General Hi-Fi Questions
28 questions · Updated regularly by our specialist team
There can be lots of areas to make potential improvements to your system, however, this changes greatly depending on where you are with your system. If you were starting from a new Hi-Fi system which was just set up, then we would recommend looking at the power delivery first. This includes Power conditioning, distribution, cables and fuses. If you have already good quality power upgrades, then we would recommend looking at the signal chain for any potential improvements to cabling, isolation and acoustics.
If you would like some tailored recommendations for you system, then please contact one of our consultants and we would be happy to help you!
A well known saying in the industry is that your system is only as good as your source. There are of course debates around this, however, the more detailed your source material, the more likely you are to hear the most out of your Hi-Fi system. So there is no harm in having a higher quality streamer, or in some cases, a turntable, or a CD transport, as this can allow you to hear more of your system. There are also always options to upgrade other parts of your system one-by-one to match the streamer.
There are lots of components and tweaks that can offer a lift in performance, however, our current favourite is the UK 13A mains fuse from your wall socket to your distribution block or amplifier. This is an often overlooked component in most systems but the improvements far outweigh it's size and cost.
Diminishing returns are often used to explain the decrease in percentage performance gain of upgrades for Hi-fi systems. The difficulty with this is that the diminishing point changes depending on the system in question. A system worth less than £1000 will have a much lower diminishing returns point than a system worth £100,000. There is also an aspect of worth to the listener that can affect the point of diminishing returns, as one listener may hear more benefit from a component upgrade than another. All in all, this is a personal subjective measurement based upon your own system and circumstances.
Short answer, yes! There are a wide variety of cables available across different connections and quality levels, all of which can offer a benefit to different systems. This does not, however, imply that every cable will offer an improvement on every system. Finding the right cable requires looking at the components in your system, their sound signature, your room acoustics, the type of music you listen to, and matching this to a cable's materials and geometry. This process can be difficult, which is why we offer free expert advice paired with a 60 days cable money back guarantee.
All cables matter, and your system will require good quality cables for all of it's connections, however, if you were looking for the cable which will make the biggest difference, then we would recommend looking at the power cables from your wall socket, to your distribution block and/or amplifier. More often than not, we hear from customers, manufacturers, and our own tests that higher quality power cables can have a significant impact of the quality of your system.
Historically, there was a 80/20 rule in the industry which denoted spending 80% on your system, and 20% on the "accessories". Over the last 20 years, we have found there are so many more opportunities for improvement in the "accessories" side of Hi-Fi compared to the component side which led us to believe the 80/20 rule no longer works. This is not to say that you should spend 2 or 3 times as much, however, there are benefits to not restricting your spend based upon 20% of your systems worth. We have heard many systems where the cabling, isolation, acoustics and tweaks have been worth equal amounts to the system and the performance is greater than that of spending twice as much on the components. So our recommendation is not to limit your spend based on your system, but to find the right products for your needs.
There is no be all, end all with the conductors used in cabling, as each construction offers slightly different benefits. Some systems sound better with pure copper conductors, where as other systems benefit from some silver plating. In most cases, you will find that Copper offers a more neutral sound, Silver offers a more detailed sound, and hybrid offers more open sound. However, this is not always the case as the conductor is only one part of the cables construction, so please speak to our consultants for further recommendations and advice.
If you have a system which accepts both XLRs and RCAs, we would typically recommend using the XLR connections, as they offer a lower noise floor. However, if you system is pre-dominantly RCAs, then we would recommend sticking with RCAs throughout your system, rather than mixing and matching.
This depends on the components being powered and the levels of noise within your local mains connections. There is equipment available to measure the noise in your mains, however, one of the easiest ways is to try a power conditioner for your source components and hear if there is any difference during your listening. If there is minimal to no difference, then a good quality power block may be your best option.
For most systems, a conditioner will be more than enough to help filter out any excess noise with your mains. However, if you live near industrial sites, factories, train stations, or any other facilities that draw considerable amounts of power from the grid, then you may need to look at a power regenerator. In these instances, the regenerator will help to reconstruct your mains as close to 240v/50Hz with no noise as possible. If you are not in this situation, then the benefits of the regenerator may not be as noticeable.
Most power across the country operates on a mains grid which is shared across multiple residential and commercial buildings. As more people utilise the power, more noise is introduced to the grid. This noise can have an audible effect on Hi-Fi systems due to their sensitive nature. At night, when considerably less people are using mains power, there is also less noise across the grid which means your system can have a lower overall noise floor.
We have tried and tested various different fuses from multiple 3rd party manufacturers, as well as the standard off the shelf fuses, and we believe that audiophile fuses do offer improvements while maintaining safety standards. Like any fuse, audiophile fuses will still blow above their rated amperage to protect your power connections & equipment. We understand that it seems counter-intuitive for a fuse to make improvements, however, we, along with many other audiophiles, have found that there are improvements to be found when swapping out an off the shelf fuse for an audiophile fuse. We highly recommend trialing an audiophile fuse in your system to hear the difference yourself.
Most forms of Isolation aim to reduce the amount of external (and internal) vibration affects your system, whether thats your speakers, turntable, amplifier etc. These vibrations may not seem noticeable to you, however, Hi-Fi equipment can be extremely sensitive and even micro-vibrations can introduce noise to your music. Two great examples are for Speakers and Turntables. If a speaker receives excess vibrations from an external source, this can affect the movement of the drivers and directly affect what you can hear. Similarly with Turntables, any excess vibrations can affect the movement of the cartridge which ultimately means a change in the musical information. All of these situations mean you won't be able to hear your system and your music as it was intended. Even some simple isolation for your most sensitive equipment can go a long way to improving your listening sessions, and the more isolation you introduce, the lower your overall noise floor can be.
There has been lots of research in to the effects of burn-in on everything from cables, to speakers, to amplifiers and even turntable cartridges. Where components and equipment have come out of their factories, there are impurities, high electrical charges & component rigidity. The process of burning-in these components helps to optimise them for their use so that you can hear them as intended. For example, burning in a cable conditions the conductors with directionality and electrically charges the dielectric to ensure less signal loss. For speakers, this is loosening of the drivers to ensure they can move freely when producing sound. All in all, you tend to find that the performance of your components improve over time from the natural burn-in process, leading you to enjoy your music as it was intended.
If you are able to set up your room specifically for listening to your Hi-Fi system, then a series of room treatment will go a long way in ensuring you always hear the most from your system, regardless of the equipment you have. Whereas, if you forgo room treatment, then you could keep upgrading your gear but still hear the same underlying issues related to your room. It may not always be possible to have the perfect listening environment, however, there are plenty of solutions available to make the most out of any room.
This all comes down to personal preference and the forms of media that you have access to, however, it can be simple to add other sources to your system so there is no need to restrict yourself to one medium. ultimately, the best system you can get, is the one that you enjoy and makes you want to listen to it more.
In most cases we find that by angling your speakers (Toe-in) towards your main listening position, you can enhance all aspects of your listening, from the sound stage to the noise floor. However, this does mean that there is one ideal listening position, and other areas of your room won't sound the same. This can also affect the room acoustics and require specific placement of room treatment solutions that are suited for the direction of sound from your speakers.
If you live in an area where it's difficult to listen to your system at an ideal volume level (whether late night, early morning, or any other time), then we highly recommend investing in a specialist pair of headphones along with a headphone amplifier (if your system does not already have this). A good pair of headphones (or IEMs) from a reputable brand such as Focal, Audeze, Campfire etc. can allow you to listen to your system at a sufficient level to hear all the details you would expect from you system but without the room-filling sound.
This entirely depends on your current system and your expectations. You could have a decent pair of speakers which are not matched correctly with your amplifier, or vice versa. Similarly, you may want a new source of media to listen to. There are also options to upgrade other aspects of your system, such as the power, isolation or cabling to get the most out of your system before upgrading the traditional components. The best way to find out your own upgrade path is to contact our consultants and we would be happy to help you.