Articles

Forget the old rule of matching speaker and amp cost dollar-for-dollar. Here's what actually decides a good pairing, and why it isn't price.

Turntable earthing fixes most phono hum problems. Here's how grounding actually works, why it fails, and how to track down a noisy connection.

Guest Wi-Fi networks isolate devices by design, which quietly breaks multiroom audio. Here's why it happens and how to fix it properly.

AVR thermal throttling explained: why nine-channel Atmos mixes push receivers into protection mode that two-channel music never triggers.

The synergy tax explained: why pairing mismatched hi-fi components quietly costs more than buying modest, well-matched gear.

Felt, rubber, cork or acrylic — turntable mats and platter materials change the sound more than most upgrades. Here's what actually works.

USB, coaxial and optical into a DAC: which digital input actually changes the sound, and when the difference is real versus imagined.

Rear-ported floorstanders against glass walls cause boundary reinforcement and reflections. Here's how to place, measure and tune them properly.

Dongle DACs are brilliant until they aren't. Here's how to work out whether your phone-and-dongle rig actually has the current to drive your headphones.

Below 20Hz is infrasonic bass: felt more than heard. Here's what it takes to reproduce it properly, and whether a statement system should bother.

Qobuz vs Tidal compared for vinyl collectors who want a digital half that matches their records, not just a bigger catalogue.

Adding a subwoofer to a valve amp system can tighten bass, cut distortion and let low-power tubes sing. Here's how to do it properly.

Ceiling speakers vs upfiring Atmos modules compared for real rooms: when in-ceiling wins, when upfiring is the better call, and why.

Ex-demo hi-fi gear can save 20-40% with near-zero risk. Here's how to actually negotiate it, what to check, and when to walk away.

Multiroom dropouts are rarely your Wi-Fi. Here's why DNS resolution quietly breaks streaming apps, and how to fix it for good.

Flutter echo blurs detail in parallel-wall rooms without obvious boom. Here's how to find it cheaply and kill it without over-treating.

Why an amp's 4-ohm wattage figure can mislead buyers, and how to actually match power output to real speaker loads on a budget.

Choosing between 5.1.2 and 7.1.4 Atmos layouts comes down to room shape and seating, not speaker count. Here's the giant-killer logic.

AVR auto-calibration estimates subwoofer delay from distance, not timing. Here's how to measure and correct it properly for tighter bass.

Roon, the WiiM app, Lumin, Chromecast built-in — they all claim bit-perfect. I pulled them apart to see which ones actually leave your file alone.

A $150,000 reference system is only as good as the worst-sounding zone it's networked to. Here's why multiroom integration is the statement system's real weak point.

Qobuz or Tidal already stream hi-res. So why keep a NAS full of FLACs? I ran both side by side for a year and the answer isn't what I expected.

Film soundtracks push amplifier channels harder and longer than stereo music ever does. Here's why that matters for topology, power supplies and what actually fails.

Why do two IEMs with the same driver count sound nothing alike? The crossover topology is doing more work than the drivers themselves.

Streaming services aren't interchangeable once you're running valves. Here's how Tidal, Qobuz and Apple Music actually behave through a warm front end.

A $400 subwoofer in the right corner will beat a $1500 box dumped beside the TV. Here's the cheap, unglamorous process that actually fixes bass.

Bridging two channels of a cheap Class D amp into mono can double your power for not much cash — but it halves your load impedance too. Here's how to do it without cooking anything.

Audyssey, YPAO and Dirac Live all run a mic sweep and spit out numbers, but they're not measuring the same things or fixing the same problems. Here's what's actually happening.

Does a new cartridge really need 40 hours to "open up"? I measured one to find out what's mechanical fact and what's audiophile folklore.

Your sub's miniDSP or app-based EQ can only act on a signal your streamer hasn't already mangled. Here's where network audio and bass management actually interact.

Forget topology wars. The cheapest way to get real performance from an amp is matching its power and impedance tolerance to your actual speakers.

A full four-room multiroom build around WiiM streamers, done properly, for less than the cost of one premium ecosystem speaker.

The DAC chip gets all the marketing attention, but the analogue output stage after it does most of the work shaping what you actually hear.

A subwoofer under the desk can fix what headphones can't do: chest-felt bass. Here's how to add one without wrecking your headphone sound.

HDCP handshakes, not cables, cause most AVR dropouts. Here's how the handshake actually works and the wiring order that stops it failing.

Most system builds go sideways on purchase three, when excitement overtakes diagnosis. Here's how to work out what's actually wrong before you spend again.

Six-figure floorstanders fail in rooms that were never built for them. Here's how to tell if your space can actually support one before you buy.

Ultra short throw projectors sit right where your centre channel wants to be. Here's how I actually solve that in real theatre builds, not in theory.

Which part of a hi-fi system to buy used first for the biggest value jump, and which parts are safer bought new. A practical spending order for giant-killers.

In a statement room, piling on absorption kills the air around the music. Here's when diffusion is the better tool, and where I've seen it misused.

At the top of the market, bigger isn't the default. Here's when a reference standmount genuinely beats a floorstander, and when it's just a smaller cheque.

Before you spend on another headphone amp, check what's feeding it. At the statement end, mains quality and earthing can matter more than the next box.

Dongle DACs have closed the gap on desktop units for most headphones. Here's where the small ones genuinely hold up, and where they don't.

A pair of budget subwoofers almost always beats one expensive one for smoother bass across your room. Here's the maths and the real-world setup.

Why sensitivity, not power output, decides whether a valve amp and speaker pair actually works together — and how to read a spec sheet properly.

Gapless playback and crossfade settings quietly change your audio signal. Here's what's actually happening to the bits, and which setting to use.

Turning your phone down before a Bluetooth speaker or DAC often re-processes the digital signal. Here's what's actually happening, and when it matters.

A cheap subwoofer with built-in room correction can outperform a pricier unit with no DSP at all. Here's the giant-killer maths on why.

MQA's unwinding wasn't a fluke. It's a lesson in what hi-res audio actually needs from a format, and what was always marketing.

Gain mismatches between DAC, preamp and power stage quietly wreck dynamic range. Here's how to actually set gain structure instead of guessing at the volume knob.

In-ear monitors and valve amplification seem like an odd match, but output impedance decides whether it works. Here's how to actually get it right.

Priya Anand on why vinyl systems reward front-end spending over amp wattage, and how to split a hi-fi budget so the stylus does the heavy lifting.

Group delay is why some subs sound thick and slow at the crossover point even when the frequency response measures flat. Here's what it actually is.

Damping factor sounds like a real engineering number, and it is, but past a certain point it stops telling you anything useful about how an amp will sound.

Open-back headphones and a noisy home office don't mix. Here's how to actually diagnose room noise before you blame the gear.

The chip inside a DAC costs a few dollars either way. Here's what actually separates a $500 converter from a $30,000 one — and where the money genuinely goes.

Crossover frequency gets all the attention, but slope, distance settings and speaker size flags quietly decide whether your bass management works or fights itself.

Toe-in angle and cabinet rake cost nothing but change tonal balance and imaging more than most upgrades. Here's how I set both on site.

Why the same headphones sound different depending on whether they're fed over Bluetooth, AirPlay or a multiroom app — and how to get the best signal path at your desk.

Overhang and tracking force get all the attention, but azimuth and VTA are where a properly set-up turntable actually separates itself from a mediocre one.