Tag Archive for: Smart Home Design

By Geoff Woods, Sales Consultant

Is There an Ultimate HiFi System? Sound, Size, and Investment

Acknowledging, first of all, that HiFi is a very subjective hobby, the most obvious answer to the above question would be “No, there is not ONE Ultimate HiFi System.”  Moving on.

. . . Oh. . . You want a more detailed answer?. . . OK, here goes.

In this subjective world of HiFi, I would say that there definitely CAN be an ultimate system for each person in a given environment. The real key is understanding the expectations of the listener, the demands of the music, and the limitations of the room.  So let’s tackle those in reverse order, starting with the limitations of the room.

Personal story: I lived in Vancouver for 8 years in my 20’s. Over the span of those 8 years, I had 11—count ’em, 11—addresses. When you’re a single guy living in Vancouver in the 90’s, you’re never NOT looking for a better deal on rent. Throw some roommates and the occasional romantic entanglement into the mix and I got to be very good at moving.

I don’t particularly recommend the nomadic lifestyle, but I can certainly offer some advice to those without deep roots: Rule 1, keep all the boxes for your hifi gear. Rule 2, when hunting for a place, the first priority is finding a good space to set up the stereo, and Rule 3, when moving day comes, the stereo is always the last thing packed at the old place and the first thing unpacked at the new.

Speaker Placement Matters

Speaker placement in relation to the room and the primary listening position is key. If you really want to aspire to an “ultimate” HiFi experience, you need to make sure that you are sitting equidistant from your left and right speakers and that neither of those speakers is overly close to a wall.

Most of the sound comes off the front face of the speaker, but a significant amount radiates from the sides and back. This brings us to room acoustics.

Understanding Room Acoustics

When you’re listening to a stereo system, only 20-30% of the sound you hear comes directly from the speakers. The rest reflects off surfaces in the room. Hard surfaces like glass and walls reflect more sound than soft surfaces like carpets and bookshelves.

• If your room has too many hard surfaces, sound can become unfocused.
• If your space has a lot of soft surfaces, sound may become too dampened.
• For optimal sound quality, invest in acoustic treatments, rugs, drapes, or canvas painting art to improve reflections.

Room Size and Speaker Selection

Last but not least to consider in regards to the room, is the volume of air. More space sucks more bass. A small pair of bookshelf speakers in a huge space is going to sound thin and bright. You might like the look of bookshelf speakers on a slim, elegant stand, but if you’re not moving enough air, you won’t get any kind of satisfying oomph.

Conversely, if your hifi space is too small to be called a bedroom and is closer in dimensions to a walk in closet, then a giant pair of tower speakers is going to overwhelm the space sonically, to say nothing of visually, so when you’re shopping for a stereo, if the salesman doesn’t ask you about your room before he starts telling you what to buy, just walk away.

The Listener’s Expectations: What Do You Want From Your HiFi System?

Now let’s talk about the demands of the music. How loud is too loud? Some people want to be “blown away” by their HiFi system, while others prefer subtlety. Your music genre impacts your speaker choice.

• If you love classical music or jazz, accurate sound reproduction at low to moderate volumes is key.
• If you listen to rock, metal, or deep house, you’ll need a system that handles power and bass efficiently.

The truth is, not everyone needs (or wants) to be “blown away.” I remember one time I was trying to impress a young man with some gear back in the 90’s and nothing I was showing him was good enough. He finally said to me, “I want a system that goes so loud that I can’t breathe!” I told him I couldn’t help him. Different people want different things, and it’s not my place to judge, but I’m sure that young man is now in his late 40’s, and is probably deaf as a post.

Now, you may want a system that you can really crank up from time to time, and that’s perfectly fine, or you may want to listen to a soft string quartet with all the sonic delicacy of a butterfly landing on a leaf, and maybe you want to be able to do both, but power is expensive and fidelity is expensive, and if you want both, be prepared to invest heavily.

Pro tip: You can easily download a reasonably accurate SPL meter app for your smart phone and it’s worthwhile to know that prolonged listening at levels louder than 95dB will cause damage to your ears. Optimal listening (when the human ear’s frequency response is most even) is typically between 75 and 85 dB.

Matching Your HiFi System to Your Music Tastes

It’s important to note that all music is not created equal. If all you ever listen to is female vocals and string quartets, you probably don’t need 600 watt monoblocks and 15 inch subs, but if your tastes lean toward heavy metal or deep house, then a 15 watt tube amp and a pair of micro sats isn’t going to cut the mustard either.

Now, don’t get me wrong, an accurate speaker is an accurate speaker—the speaker doesn’t know what type of music it’s playing, it’s just trying to reproduce the signal that it’s getting, so in that regard, sometimes when people say “this is a good jazz speaker,” what they really mean is that it plays better at a low to moderate volume, whereas a “good rock & roll speaker” just refers to something that can move more air, or take a bit more punishment. When you reach a certain price point, a good speaker is a good speaker regardless of what it’s asked to do.

Price vs. Performance: Finding the Right Balance

Sometimes you’ll get hit with something that you don’t expect and it takes a while to process. I’ve heard systems that, based on their price tag, should have left me breathless, but yet, failed to impress me at all, and other times, I’ve heard bargain budget gear that has knocked me for a loop because it outperformed my expectations.  That being said, you can’t really expect to get a world class, mind blowing hifi system for $1000, but you also don’t have to spend $200k to get there (but it’s quite a bit easier to get there if that’s your budget).

Another funny story: One time, shortly after I started at K&W, I had an elderly woman who came in to the shop and all she had ever owned was a $600 Bose Wave Radio, but she loved music and wanted a really good hifi system and was willing to spend up to $10,000. I played her a pair of Martin Logan electrostatic speakers connected to an Arcam amplifier and CD player (Yes, that’s right. A cd player. This was almost 20 years ago, after all.)

I put on one of her favourite artists, Diana Krall and when I hit play the room was filled with rich mellifluous jazz and Diana’s voice came through as clear as you could ever imagine. After only a minute of playing the song the woman was shaking her head saying, “No, no, I don’t like that at all.” I was a bit confused because I was in the room too, and to me it sounded absolutely fantastic, so I asked her what it was about the sound that put her off? Her reply–and I swear I’m not making this up–she said, “It sounds like she’s right here in the room with me and that makes me uncomfortable.”

Final Thoughts: Creating Your Ultimate HiFi Experience in Calgary

Whether you’re wanting something that will feel like a punch in the stomach with every thump of the kick-drum, or something that casts out a sonic image that extends far beyond the walls of your listening room and transports you to Carnegie Hall or Abbey Road Studio, it’s what you want that really matters. At this level (meaning the K&W Audio level) we’re really arguing over fine wine.

At K&W Audio, we take the time to understand:

• Your room setup
• Your listening preferences
• Your budget

What you want is what you want, so when the nice sales guy in the shop asks you what you want to hear, don’t be shy.  Don’t tell him you want to hear classical music because your friend told you that’s the best way to compare audio systems but you don’t ever listen to classical music when you’re at home alone. If you want to hear 10000 Days by Tool or Hotel California for the 10000th time, he’s not going to judge you. The more we know about your Calgary home’s acoustics and your HiFi goals, the closer we can get you to the Ultimate HiFi Experience.

Ready to build your ultimate HiFi system? Contact our friendly and knowledgeable team at K&W Audio today. Whether you’re fine-tuning your current setup or starting fresh, we’ll help you find the perfect sound for your space. Visit us in Calgary or call us now.