speaker Sounds Best: In a comparison of two speakers, people to to prefer the louder one. Of course, this is not true if the loudness difference is large. However, small differences in loudness are not perceived as differences in loudness - rather the louder speaker is perceived as better. This effect is sometimes used by dealers to favor a specific speaker. This effect can be minimized by demoing speakers at a variety of different volumes - fiddle with the volume control!

4. The Speaker with more Bass and Treble Sounds Better: In a comparison of two speakers, people tend to prefer the one with more bass and treble. Again, like loudness, slight differences are not perceived as due to frequency response differences - the increase in bass and treble is perceived as better. While increased bass and treble sound better in the short run, it can become extremely fatiguing in the long term. Many speaker manufacturers build a slight contour into their speakers to help them perform well in short casual demos, but the purchaser drawn in by this technique often lives to regret their decision. This effect is also sometimes used by dealers to favor a specific speaker. Playing with the bass and treble controls, and varying the volume (perceived frequency balance changes with volume), can help overcome this effect. If you find that, for some reason, you actually prefer increased bass and treble, most receivers have a loudness switch, and bass and treble controls, which accomplish the same thing. However, if the bass and treble boosts are built into the speakers, it is nearly impossible to cancel them exactly using bass and treble controls if you later find them tiresome.

5. Room placement. The sound of a speaker is greatly influenced by its location in the room, and its interactions with a room's acoustics. The sound is also influenced by listener position and listener height. For example, most speakers sound best if the tweeter is at the same height as the listener's ears, or slightly lower.

6. Mood. In particular, it is very hard to judge when nervous or under pressure.

7. Other factors. Color, size, styling, lighting, etc. can affect your judgements. I have even heard of dealers using small surround sound speakers - used properly, listeners will not perceive the additional separate speakers, but will instead perceive the main speakers as better.

[rocksterraghu]

Contd:

When auditioning speakers, its vital that you be familiar with the music. In other words, TAKE YOUR OWN MUSIC. If you allow the dealer to choose the audition music, they may choose music which flatters the speakers in question. At the very least, if the dealer uses unfamiliar discs, you will have no idea what the music should sound like, and thus you will have no way to distinguish the sound quality of the disc from the sound quality of the speakers.

[montyguru]

Originally Posted by rocksterraghu

With my little experience of over 6 months at Team-BHP, most of which is in the ICE section, I have noticed that queries generally

I would like the others to offer suggestions/comments liberally. Thanks!

Originally Posted by navin

Sam it is handy. It also serves as a ready reckoner to those who might forget a thing or two.

this looks great raghu. i think we should have a "must for ICE newbies" section, where they go through basic stuff and only then post their queries.

also, searching through the forum is pretty difficult. there's a wealth of information here, but if one has to search and locate a thread... it's pretty painful. a few searching tips for guys like me would help.

[snaronikar]

Raghu,
My suggestion: Also specity if somebody wants to sell their ICE setups what all the parameters should be put in. It will help lot of people.

[navin]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Raghu,
My suggestion: Also specity if somebody wants to sell their ICE setups what all the parameters should be put in. It will help lot of people.

Buying and selling belong in Market place.