14 - Friday, December 29, 1989 - North Shore News

LirestyLesp 2 (8)

Compact disc
offers superior
sound quality

YOU PROBABLY already know
that the compact disc (CD for
short) is the latest system for
reproducing music in the home.

The CD offers real advantages
in terms of operating convenience,
ease of use and sound quality over
the century-old phonograph record
and the audio-cassette tape.

Because the compact disc is
“read”? by a laser beam of light,
there are no grooves to wear out or
get scratchy after a few plays.
And, because it uses a recording
system that encodes music in the
digital language of computers, the
CD is capable of higher fidelity
than the audio-cassette.

The CD is also easier to use with
its unique track selection features
that allow you to “reprogram"’ the
order of tracks ona disc. On some
players, there is even a random
selection button that offers a fresh
selection of tracks every time you
play a disc.
De

Because the compact disc
is ‘read’ by a laser beam
of light, there are no
grooves to wear out or get
scratchy after a few
plays. And, because it
uses a recording system
that encodes music in the
digital language of
computers, the CD is
capable of nigher fidelity.

With these advantages, it is no
wonder that today’s record stores
are filled with thousands of new
and old recordings on CD (in-
cluding many of your old
favorites, sounding, in many cases,
better than ever, and certainly
quieter without those irritating
ticks and pops).

Many people buying a compact
disc player for the first time get
confused by the wide selection
available, but ail you really need to
remember are a few basic rules-
of-thumb.

First, set your budget according
to how much you can afford and
how much performance you want
to buy. There are CD players for
under $300 and expensive, exotic
models that sell for thousands of
dollars.

Most of a CD's working com-
ponents are invisible, but there are
at least two ‘‘tires’’ you can kick
for yourself. The most obvious is
the sliding drawer that holds the
disc and will have to slide open
and shut many thousands of times
over the life of the player. The
drawer should operate smoothly
and quickly.

Another element of the CD
player is the mechanism for access-
ing particular tracks on a disc. Ac-
cess time to a ‘selected track varies
from player to player. As you

i

grow accustomed to using the
player, any more than a couple of
seconds will seem like an eternity.

Should you buy a single-play
machine or a multi-dise
**changer?”’ This decision depends
on how you intend to use the
player. if you are a “serious”
listener, then you probably won't
mind changing the disc at the end
of its play (and remember that a
CD has a playing time of up to 70
minutes). If, on the other hand,
you tend to play music for
background purposes mostly, then
you may find one of the multi-disc
players more convenient.

There are two basic systems: one
stacks the CDs in a plastic maga-
zine and retrieves each disc sepa-
rately. The other operates on the
carousel principle, and allows you
to change a disc while a disc is
playing.

Unless you are prepared to buy
enough of the plastic magazines to
hold your entire CD collection, the
magazine format can be a hassle to
fiddie with, while slipping discs
back and forth into the magazine
may cause permanent damage.

Digital technology can be in-
timidating to the layman and
complex concepts often used
are marketing hype — even though
most people do not know the
significance of 16-bit versus 18-bit
decoders cr whether eight-times
Over-sampling is better than four.

So, is there an advantage of 18-
or 20-bit players over 16-bit
models and should it matter to
you? The answer is yes and no.
The CD system itseif is stand-
ardized on 16-bit technology in
which a single sound of music is
“*sampled’’ over 40,000 times, and
each *‘sample’’ consists of a digital
‘“‘word"’ spelled with I6 ‘‘letters’’
or bits.

Unfortunately, not all CDs are
capable of decoding the full
amount of information available
on the disc, and actually drop a bit
or two, resulting in only 15- or
14-bit resolution which, in turn,
degrades the quality of sound.

The new 18 and 20-bit (and
conceivably even higher bit)
players do not actually reproduce
more than 16-bits (because that is
all the bits that are on the disc),
but they do serve to correct some
of the flaws of lesser players, and
use extra bits to assure full 16-bit
decoding.

The same principle holds true
for the various multiple rates of
over-sampling, and all are designed
to overcame inaccuracies in the
decoding process that presently
result in less chan full 16-bit
reproduction.

No matter what player you
choose, though, the sound you will
hear should be 2 dramatic im-
provement over your present
system. The advantages of the
compact disc are clearly audible,
and that superiority — plus its
convenience and ease of use
means that compact disc is
definitely here to stay.

@esos

HIGHEST OVERALL EFFICIENT
NON.-CATALYTIC WOODSTOVE
(72 3% EFFICIENCY)

*Certitied
tnstaller

Tay or ft

NEWS photo Mike Wakefleld

WINNER OF 2 $5,000 beautiful home contest draw was North Vancouver resident Nicolette MacCallum
(rignt). Representing the co-sponsors of the draw are (left) Color Your World’s Tony Murry and Bank of
Montreal manager Neil Scribner. The contest was a nation-wide promotion for home improvement. .

Time-saving tips will
help with home chores

COMPLETING HOME care
chores has become a management
art, as finding the necessary time
becomes more and more difficult.

The growing number of two-
income families and single-women
households is forcing homeowners
and renters to be more efficient in
the maintenance of their property
and furnishings.

The following labor- and time-
saving tips will help carpet owners
keep their carpet looking good
every day:

© Vacuum smart — Only 30 to
40 per cent of most carpeted areas
is actually used. This includes high
traffic areas — entries, doorways,
hallways, stairs, around furniture.
Concentrate on these areas,
vacuuming frequently.

Carpets thrive on regular
vacuuming. A good vacuum (with
brush and beater bar) removes
most of the soil trapped by carpet
fibres, preserving the beauty of the
carpel, and reducing the wear and
abrasion the soil can cause. It
takes three or four passes to

ot WHOLESALE”
SPA

POOL & SPA

“Your Hot Tub
Specialist”

bartle &
gibson co. Itd.

389 Mountain Hiahway
(2 blocks off Hain Street)

938-4141

‘
|
t
|
1
]
|
a
a
y t
CHEMICALS +
t
‘
|
‘
a
t
|
t
a
|
i]

remove the deep down soil, which
often is not visible.

* Use the other attachments and
vacuum furnishings, such as up-
holstered furniture, draperies and
windowsills, as you go from room
to room.

And break the work into
chunks. Monday, for example, is
an excellent time to vacuum the
first floor. This will remove the
soil tracked in by the increased
foot traffic over the weekend.

© Address accidents immediately
— Putting off cleaning a drink or
food spill or a pet accident
decreases the chance of removing it
permanently and will create more
work later on.

Blot a wet spill as soon as it oc-
curs with a dry, white towel;
scrape up as much of a solid spilt
as possible.

Cover the spills with a dry
cleaner (absorbent compound),
working it through the spill with a
brush. After the cleaner is dry,
vacuum it away. Dry cleaners con-
sist of millions of tiny sponges that

dissolve soil and spots before ab-
sorbing them,

If dry cleaner is not available,
completely absorb liquid spills with
a layer of paper towels, weighing
them down overnight.

Dry spots may require the use of
a spot remover to dissolve and
transfer the spot into an absorbent
white towel.

© Clean wisely As with
vacuuming, concentrate ‘‘chemi-
cal’’ cleaning efforts only on the
soiled areas where the carpet is ac-
tually used (walked on); regular
vacuuming should maintain the
remaining carpet throughout its
entire life.

ry

Dry cleaning is especiaily suited
for this cleaning approach, since
the cleaned areas can be blended in
with surrounding carpet.

Use of this method will not leave
water or ‘‘rust’’ marks, so it does
not have to be used wall-to-wall,
Furniture stays put, and carpet
may be used immediately after
cleaning.

Please curb your waste ...
Recycle this newspaper

in your blue bag.

THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER

*

SUNDAY + WEDNESDAY - FRI

DAY