Ask a Reader: We asked if it’s big on hi-fi, and your answers left little “room” for doubt.
At the beginning of the month, we asked: Is bigger always better, or are you more interested in smaller, but still loud, hi-fi?
Editor’s note: Forget £10,000 for a new stereo amp, the things I’m most excited about this year are no ads on Disney+ and I get Taste the Difference mayonnaise at the weekly shop (trust me, it’s really better than the basics, especially with sliced garlic)…
But is it what you, our dear readers, are looking for? Or are you lucky enough that large, Trial-grade hardware is your main port of call for hi-fi?
After a month of deep, mostly constructive discussions, you gave us a clear answer – and one we should have seen coming, judging by your previous responses. The Student asked questions.
The devil is in the details
“It depends,” was the main theme of your early responses. For some, this referred to the specific hardware in question, which is fine, as we know first hand that not all hi-fi is created equal. But the main focus among many of you was the effect the room you planned to put the hardware in would have.
The chain was started by reader AndyC405, who told us, “I think it depends on the size of the room,” before revealing, “for really big things, I think you need to have a dedicated ‘man cave’ and the $$$ required. […] about 98 percent of us here are not.”
They added that this was an important reason for choosing smaller components, but added subwoofers to go along with them, as this was the perfect setup for the space they were listening in.
“My living room is about 5m x 8m-ish – it’s L-shaped, which plays hell with bass acoustics, so the subwoofers were great as I could get them set up properly,” added AndyC405.
Facebook fan Marc Bungener made a similar point, arguing that it’s all about choosing the right hardware for the specific environment you have and managing it properly.
“If you’re really chasing good sound rather than being a hi-fi snob, then size matters both ways, depending on the room: really big speakers. [..] it will cause more problems with room mode/resonances if the room is too small for them,” he wrote.
“Also in a large room, small bookshelves will struggle to fill the room with realistic sound levels […] Many people don’t pay enough attention to room maintenance, which means both speaker placement and the proper balance of absorption/reflections. This is the elephant in the room.”
As always, sound quality is what you care about the most
After agreeing that the room makes all the difference, your comments have largely split into two camps. The first can be “big” if it has the space, and is duly represented by OldCyrusSeparates, who recently started building a new listening room that he thinks is perfect for big hardware.
“If you’re lucky enough to have the space, or preferably a dedicated listening room, there’s certainly no substitute for a full-size kit,” they continued.
“I recently renovated and acquired a listening room bookcase from a tenant with the provision that it doubles as a ‘library’ and includes a sofa bed. Putting up bookshelves may seem like a small price to pay for the opportunity to scour some well-known auction site for the likes of Focal or JBL Behemoths.”
However, an almost equal number argued that the convenience of smaller, smarter and more portable hardware is your preference, even if you have room for larger hardware. But, as was said about Trevor McW, they still need to deliver in one important area.
“As a little boy, I craved big speakers and good looks. Today, all I want is the best sound I can get for the budget I have. I like to listen to details, sometimes at low volume, sometimes with welly! I also like to make good sound with well-defined low registers. At the end of the day, if technology can deliver great sound (both McW’s small gear is top notch)’
So, as always, in the end, sound quality was the single biggest unifying factor among you all, even if your thoughts on what a great hi-fi should be.
Our hot take
Hi-fi comes in all shapes and sizes, and we’ve found five-star products in almost all of them during our nearly five decades reviewing audio hardware.
Yes, great hardware can come with benefits. The size of large electronics gives manufacturers more room for large circuit structures, and they can fit large internal components (such as in large pipe transformers and the like). The extra real estate also means it’s easy to design with tight temperature control in place.
But it’s not a guarantee of sound quality; Small computer hardware has its own inherent advantages, the main of which is that it does not take up much space. But, at a technical level, smaller products have shorter signal paths and may offer fewer RFI paths of entry.
Even with that in mind, the room you want to use it in, and the specific product in question and how it fits into your wider scheme, play a big role as well. That’s why, like you, we think the devil is in the details – especially if getting the best sound quality is your main focus.
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