Beginner’s Guide
November 6th, 2008Why a hifi system?
Hifi is an expensive hobby. Not many people can have the luxury of keep changing their hifi systems to suit their tastes. The aim of this guide is to help beginners find 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.
Purchasing Factors
Budget
Price is the one of the main deciding factors. Most people have a certain intended amount to spend. They will like to see what is the best deal they can get out of their limited budget.
Purpose of purchase
Some people use it for relaxing while reading or working. Some simply want to re-experience the feelings from life concerts & performances.
Type of music you like
Most hifi systems are not all rounders. Each hifi system has certain characteristics that make it unsuitable for some types of music. Knowing your music preference will help you save on unneccessary purchases.
Environment
If your room is small, get a small sized system. Otherwise, the music will be overwhelming and you probably won’t enjoy it. Likewise, a small sized hifi system in a big room results in alot of echos and reflections.
Other factors
Size , design, reviews, etc
Purchasing Tips
Tip 1 - 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.
Tip 2 - The outlooks of the hifi may be a big factor to some people. My advise is to put looks as a secondary 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. Won’t collecting antiques or collectables be a better choice if that is the case.
Tip 3 - 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 - 40%
Amplifier - 40%
Cd Player - 15%
Cables - 5%
Getting Started
1) After knowing your budget, your preferences in music and the size of system you will like to get, the next step is start shopping for your ideal hifi system.
2) Matching is 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.
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. If you are purchasing new products, later you can go back and purchase the other components you have missed out.
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) Bring your favourite music discs to test hifi system and see if they suit your tastes.
Getting Started Tips
Tip 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.
Tip 2 - Cables/Interconnects are connectors of the hifi system. But 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. If your whole system costs $5000 and your cables purchase amounts to $3000, won’t a better solution be upgrading a better system with $7500 and just $500 on cables? People play with cables and accessories when they feel their hifi system is already at the optimum.
Hifi components(Part1)
Source - Cd player - Picks up the information on the disc and converts it to an analogue signal
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
Source - Tuner - Picks up the radio signals
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
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
Output - Subwoofer - Converts the processed and amplified signal into sound. Deals with low freqencies.
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.
Hifi components(Part 2)
As technology changes, there are improvements in designs. Currently there are many brands and designs of hifi with many exceptions. Therefore the description I state 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. Untill today, many still use cd players as their source of music.
Music Genre
These are just some recommendations
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)
Music Genre Tips
Tip 1 - If you are undecided on what type of music you like and would want an all rounder, my suggestion is to get transistor amplifiers and floorstanding speakers.
Tip 2 - Another suggestion may be simply getting 2 sets of hifi systems, one for easy listening while doing your work, the other for performance effects that requires you to sit on the chair while listening.
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’s popularity has declined. However, there are loyal audiophiles who will still use records for the type of sound that cd players cannot touch.
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.
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.
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.
