refine choice
- Category
-
- Hi-Fi Amplifiers 269
- CD Players 127
- Cassette Decks 1
- Hi-Fi Turntables 132
- Stereo Receivers 22
- Networked Audio 93
- Tuners/DAB Tuners 29
- SACD Players 8
- DACs 35
- Manufacturer
-
- Arcam 19
- Art Vinyl 1
- Atacama 1
- Audio Analogue 19
- Audio Pro 6
- Audio Technica 2
- Audiolab 12
- Audioquest 1
- AVA Media 1
- B&W 2
- Blue Horizon 2
- Canor 1
- Chord Electronics 5
- Clearaudio 24
- Clearlight Audio 1
- Copland 3
- Creek 8
- Custom Design 1
- Denon 20
- Exposure 17
- Furutech 1
- Gamut 5
- Graham Slee 1
- Imerge 5
- Leema Acoustics 10
- Lehmann Audio 1
- Loewe 5
- Marantz 18
- Michell 23
- Micromega 2
- Monrio 3
- Musical Fidelity 21
- Myryad 15
- NAD 28
- Naim Audio 33
- NuForce 1
- Olive 4
- Onix 13
- Onkyo 24
- Ortofon 4
- Pathos 13
- Pioneer 17
- Plinius 12
- Primare 11
- Project 45
- Pure Digital 2
- Quad 15
- Rega 3
- Roksan 18
- Rotel 27
- Rothwell 3
- Sansui 3
- Sansui 1
- Simple Audio 3
- Sonneteer 7
- Sonos 11
- Soundcast 2
- Speakercraft 8
- Synthesis 11
- TEAC 16
- Thorens 23
- Unison Research 22
- Usher 3
- Wadia 3
- Yamaha 17
- Price
- Finish
-
- aluminium 1
- black 41
- chrome silver 1
- gloss black 1
- graphite 6
- grey 1
- silver 3
- titanium 12
- white 2
Hifi Separates
If you want to hear the closest sound to live music, buying a hifi system comprosing hifi separates is the best route to go. By hi-fi separates we mean hi-fi turntable, DAB FM/AM tuner, CD player, hi-fi amplifier, stereo receiver, cables, bookshelf speakers or floorstanding loudspeakers, hi-fi equipment racks, and these days often an iPod dock and hard disk music server or Sonos zoneplayer - we often have special Sonos deals on offer.
The sound performance of these hi-fi separates will almost always be superior to a 'one box system' such as a mini system at a similar price, where all funtions are housed in one enclosure. The reasons are that in a mini system, all components are sharing the same power supply, and noise created in one section then pollutes another section, which inevitably degrades the overall sound quality. Hifi separates also enable you to gradually upgrade your audio system piece by piece, without having to start all over again, which is a more affordable way to get more enjoyment from your music listening.
Our h-ifi separates start at prices below £100 per unit, and rise to many thousands of pounds per unit, and sound performance improves as you go up the range.
We are often asked what proportion of the overall system budget to spend on each item. Loudspeakers invariably make the biggest overal contribution to the sound of an audio system, so you would be unwise to save money on this item, however system balance is important too - don't waste excessive expenditure on say, fancy audio cables when you only have a budget CD player and amplfier, as you will not hear the benefit. If you have a budget of say £700, our advice would be to spend 30% on the speakers, 20% on the CD player, 25% on the amplifier and 25% on cables and stands/ rack.






