Let’s start this discussion from square one. You own NO audio gear but you’re excited to build a system. Where do you start?

The first step is to search within your own cavernous brain to understand what will please YOU. Let’s work on that.

For me, music is all about singers and acoustic instruments. Since I’m a classical piano hound, the piano figures in the equation on an equal level with singers. And you?

Singers

The hi-fi gear I choose needs to be able to reveal the last drop of nuance from female singers and a grand piano. I wanna hear the ladies sing that they luv me- even though I know they’re lyin’!

As for men singing… I don’t really care. I want to spend my listening time with a wide world of women.

There’s Ella, and then there’s everybody else. I love ‘em all. I want them to sound like they’re in the room, singing TO ME.

This is an experience you can’t get with Sonos or Bluetooth speakers. You need a real hi-fi.

Here’s a few examples of singers that make better hi-fi valuable to me. You too?

Joan Armatrading: “Love & Affection”

Ella Fitzgerald: “Miss Otis Regrets”

Selena Gomez: “Come And Get It”

Shelby Lynne: “Just A Little Lovin’”

Grace Potter: “Apologies”

Rachael Price” “You Go Down Smooth”

Bonnie Raitt: “I Thought I Was A Child”

Sade: “Paradise”

Susan Tedeschi: “Alone”

Ann Wilson: “Straight On”

This list could go on forever. But, with this, you know what I’m after. If you appreciate the human voice (who doesn’t?) you’ll enjoy all of the above.

Piano

Piano music from the classical and romantic eras stretch our range in the bass and benefit from better hi-fi. It’s really difficult to get speakers to play piano music authentically.

By this I mean, each piano has its own character. No two Steinways sound identical. When a professional recording is made, the musician and his team choose, and tune, a specific piano to their taste. Engineers make choices of mics, their placement, cables, the mixing board etc. A bazillion decisions or more go into magnificent recordings. Let’s hear the benefit of them all.

You can spoil the clarity and emotion of the piano voice by having speakers that are murky or too bright. Further, marvelous speakers allow hearing music similar to viewing trees with an accurate prescription in your glasses. You can not only notice the tree, but you can see the precise character of the leaves on the tree.

Music has many layers, like the skin of an onion. Paying attention to your component choices will allow you to perceive more character in the music. You can peel away more layers. Convincing piano sound is derived by paying attention to all the parts of your system.

If you just want to play rock and roll with a beat, most any system will be OK. When you hear that music live, you’re listening through a pile of horns on a stage. For me, music like this is “fun” but not “critical.” I enjoy bands like The Eagles and The Mavericks. Yet they’re not deep dive, contemplative listening for me.

I want to hear LVB’s sonata #32, Arietta movement. If you invest, you’ll know what I mean.

Schubert’s Impromptu #1 displays grace & beauty endemic to the instrument.

If someone you care about dies, you MUST play Chopin’s sonata #2, all four movements. It’s like rubbing a bruise.

The same care that goes into reproducing the piano benefits other instruments.

*Please listen to Hilary Hahn’s recording of Bach’s “Chaconne.”

*Also listen to Yo Yo Ma’s recording of Bach’s “Cello Suite #1.”

The soul and heartache of violin and cello are as unique as human voices.

Checks

Since you know which boxes I want to check, you can synchronize or substitute your predilections.

Speakers

Every component in a hi-fi system contributes to the end result of satisfaction. But there’s no question that speakers have more weight on the scale than anything else, so let’s start here.

In the 1970s there were under a hundred brands of speakers. Most used parts from only a handful of suppliers. You could absolutely predict the sound of this or that speaker based on knowing which tweeter, mid and woofs were used. Today we have many thousands of brands of speakers and parts vendors.

Today most speakers that are affordable, let’s say under $10k per pair, come from vendors in China. A given vendor may slap any name on the box- including YOURS, if you pay for it. It’s just like buying baseball hats and sewing logos in place. I don’t want to buy, or sell, speakers that are made like this. Big box and Amazon are full of them. Most are OK.

Yes, I have a political aversion to buying widgets made in Chinese mass production houses.

First of all, they’re not precise tools for interpreting music. Music is valuable to some of us (!) and WORTH better than generic performance. Further, they’re made at virtually slave labor pricing with employees working long work weeks for low pay, while often living in company barracks. Factory “X” typically has employees working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. This is called 996 production. This scale of manufacturing, or anything close to it, is not the friend of excellence. Many different brands of speakers roll out the doors of their facilities.

I want to support companies from N America or Europe that make better products. I want to buy from people that make their own drivers, in their own house, with their own consistent TLC. Paying attention to these details will get you more precise sound from the music you love. And the fact is, it doesn’t cost much more to attain this superior level of precision.

Windows Of Accuracy

My experience is that buying from fabulous companies like Atohm (France) or Bryston/Axiom (Canada) is the equivalent of seeing trees with a precise RX.

Atohm makes all its own drivers. Each driver is tested to be sure it is with a quarter of a dB of the reference standard of that driver. Bryston/Axiom build to within one dB, which is also excellent. It is generally agreed that most of us will notice a 3dB variation from a standard easily.

Chinese vendors don’t build within this range of accuracy. You can see measured specs from reviews in Stereophile or British hi-fi news. You’ll notice that Chinese built speakers, regardless of the brand name on the box, are often a mile off in terms of adhering to its specs.

Many a speaker rated at 89dB SPL can measure in the mid to low 80s. Keep in mind that a difference of 3dB means you have to double your power to get where you want to go. Hence it’s a big deal if a speaker is rated at 89-90, but actually performs at 85-86. You need a lot more amp (power and $) than you expected.

The mags regularly spec inaccuracies from R to L tweeters in balance. I’ve seen as much as 4-6dB difference. Think of speakers for a moment as lights. One speaker can have a 100w bulb for a tweeter while its mate is 50w. That’s quite noticeable. It will affect the timbre of instruments and imaging characteristics. And… that’s just in the tweeter. The same holds true for mid and woofer drive elements. The more drivers you have, the more chance you have to create foggy performance. Your stack of “lights” on the L speaker may end up being quite different from the stack on the R. The Chinese vendors are hoping you won’t notice these flaws.

Atohm and Bryston/Axiom speakers WILL perform as spec’d. With the Chinese, it’s a hope and a prayer from mass production. These consistencies are vital for reliability as well. With Atohm and Bryston/Axiom, it’s no worry.

The mags don’t want to dis big companies that spend real money on advertising- the life blood of their heart beat. The reviewer never points out in his writing that the speakers vary so dramatically.

Butttt, just inspect the fine print in the gray boxes of specs. Even Euro sounding names like B&W, Kef and Monitor Audio (among thousands) build this way up till about $10k. The reviewers often play along, promulgating the notion that this or that brand is British, while in fact, its gear is just badged from a Chinese job house. It’s just like golf shirts with whatever logos slapped on.

Atohm

Nobody can audition every brand of speaker out there. We have to make sense of what we are buying. Or, you can just trust someone, ME, who has done a thorough job researching the topic because I love music. Yep, it’s a rabbit hole that music geeks (guilty!) dive deeply into. While most people sit home at watch political TV at night, some of us listen to the music we love instead.

The reason I’ve chosen Atohm (designed and manufactured in France) is that they do everything well. Their precision is world class. Their clarity is there with the best of the best- including Pans and Stats. Their timbre is faithful and gorgeous. Their bass and power handling are outstanding despite their modest sizes and reasonable price points.

There are hundreds of “lovely” sounding Euro speakers. Most are disappointingly inefficient and if truth be known, NOT that clear. They’re more soft or dull than I like. Most importantly, because few Euro homes are like ours, bass is limited and the expanse between playing loudly enough to enjoy and breaking the SOB… it a tight window. Atohm has taut bass and you can hit ‘em hard!

Bryston/Axiom

Bryston and Axiom merged many years ago. They’re made in Canada with TLC. Bryston is the higher end brand with more power capabilities and a longer warranty. Axiom is more affordable and, we’ve found, that most of our customers are happy to land on Axiom M100, M80 or M60 towers.

The Bryston/Axiom sound isn’t quite as precise as Atohm. But it has a fuller, heavier bottom range. When you start up “Hotel California” and want the hammer to move your floorboards, skew Canadian.

If you’re an acoustic purist, OUI, OUI !

Amplification = Atoll

Atoll of France is far and away the best value in the serious but affordable world of electronics. Atoll builds in its own house with through hole parts- not just a pile of chips like the Chinese. Atoll uses its own large toroidal transformers- and often TWO. Atoll uses its custom designed filter caps in high values. It’s output transistors are hand matched MOSFETs.

The Chinese, which is almost everything else affordable, uses a pile of chips and circuit tricks instead of blood and guts muscle. There is no way to equivocate the rich, muscular sound of Atoll without doing the real work- of installing big toroidal transformers, large values of high ESR caps,

and taking the time/effort to match discrete MOSFET output transistors.

I had a fellow tell me that he ran Claude to determine the best amp for about $3k. Claude said he should get a Chinese amp with a boatload of features, like built in DAC, HDMI. Bluetooth etc. Yet amps built like this sound THIN & HARSH. These are characteristics Claude can’t hear. You can only achieve a robust, mellow sound with Atoll’s level of infrastructure.

The beauty of Atoll is that they sound smoother and more dynamic with any speakers. Further, if you have top notch speakers like Atohms or Bryston/Axioms, you’ll derive deeper bass and resolution from them compared to the Chinese. Be forewarned, most brands are built in China despite N American or Euro brand names. It’s the same story as I described in speakers above.

Sources = Atoll

CDs

My favorite source is the Compact Disc. You drop it in and hit play.

A CD is a digital file in your hand. Put it in the player and the transmission is short.

When you stream or download music to your computer, that same file is on a public cloud based heaven only knows where. Then it is transmitted to you via zillions of miles of wire, connectors, amplifiers etc.

CDs sound BETTER if you have an excellent CD player like an Atoll. Most audiophiles bought a cheapo $300 Chinese built CD player along their hobbyist path. With an entry level player like that you’re not hearing how well CDs can sound. It pays to get an Atoll which is built like its amplifiers I described above.

If you buy a plastic $300 turntable, you’ll hear wow & flutter as well as rumble. Experienced audiophiles know not to judge the sound of vinyl from cheesy turntables. It’s the same with CD.

My gripe with vinyl is that… you can’t get away from the noise. Every LP has noise related to groove rush, clicks/pops, and often warble combined with rumble.

Further, almost every LP was cut from a digital file. It’s rarely full analog. It only gets worse when you take that digital file and carve a plastic LP to it play back on. Oh, and vinyl ONLY has a chance to sound good if you’re fastidious about cleaning the album and stylus. Over the years we had many tables come in for service, only to find a tenacious fuzz ball clinging to the stylus.

Collecting LPs can be fun due to big art and showing it off. But if you play the same music on a great CD player- I’ll take that 7 days a week over vinyl.

CDs sound different from each other as vinyl does. It is beneficial to pay attention to the CD you buy. I luv Sade. Her 1984 album “Diamond Life” is great fun. It sounds good and is still available for about $10. Yet in 2011 the main songs from that album were included in a new double album called “The Ultimate Collection.” The Ultimate Collection features these tunes remastered- and sounds distinctly better. It’s well worth $18. Just as you might consider a superior vinyl pressing, you can do a little shopping and perhaps find better sounding CDs.

Streaming

My favorite streamers are made by Atoll. MS120 is built like an Atoll amp with big transformers, caps and exquisite parts choices. The alternatives are from SE Asia. Welcome to a BOX OF CHIPS. MS120 will sound fuller and warmer than cheap Chinese, or expensive S Korean gear.

I recommend that you DON’T buy a server. You’ll pay big bucks for them and they all fail some day. Play CDs when you want music to sound its best. Stream, for anything less. And yup, all servers have their own issues and sonic flavors/limitations as well.

If you want to use streaming for a cheap alternative to CDs, I get it. Buy a Wiim and call it a day. It’s a pile of chips made in China- but it’s dirt cheap. Ya get what you pay for.

If you want the best possible sound from streaming, buy the Atoll MS120 and you’ll get the best of streaming. It has big power supplies along with Burr Brown DACs and a discrete line stage. Atoll is voiced to be full bodied and musical. The Chinese sound thinner and brighter, no matter who makes them.

Kimber Kable

Kimber makes our favorite speaker and interconnect cables.

If you have gear like I’ve written about above, Kimber Kable is worth the $.

Good systems use Kimber 8 PR speaker cable and Hero interconnects.

GREAT systems use Kimber Carbon speaker cable and interconnects.

Isotek Mains Conditioners

Isotek makes outstanding power conditioners.

Your system simply can’t sound as clear, with a black/silent background- without an Isotek conditioner, compared to going without.

The Polaris is the entry level model and will improve the sound of any system, compared to not running a mains conditioner. Polaris will sound better than Panamax, Furman or Home Depot bars. Isotek uses VDRs vs MOV technology.

While Polaris is an excellent value and highly recommended, Elektra 5 is more becoming for the kind of gear we’re discussing above. The fact is, there are honeybees buzzing on your electrical line. You need to eliminate them for the background to be black instead of gray. Elektra is the point of diminishing returns in a conditioner. You can spend many thousands but won’t HEAR any benefit over Elektra.

Isotek makes the outstanding Initium power cable. It is worth investing in these cables IF you’re running an Isotek conditioner. If you’re not running an Isotek conditioner, don’t waste your money on a fancy power cable. The endemic hash coming out of your wall will obfuscate the benefits of what the Initium can do for you.