Your First Visit to a Hi-Fi Shop: What to Expect at SMC
If you’ve never set foot in a specialist hi-fi shop, the idea can feel intimidating…
Original Pressings vs Reissues: What Actually Sounds Better?
Vinyl folklore says the original pressing is always king — and prices at record fairs…
Stands, Racks and Isolation: What Actually Matters
Nobody daydreams about speaker stands. Yet the unglamorous furniture holding your system routinely makes a…
Turntable Setup: The Checklist That Costs Nothing
More vinyl performance is lost to setup than to any budget limitation. A modest deck…
Why Does My Hi-Fi Sound Harsh? A Troubleshooting Guide
“It sounds impressive, but after half an hour I want to turn it off.” We…
Room Acoustics Without the Physics Degree
Here is the uncomfortable truth of hi-fi: the room you listen in shapes the sound…
Amplifier Classes Explained: A, A/B, D — and Arcam’s Class G
Amplifier “classes” sound like grades — as if Class A were the best and everything…
Dirac Live in Hi-Fi: Clever Correction or Cheating?
Few subjects divide hi-fi people like room correction. To some, software like Dirac Live is…
Balanced vs Unbalanced: XLR, RCA and What Actually Matters
Turn a serious amplifier around and you’ll usually find two kinds of analogue input: familiar…
Do Hi-Fi Cables Matter? An Honest Guide
Few subjects in hi-fi generate more heat than cables. One camp insists they transform a…
