The aim of this article/guide is to help beginners find out what they are looking for and help them save on unnecessary expenses. Their purchases should be the best deal they could get out of their limited budget. That is the 1st rule in economics,"scarcity" !
1.Environment(most important!)
If your room is small, get a simple integrated amp plus bookselves speakers.This will do the job nicely. Otherwise, the music will be overwhelming and you probably won’t enjoy it. Likewise,a small sized hifi system in a big room will results in alot of echos and reflections.More like struggling especially when you blust it !
Dun used a 84mm RR to kill a chicken !!! used a jack knife will do !
In short used a pair of bookselves speakers plus integrated amp for a small room while floorstanding speakers for bigger room.
This is a general rule but personally a floorstander speaker is recommended if you want a full range sound(high,mid & low).
2.Type of music you like
All hifi systems are not all rounders(a very bold & daring statement). Each hifi system has certain characteristics that make it unsuitable for certain types of music. Knowing your music preference will help you to narrow down your search & save on unneccessary purchases.In general tube amp for vocal & transistor amp for soundstage,details & bass.
3.Budget
Price is always one of the main factor. Most people have a certain intended amount to spend & they would like to get the best out of it.Eg.what is the best integrated amp around $200? If you move up to $400 is there a difference ? The answer is yes,there is a difference but are you able to notice it ????? Are your ears trained to notice it ???
So the fun about hifi is to start from beginner's stage & trained your ears ! if you moved straight to the expensive equipments you will not learn anything & you will be traped in a mind set that more expensive is better........
Lastly Tube amp are generally more expensive than transistor amp.
4.Purpose of the purchase
Some people use hifi for relaxing while reading or working(normal). Some simply want to re-experience the feelings from life concerts & performances(ad-normal).If you really want live like music just attend a concert as it is much cheaper ! I personally do not like live concert as I fing them noisy.Lastly there are this last category of hifi freaks that just sit back & critised every single piece of equipments(very ad-normal & sick) !
Honestly,there will never be a perfect system !!!!!At higher level it is all about compromising ! And you pay alot more to get very little differences. So the judgement is always a matter of whether is it worth while to justify the upgrade or not.And always remember "highend is no end" !
5.Other factors
Size(big does not means better & small does not means no good),design(looking good but going no where),reviews,etc(dun believe everything you read trust only your own ears)can either help or confused you !
But still it is good to read up abit before you start.
6.Purchasing Tips
When you find a hifi system that you really like and you know that that’s the ultimate one for you. If it is over your budget by a little, delay your purchase and buy it later when your budget is enough. Many people have compromised too much on their budget that they eventually got something they did not like. Their purchase becomes unneccessary and may end up collecting dust. Sooner or later, they would have to spend more money on upgrading again.
The outlooks of the hifi may be a big factor to some people. My advise is to put looks as the least important factor and go for the sound it gives. A good looking hifi system that does not deliver sound quality will eventually be left unused and collects dust,then spoilted(as too long never used).
A simple hifi system consists of a cd player, an integrated amplifier, a pair of speakers and some cables. Here is a rough estimation on how much to spend on each hifi component if their price = their performance %. If you wish to upgrade your hifi system, changing your amplifier or speakers is better since they make up a big %.
Speakers - 30%
Amplifier - 30%
Cd Player - 30%
Cables - 5-10%
Getting Started
1) After knowing your room size,the music you like & budget,the next step is start shopping for your ideal hifi system.
By now you should have decided to go for tubes or transistor amp,if not sure just try
them playing your favourite track with the same cd player & the same set of speakers in the same room.Then exercise your choice !
2) Matching is also very important. Most people make the mistake of buying components individually but as a system together it doesn’t performs to its best. Example, the buyer buys a cd player from a seller, then he buy an amplifier from another seller and gets his speakers from a third seller. However when placed together, the system may probably won’t sound right to his expectations.So 1 plus 1 does not always equal to 2 !On the other hand if a system is correctly matched 1 plus 1 becomes >10 ! And it does not have to be expensive !
3) A good way is to get a whole system that you have audited as a set. In this way, what you have heard in the shop, you can expect roughly the same type of sound quality at home. However, not many people can purchase a whole system at one time.
4) If you already have part of the existing hifi component eg. speakers. Bring your speakers along(if it is not too troublesome) to test when purchasing the other components of your hifi system.
5)When buying hifi equipments always bring your favourite discs to test the hifi system and see if they suit your taste.
Getting Started
1 - Reviews from hifi magazines or online reviews acts as a basic guideline of what is a good product but do take note that that does not always neccessarily mean the best for you. To get the type of sound and described in the reviews, you need the exact same equipment that the reviewer is using. If you do not, the sound you get may be slightly off what the reviews write. Each hifi component is important.
2 - Cables/Interconnects are connectors of the hifi system.Do not spend too much on them. Spend around 5% to 10% of the cost of the whole hifi system is good enough. They are sound enhancements but do not change to basic characteristics of the hifi. It is silly if your whole system costs $10,000 and your cables purchase amounts to $5,000 !You rather spent $13,500 on your system and just $1,500 on cables.
Hifi freaks only play with cables and accessories when they feel their hifi system is already at the optimum.If you really reached this stage just upgrade your system ! It is a wiser move !
Hifi components
Source - Cd player - Picks up the information on the disc and converts it to an analogue signal
Something you need to know about a cdp,the pick up lens plays an important part in the whole equation ! I find Philips lens alot better than Sony especially like cdm0,cdm1,cdm3,cdm4,cdm9 & cdm12.They are easy to replace as well.
Remember garbage in garbage out !!!!Personally the Philips 880,960,marantz cd63,cd63se,cd63KI,Arcam Alpha 8SE,Alpha 9 are quite alright I have tried all of them.
Moving on/up the Audio Research cd2,Cairn fog,Gryphon,Meridian,Naim cdx & Wadia are pretty good as well.
Source - Cd transport - Part of the Cd player. Picks up the information on the disc
Source - DA converter - Part of the Cd player. Converts the picked up digital signal to analogue signal(you do not really need this as you end up comparing chips)
Source - Tuner - Picks up the radio signals(you also dun really need this!)
Source - Turntable - Reads the information on the Records
Source & Amplifier - Receiver - Consists of a tuner and an integrated amplifier
Amplifier - Integrated Amp - Consists of a pre-amp and power amp stage(all in 1)set like Nad 3020,Pioneer A400,Audiolab 8000A,Musical Fidelity A1,A100,A120,Sugden A21are pretty good to start & move up with)I have tried all of them when I first started 15 years ago & I still thinks that they are worth every penny.And yes there are differencessss !!!!
Vacuum Tube Amplifiers(Tubes) - They generally sound slower and warmer compared to their transistor counterparts. The sound they give are usually more of the mellow and layback type. Great for relaxing and getting into a comfortable mood. They are suitable for jazz and vocals music.I really like tube but they are just too "leh chay" for me.I have owned the stringray by Manley before.
Solid State Amplifiers(Transistors) - Transistor amplifiers sound more dynamic and fast paced. Many rock, instrumental, drums and life music lovers would use transistor amplifiers for their characteristics. Their category of music is more towards attention demanding type.
Amplifier - Pre-Amp - Processes and shapes the signal
Amplifier - Power Amp - Amplifies the processed signal
Amplifier - Phono Amp - It amplifies the weak signal picked up from the LPs.
Output - Speakers - Converts the processed and amplified signal into sound
Cables - Digital Cable - Connects between Cd transport and DA converter
Cables - Interconnects - Connects between Cd player to amplifier, or amplifier to amplifier
Cables - Speaker Cables - Connects from the amplifier to the speakers/subwoofer
A basic hifi system consists of a cd player, an integrated amplifier, a pair of speakers and some cables.
As technology advances, there will be improvements in designs.Therefore the description I have stated shall be in general.
Cd Players(Digital) - The type of sound it produces is more digital but can be offset by the amplifiers and speakers. It is more hassle free than Turntables that brings up their popularity. Even today, many still use cd players as their main source of music.
Music Genre
These are just some recommendations & guidelines
Drums - Floorstanding speakers, Transistor amplifiers (Low bass and dynamic and rhythmic)
Vocals - Bookshelf speakers, Tube amplifiers (Strengths in mids and highs, focused projection)
Jazz - Tube amplifiers (Slow and relaxing)
Rock - Floorstanding speakers, Transistor amplifiers (Low bass and dynamic)
Classical - Transistor amplifiers (Speed and Clarity)
Instrumental - Transistor amplifiers (Clarity)
Nature - Bookshelf speakers, Tube amplifiers (Easy listening)
Life - Floorstanding speakers, Transistor amplifiers (Low bass and dynamic, wide soundstage)
Pop - Transistor amplifiers (Speed and rhythmic)
More Tips
1 - If you like and would want an all rounder, my suggestion is to get a transistor amplifiers and match it with a pair of floorstanding speakers.
2 - Another suggestion may be simply getting 2 sets of hifi systems, one for easy listening while doing your work(minicompo), the other for performance effects that requires you to sit on the chair to listen & enjoy.
Turntables(Analogue) - Records tend to produce music that is more smoothing and natural to the listener’s ear. However, due to the need for maintenance and hassle. It is unpopular. However, there are loyal audiophiles who will still use records for the type of sound that cd players cannot touch.
Speakers(Bookshelf) - Small sized speakers. They are designed for bedrooms purposes. Amplifiers do not need to be bulky and powerful to drive them. Usually, an integrated amplifier is enough. Most small sized speakers are easy to drive(high sensitivity). However, their limitation would be of the low bass they they would not be able to deliver.
Speakers(Floorstander) - Big sized speakers that stands on the floor. Their purpose is to deliver the type of low bass that bookshelf speakers cannot. However, these speakers are usually more power hungry(low sensitivity). A pre and power amplifier combination is more suitable than an integrated one. They are not limited by the power output. Most integrated amplifiers are of low power design.
