Hi-Fi Essentials
Hardware and treatment for a system you already own: headphones, DACs, amplifiers, streamers, isolation, racks and grounding. The next purchase after the system exists.
Shop by Brand
Where to spend next
This is the upgrade section rather than the starting point. It assumes you have a system, know roughly what it does well, and want to work out what to change next.
The order that usually works starts with the mechanical foundation. A rack that resonates undermines everything sitting on it, so proper support and isolation come first. Then the source, because nothing downstream can recover what a poor source has already lost. Then the electronics, and last the treatments that sit around the edges of a system, such as grounding.
Some of what is here is uncontested. Speaker stands, isolation feet and a rigid rack do measurable and audible things. Other categories, grounding in particular, divide opinion sharply, and we say so on the pages where that applies. What we will not do is recommend something we have not heard, or call a component essential when your system does not need it. Tell us what you are running and what you want to improve, and we will give you a straight answer.
-
£1,412.50Ex. VATThe DAC-10 is an award-winning DAC. Like any NuPrime product, it comes with a purpose-built power circuit and also features precise, 0.5dB increment volume-control. This product features RCA and XLR outputs to allow compatibility with most amplifiers, and the ability to choose between multiple inputs. -
£208.33Ex. VATThe Vasari Red phono cartridge is the first step up from the ES-78 in Gold Note's range. Built from a ultra-damping photopolymer resin body and an output level of 4mV, the Vasari Red also features an aluminium cantilever and a 15.5μm conical diamond stylus. Like all Gold Note products, the Vasari Red is exclusively comprised of components sourced and assembled in Italy.
-
£333.33Ex. VATThe Vasari Gold phono cartridge is the next step up from the Vasari Red in Gold Note's range. Built from a duralumin (aluminium, copper and magnesium alloy) body and an output level of 4mV, the Vasari Gold also features an aluminium cantilever and a 7.5×15.5μm elliptical diamond stylus. Like all Gold Note products, the Vasari Gold is exclusively comprised of components sourced and assembled in Italy.
-
£616.67Ex. VATThe Donatello Red is a high-output Moving Coil phono cartridge, the only such offering from Gold Note, with an output level of 1.8mV. It consists of a duralumin body (aluminium, copper and magnesium alloy) as well as an aluminium cantilever, and features a micro-elliptical diamond stylus for excellent contact with your vinyl record. Like all Gold Note products, the Donatello Red is exclusively comprised of components sourced and assembled in Italy. -
£916.67Ex. VATThe Donatello Gold is essentially a low-output version of the Donatello Red, with an output level of 0.5mVmV. It also consists of a duralumin body (aluminium, copper and magnesium alloy) as well as an aluminium cantilever, and features a micro-elliptical diamond stylus for excellent contact with your vinyl record. Like all Gold Note products, the Donatello Gold is exclusively comprised of components sourced and assembled in Italy. -
From£58.29Ex. VATWould you like to be able to turn your TV for a better viewing experience? And are you looking for a TV wall mount that you can install quickly and easily? Take a look at Vogels' QUICK Full-Motion TV wall mount. It allows you to turn and tilt your TV as desired. And you can install it in less than 30 minutes. Easy choice, right? -
From£133.29Ex. VATWould you like to be able to turn your TV for a better viewing experience? And are you looking for a TV wall mount that you can install quickly and easily? Take a look at Vogels' QUICK Full-Motion TV wall mount. It allows you to turn and tilt your TV as desired. And you can install it in less than 30 minutes. Easy choice, right? -
From£99.96Ex. VATWould you like to be able to turn your TV for a better viewing experience? And are you looking for a TV wall mount that you can install quickly and easily? Take a look at Vogels' QUICK Full-Motion TV wall mount. It allows you to turn and tilt your TV as desired. And you can install it in less than 30 minutes. Easy choice, right? -
£274.17Ex. VATThe GO bar by iFi Audio is an ultra-portable USB DAC and headphone amplifier which is capable of powering high-end headphones and is compatible with all HiRes streams. It is supplied with a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to Lightning cable (iPhone/iPad may require camera adaptor) so that it can connect to any smartphone, and comes with a USB-C to USB-A adaptor to connect to a PC or laptop.
-
From£833.33Ex. VATThe Aperture II acoustic treatment panels by Stillpoints are able to offer both absorption and diffusion of sound, helping your system achieve greater dynamism and depth without blurring any detail. Available with Cherry, Oak and Walnut frames - the images appear in the same order as the options in the dropdown menu. As with any product made from real wood, your item may be a slightly different colour to the one pictured.
-
£566.67Ex. VATThe LPI V2 slips over the spindle of your turntable and rests on the label portion of the LP. This mechanism absorbs the micro vibrations that are present at the label area, which allows the cartridge to reproduce what is pressed on the record, without any additional resonant frequencies being added. -
£20.83Ex. VATThe Ultra SS Bullet Spike is designed for use with the Ultra SS V2 for those with deep thick carpet. Do keep in mind that’s it’s difficult to tune the alignment of a loudspeaker within a 1/16” once the spikes have been fitted! Sold singly.
