Inside HiFiSound: A Visit to One of the UK’s Most Unique Hi-Fi Shops

FutureShop has been a reference dealer for Van Den Hul cables since 2007. On the day of this visit, the HiFiSound demo room was running a full complement of Naim electronics with Van Den Hul 'The Air' interconnects and a Chord PowerHAUS S6 power distribution block driving Quad ESL 2912X electrostatic speakers.

HiFiSound is a shop that's as far removed from being a shop as it can be without still operating as a shop. But you can enter (via a custom-built elevator), mooch around, and purchase things – so it's still a shop, albeit a very funky one. In fact, even if you do part with cash, you still may not feel like you've been anywhere near a shop.

It's confusing, but then it is in Stockton-on-Tees, a town that can't decide whether it's in County Durham or North Yorkshire.

Simon (that's him, on the right) and wife, Jane, invited us into what felt like their family-run boutique hotel – a fair assumption since it overlooks a tranquil stretch of the River Tees from an ex-spice mill.

It's less shop, more experience.

Why Are We Here?

It's enviable (us being an online retailer) to visit a store as remarkable as HIFISOUND. It's no ordinary establishment. The reception itself is a place of fascinating antiquities – almost a sanctum to all things musical. Artefacts of last century's golden era of audio machinery decorate the walls and shelves, books on heavyweight topics, saucy hi-fi periodicals and hordes of vinyl rarities are ranked within arm's reach.

Apart from Future Shop having a few things in common with our Northern friends – exciting ways of enhancing audio, great customer service, eccentric staff – HiFiSound are home to Decent Audio, our distributor for Van Den Hul cables. We were here to talk shop.

Van Den Hul is a brand that goes way back, with a loyal customer base, steadfast in their taste for the smooth VDH sound. Many who contact us for a VDH cable already have a loom of VDH lacing their electronics together and rarely stray from the cult of Van Den Hul.

It's our relationship with Simon and Decent Audio that lets us satiate the South's Van Den Hul devotees, and building on that relationship helps keep us on top of things.

2NDHANDHIFI

Like an eccentric aunt hiding in the attic, another business resides in the premises. HiFiSound accept part exchange, which conveniently channels into their other project – the unambiguously named '2NDHANDHIFi'.

The in-house service team are well-equipped to restore and recycle vintage electronics, too good to gather dust in the attic with Aunty Bertha. Some of the pieces on display, like the old radios and decks, might just be eye candy, but a personal favourite was the Casio KX-10:

If rolling Electro tapes and dialling into pirate radio wasn't hardcore enough, this 80s boom-box let you make your own kind of music. It probably sounded like Donkey Kong Junior, but the 80s were all into kitsch, and it does look cool.

The Turntable Museum

This leads us into Simon's next project: The Turntable Museum. It's a work-in-progress, but it already feels like a journey through record player history:

These pictures aren't the half of it. There were already dozens of exhibits, and Simon appeared to know all their names like a parent knows their offspring; their year of birth noted on a Post-It. Can you identify any of the above? Beneath the decks were thousands more discs unlikely to ever touch a stylus. The realisation hit home that even if Simon were Gilgamesh, he would never live long enough to play all the records he's bought.

Modelled by the lovely Adam, above, we have a vintage Ortofon MC30 cartridge and, more importantly, its carry case. If you're wondering why one would need an attaché case to carry a record needle, it's worth mentioning that it holds around five LPs, including a test disc and other cartridge-related paraphernalia.

The Demo Room

In the Demo room on the day, were a towering pair of Quad ESL 2912X electrostatic speakers connected to a full complement of Naim electronics with Van den Hul 'The Air' cables. Power came via a Chord PowerHAUS S6 – a personal favourite.

If you are unfamiliar with the sound of electrostatic speakers, this setup has that 'airy' soundstaging with smooth treble and polite bass (enhanced by VDH cables). Streaming The Cinematic Orchestra's Caged Bird made the cosy room by the Tees feel like an arena in Wembley. It's a setup for specific tastes – those who prefer a warm group hug over an intimate kiss on the lips.

Homeward Bound

During a generous lunch, a chat and a rifling through more of Simon's vinyl collection, I spotted a record seen somewhere before in the Turntable Museum. I asked him, 'Have you bought many records you've already bought before?'

'More than likely,' he sighed. His wife, Jane, rolled her eyes and sighed in quite a different tone. Looking back at Simon's coy grin, it was clear this was a hobby from which he would never be unhorsed.

'Do you need a lift to the station?'

Before accepting Simon's kind offer for a ride to our soon-to-depart train home, we carelessly asked how a newly purchased vintage turntable would reach its new owner intact when the original packaging had long since perished. He hastened to demonstrate, with the clock anxiously ticking. 2NDHANDHIFI has more packing material than Santa Claus and meticulous puzzle-solving skills. It took time and care; the turntable was dispatched promptly, and we made our train with seconds to spare.

Interested in Van Den Hul cables? FutureShop stocks the full Van Den Hul range, including Van Den Hul 'The Air' as heard in the HiFiSound demo room. All cables are backed by our 60-day money-back guarantee. Not sure which VDH cable is right for your system? Get in touch with our team — as a Van Den Hul reference dealer since 2007, we're happy to help.