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.
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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.
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★ AwardChord Electronics
Chord Electronics Hugo M Scaler Standalone 1M-Tap Digital Upscaling DeviceSKU: Hugo M Scaler
(1 reviews)From£2,995.83Ex. VATUsing technology first seen in the flagship BLU MKII digital/CD transport, the Hugo M Scaler is a standalone upscaling device containing the world’s most advanced digital filter. When used with a dual-BNC-input Chord Electronics DAC, it is capable of redefining digital audio sound quality. -
From£41.67Ex. VAT
The new protective leather case for the Hugo 2 DAC/headphone amp introduces greater affordability, plus a choice of two colours, rich black, and Oxblood. Made from high-quality genuine leather with precision cutaways for the control spheres, top-mounted volume sphere, and viewing window, plus the connectivity suite at either end of the device, the new case offers custom-made protection for the transportable DAC/amp.
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£2,083.33Ex. VAT
MiND 2 is the second generation of the MOON intelligent Network Device. In addition to all original MiND features, MiND 2 is Roon Ready, offers multi-room synchronized playback and streams MQA audio files (requires MQA DAC for full MQA decoding).
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£70.83Ex. VATOrtofon's 2M Red is an all-purpose cartridge designed to deliver an open, dynamic sound with a slight touch of warmth. The weight and dimensions of the 2M Red are optimised for the most common turntables, offering a wide range of compatibility. The 2M Red cartridge is built with ‘Hopelex’, an environmentally-friendly material ensuring high-rigidity while eliminating unwanted resonances. The cartridge stylus is a tipped elliptical diamond connected to split pole pins with copper wire. This offers a high level of sonic accuracy at an affordable price.
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£339.00Inc. VATOrtofon's 2M Bronze improves further on the 2M Blue by using a nude fine line diamond stylus. This stylus utilises a slimmer profile to track the higher frequency information more accurately. On top of this, the 2M Bronze has a specially upgraded engine with silver-plated copper wire to read and preserve as much frequency information as possible. Overall, the performance of your system with a 2M Bronze can improve with greater detail and resolution, preserving more of the original audio signal and ultimately improving your listening experience.
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£625.00Inc. VATOrtofon's MC Quintet Bronze moves into the higher league of the Quintets. The slim profile of its Nude Fine Line diamond stylus will track even the highest frequency information, making it a must for discerning listeners. Additionally its larger footprint ensures reduced distortion and record wear. The sound will be very evenhanded with respect to all aspects. Classical music will be reproduced with power and open space around each of the instruments. All types of music will be conveyed with the highest accuracy, precision and dynamics.
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£875.00Inc. VATOrtofon's MC Quintet Black is the best example of Quintet’s overall excellence. The new MC Quintet Black S model is graced with Shibata stylus on the Sapphire cantilever. Sapphire is one of the best cantilever options that provides an excellent mechanical pulse transfer from the stylus to the coil system. The Quintet Black S produces detailed and pure reproduction though-out the spectrum, volume and soundstage. The Quintet Black S will be unfettered by musical genre and will give the closest approach within the Quintet Series to Ortofon’s true accuracy in sound.
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From£332.50Ex. VATThe DELOS butcher block from IsoAcoustics decouples the turntable from the supporting surface and dramatically diminishes structural vibrations and resonances, resulting in greater clarity and detail.
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£54.17Ex. VATThe B&W D3 plate adaptor replaces the wheels on B&W D3 speakers and provides a threaded hole for the appropriate GAIA stud to screw into.
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£33.32Ex. VATDesigned to fit out of sight within the base plate of CC01, CC02, DUO, Nexus or HMS1.1 speaker stands and underneath the Bamboo base panel for the Moseco range,the Mass loading Base Plate pack adds 1.5 kg to each stand increasing the sound dampening and raising the stability of each support.
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From£457.50Ex. VATThe DELOS butcher block from IsoAcoustics decouples the turntable from the supporting surface and dramatically diminishes structural vibrations and resonances, resulting in greater clarity and detail.
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SALELindemann
Lindemann Limetree Bridge Network Adaptor - Special Offer - Black November DealSKU: Limetree Bridge
(1 reviews)£519.95 £745.00Inc. VAT ✓ Save £225.05The Limetree BRIDGE is a high-quality network adapter designed to transfer music from streaming services and local storage media digitally in studio master quality to existing D/A converters or other devices with digital inputs. This makes it possible to upgrade an existing hi-fi system with streaming for little money.
