Home Electronics, Part Two

In the previous column, we learned about the primary home electronics set-up: the television, video player, and peripherals. Here is Part Two of Urban Home Blog’s Guide to Home Electronics. This second part of the guide addresses sound system, portable electronics, organization and care. As with all guides at Urban Home Blog, this guide is a description of basic functions and a list of suggestions rather than a comprehensive checklist. Also as with all guides at Urban Home Blog, this list is based on my ongoing experience as a homekeeper and lifestyle author, and none of these is a compensated endorsement.

Home Electronics, Part Two
Sound System. Basic sound systems are comprised of a receiver and speakers. A receiver is the fundamental audio component. It works with a CD or tape player, portable music player or radio to receive aural information and communicate it to speakers for amplification. The television will be equipped with speakers and those will work fine if you choose. But most home entertainment systems contain a sound system not only for listening to radio and for playing recordings but for linking to the television and its peripherals. The receiver and speakers can be configured to work with the television and video player/s to deliver enhanced sound when those devices are in operation. To achieve this, one connects the components; for basic instructions regarding this, see Part One. In our urban homes, we use Onkyo receivers and CD carousels.

The basic speaker set up for home entertainment sounds systems is two bookcase speakers bracketing the viewing screen. If you want surround sound for your home theatre, that is typically a minimum of those two bookcase speakers, a center speaker typically placed above the screen, and two speakers typically placed on the opposite side of the room from the bookcase speakers. Many audiophiles swear by the newly available sound bars, which install below the television screen to deliver enhanced full spectrum sound. The sound bar has serious fans and may be the wave of the future, so it is included here, but in our urban home we use Bose 161 series speakers. Good speakers are priced reasonably enough that you can run them throughout the house or even onto balcony, porch, patio or garage. We have speakers installed in the kitchen, so that I can listen to recordings or radio while I cook, and thanks to the universal remote noted in the previous column, we can even listen to music in one room and watch tv in another.

I listen to a lot of radio, but as we live in urban areas, there can be atmospheric challenges to clarity of signal, so we augment the receiver with an antenna. Followers of my Twitter account may have noticed that my two favorite public radio stations are WFUV in New York City and KCSN in Northridge, California. As you budget your funds for your home entertainment set-up, please consider setting some funds aside to donate to your public radio station. In addition, the iHeart radio app downloads for free, and shelters a great selection of live radio streams for both your home computer and portable devices.

Portable Electronics. Many of us have smart phones and while I will admit that I resisted, I find that, especially given my travels, I do get a lot of use from my iPod, iPhone and iPad. Most homes have computers; such portable devices interact easily to computers to sync music and other information. Account-based online music options are plentiful. If you are using Apple products, then an iTunes account will be included with the purchase. Regular readers have let me know that they appreciate the Urban Home playlists on Spotify. If you are going to play recorded content on your computer, it will sound best through a decent pair of computer speakers. We use Logitech LS series computer speakers.

I write on my iPad, both at home and while traveling, so the Pages app was well worth the cost to me. With it, I can pen columns anywhere I have power for the ‘pad. The app is compatible with other programs so I can transmit the work to myself for editing and posting on any platform I need to use. For the iPad, I also use Brookstone’s Bluetooth keyboard with tech-grip case, which is easy to use once you get the hang of turning it on and then linking the iPad to the keyboard. I chose this keyboard case because, when I’m writing fast, it is easiest for me to use a keyboard, and while many such keyboards are miniaturized, this one has large keys configured the same as a standard keyboard. I also keep a stylus handy for making the quick notes that any writer and homekeeper is familiar with.

Finally, since I’m discussing travel, in my year of it I have to come to rely on the Coby 7 inch portable DVD player. This simple to use and inexpensive player helps me get through long flights when I am done with my writing but the plane still has further to go on the journey. Earphones are a necessity for all of these portable electronics. I keep stashes of Skullcandy ear buds in both homes and in my travel bags. For serious listening, I use Wesc Bass DJ headphones. As for the cords that accompany all of these gizmos, I recommend a Grid-It for travel and an Idapt universal charging station for the home.

Organization and Storage. Primary home entertainment systems are typically placed in the living room or den, with smaller set-ups placed in the bedroom, kitchen, basement or rec room, guest quarters, even bathroom (for professionals only). The two rooms where a television should not be placed are the home office or the dining room. Where to place the tv in a room is a question every designer of living spaces encounters. Many answer it by arranging a living space around the entertainment system, but outside of some constrictions such as available space and lighting, that is really only a goal in the instance of a dedicated home theatre room. It is preferred when feasible not to arrange a room around the television but to treat the television as an element of the room.

As possible, the only way that home electronics should be different from any other piece of furniture is to take sight- and sound lines into consideration. You want the television to present a good picture and good sound from any angle, taking into consideration seating and glare from windows or other light sources. In rooms where the television will not compete with wall treatments, especially art, consider placing the television on a wall. Most televisions available today can anchor onto sturdy walls using wall mounts specifically designed for the purpose. Wall mount is an ideal placement in the bedroom, again taking into consideration sight- and sound lines and lighting, and considering reflections in mirrors. Electronic components and non-wall mounted televisions necessitate a television- or media stand. These are widely available. Choose yours to be adequate to the amount of space for the components you have and may one day have and to agree with the style of your room.

Speaking of media furniture, all of that media has to go somewhere. This is a true home organization challenge. Most of us already know what our weakness is – DVDs, CDs, game cartridges, etc. – so that is the first question to ask yourself. Whatever the answer is, as with the components’ housing, the considerations are the amount of room you have, the collection you have to make room for, and room to grow. Some solve the storage dilemma by removing their DVDs and CDs from the factory casings and discarding those or storing them offsite while housing the media in storage envelopes organized in storage boxes. I have seen this succeed, but it is not how we organize media in our urban homes. As do many homekeepers, we dedicate a wall in a low traffic area to media storage. Those shelves are undressed, with titles arranged alphabetically. I have found that Ikea’s Billy series is an affordable and adaptable storage system. These sturdy, adjustable shelves are reasonably priced, knock together easily, and can easily be reconfigured as your collection grows.

Remember that a media collection is a household asset. Maintain a spreadsheet containing the basic information regarding your collection. At a minimum, for each title, include the title, format, date released and date purchased, cost paid and value (which may be different than cost, especially for rare or out-of-print titles, autographed or otherwise collectible pieces, etc.). It sounds schoolmarmish, but not only will this be regarded favorably by your insurance carrier, it will be invaluable when, just as inevitably as you acquire new media, you weed old media out.

Speaking of assets and record keeping, almost any electronic you purchase will come with a warranty. Overall, these are standardized to the equipment and will cover defects in workmanship and/or harm during shipping for a limited window of time. If you do get a lemon, you can and should return it during the warranty period. Whether you purchase your electronics in a showroom or online, it is almost certain that you will be offered the option to purchase an extended warranty. Obviously, this is a personal choice, and I neither recommend for or against it except in one instance: computer equipment. These items are still big ticket enough that, in our urban homes, we do feel that we want to be prepared against significant repair bills even as we expect that the equipment should be built and sold so that it works the way it's supposed to. Home electronics are packaged with the warranty information, and there is nothing wrong with asking to review it – on paper, if you prefer – on the showroom floor, or to click through to it if you are browsing online.

In addition to the warranty, electronics are packaged with set-up guides, usage guides, and registration cards. Take the time to register your electronics – you can usually do so online. This not only protects your purchase in the event that your electronic requires that you apply the warranty or request other services, it allows the manufacturer to push enhanced offers your way as your electronics age out, as they will. If you don’t want to receive those offers, you can unsubscribe to them. Scan all of the warranty paperwork and organize it in a dedicated folder on the hard drive of your computer, and store the paperwork and guides as a backup in an accordion file tabbed for each device. This practice is important and may even be required for your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.

Cleaning Electronics. As noted in Urban Home Blog’s Guides to Spring Cleaning and Cleaning Products, home electronics require care just as does anything else in your home. Use a soft untreated dusting cloth to dust media and media storage. To clean components, it is not recommended to use the cans of pressurized air that are widely marketed for the purpose. These often contain fluorocarbons, and they exit the nozzle with such force that they can damage the working parts of electronics. To clean electronic components as part of regular upkeep, first power the components down and unplug them. Fit the vacuum with the soft cleaning attachment and use that to gently clean the components. Do not use the vacuum on screen surfaces. Spray a microfiber cloth with a screen cleaning spray formulated for electronic screens and gently wipe the treated cloth across the surface of the screen. Clean your electronics on the same rotating schedule you use for other specialized systems in your home. We clean ours once a month.

Home electronics are a fact of our homes and a fact of our lives. Relaxing with a movie, playing music, listening to radio, playing games (which I didn’t cover in these guides because John and I are not gamers) are all a part of contemporary daily living. Most of us have one form of media or another going throughout the day, and that buzz becomes part of the comfort of the home. But as we appreciate the quality of living that the moving image and the broadcasted sound contribute to our homes, let us never neglect the original mass media: books. Don’t get so excited about your trip to the home electronics showroom that you that you neglect to patronize your local bookstore. Make it a practice to turn all of the gizmos off and crack the spines on some of those books.