Beflawless cosmetics11/19/2023 ![]() "Get it wrong and even the very best high-end products will fail to shine. "Get this right and the system, whatever its calibre, has more chance of performing optimally," he says. It will help to future-proof your system.Īs our technical editor likes to remind people, a system's most important component is actually the room it's placed in. This isn’t a decision that needs to be made solely on space either – perhaps you would simply prefer fewer boxes! – but think carefully about which parts you are most likely going to upgrade down the line. While separate components are ultimately the way to go for outright sound quality and upgradeability, this bundled route needn’t affect the quality of your system. This could be buying a turntable with a built-in phono stage or a multi-talented system with, say, an amplifier and CD player combined or a streamer and amplifier combined or a pair of active speakers that integrates amplification into the speaker cabinets. If you don't have room for multiple components, you will need to consider if you can pool certain functions to reduce the number of boxes in your set-up. ![]() There’s more to building the perfect hi-fi system than simply buying components that retail at a similar price, of course, but budgeting properly ought to set you on the right path. If anything, the weighting might lean more heavily towards your source and amplifier than your speakers. All parts of a system – source, amplification and speakers – are equally important and the balance between them should be broadly even. Generally, it doesn't typically make sense to overspend in one area. After all, there's no point buying your dream amplifier only to match it with a budget turntable (the flaws of which it will emphasise) and a pair of speakers you found by your neighbour’s bin. Starting with a realistic budget will help you spread your money more evenly. It’s probably worth making a checklist of the features you want – such as a headphone output or Bluetooth if they're must-haves – and then prioritising the things you need most and those you can do without. ![]() If you play mostly records, however, you will need to think about whether you want the necessary phono stage part of vinyl playback built into your turntable or your stereo amplifier, or if you plan to buy one separately instead – a standalone phono stage will ensure greater versatility when upgrading in the future, and often better sound.Īnd if you have taken on the task of ripping your entire music collection, maybe it's time to retire that CD player and invest in a well-featured music streamer instead? It would perhaps be easiest to begin at the start of the chain – what will you be using as your source? If you play all your music from your smartphone or tablet but still want a traditional hi-fi system, you will want something (a standalone streamer or streaming amplifier) that supports Bluetooth and/or wi-fi – and if you're nodding your head at the latter, perhaps something compatible with AirPlay 2 or Google Cast too.
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