Tagged: system building

16 articles we've published with this tag.

Building a home cinema budget: the spending order that actually pays off
Where to put the first dollar in a home cinema build, and why most people spend it on the wrong box first. A spending order from twelve years of installs.
By Jonno Fraser
Speaker cable gauge and length: when it actually changes what you hear
Speaker cable gauge and length can measurably shift frequency response over long runs. Here's the maths, the thresholds that matter, and where to stop spending.
By Marcus Vale
Digital source, analogue speakers: why your streamer choice still shapes the pair
A DAC engineer's take on why speaker matching starts upstream — how digital volume, output stage and streamer choice interact with standmounts and floorstanders.
By Theo Mensah
The last ten per cent: where statement systems actually spend their money
Past a certain point, extra dollars buy engineering headroom and craft, not more sound. Here's how to tell the difference in a statement system.
By Sofia Laurent
Where a vinyl system's money actually goes: spending in the right order
A former record shop owner on the real spending order for a turntable system, and where extra dollars stop buying you anything.
By Priya Anand
Where you put the DAC in the signal chain (and why it changes the sound)
DAC before or after the preamp, streamer or separate box: where the conversion happens in your chain affects noise, volume control and cable runs more than the chip inside it.
By Hannah Reid
Loudspeaker sensitivity and amplifier matching: what the numbers actually predict
A speaker's sensitivity spec and an amp's watts-per-channel number look simple but rarely tell you what you think. Here's how to actually match them.
By Hannah Reid
Why room correction can't fix your DAC, and your DAC can't fix your room
Splitting out what a DAC upgrade genuinely changes from what only acoustic treatment and correction software can fix, so you spend on the right layer first.
By Hannah Reid
Cable and interconnect upgrades: where the money stops making sense
A measurement-led look at speaker cable and interconnect spending: what genuinely changes electrically, what doesn't, and where to stop.
By Marcus Vale
Building a headphone system in order: what to buy first, second, third
A sequencing guide for headphone systems: what actually improves sound at each stage, and why buying in the wrong order wastes money.
By Eleanor Shaw
High-end multiroom: how to build zones that don't betray your main system
Most multiroom systems treat every zone as an afterthought. Here's how to build secondary zones that respect the investment you've made in your primary system.
By Sofia Laurent
When to upgrade your amplifier versus your speakers: where the money actually goes
Speakers or amplifier — it's the oldest argument in hi-fi. Hannah Reid breaks down where each dollar genuinely moves the needle, and when the room is the real answer.
By Hannah Reid
How to build a vinyl front-end: where to spend and where to save
Building a vinyl system means making four spending decisions that compound on each other. Here's where the money actually moves the needle — and where it doesn't.
By Priya Anand
Where diminishing returns actually kick in across a high-end system
Spending more doesn't always get you more. Sofia Laurent maps exactly where the law of diminishing returns bites hardest — and where it still doesn't apply.
By Sofia Laurent
Where to spend on cables, racks and power: what actually moves the needle
Cables, equipment racks and power conditioning: Jonno Fraser cuts through the folklore to explain where your dollars genuinely improve a home cinema or hi-fi system.
By Jonno Fraser
Where to spend your speaker budget: a room-first guide to diminishing returns
Spending more on speakers rarely solves the problem you actually have. Hannah Reid maps where every dollar earns its keep — and where it quietly disappears.
By Hannah Reid