Home Stereo System: A Beginner's Guide to the World of Hi-Fi Audio
Anyone who has worked with hi-fi equipment knows the great feeling of satisfaction that comes from putting together the perfect stereo system for your home, office or outdoor party.
In this guide, we'll discuss every aspect of creating such a system - from choosing the right speakers, finding the right amplifier for them, connecting all the components - and ending with setup for great sound. We'll also give you tips on how to get the most out of your budget and how to realize the full potential of your audio components.
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Take inventory of what you already have.
Do you have any stereo components you can use as a starting point? Maybe there is a receiver that your parents were going to throw away, or an old record player from grandma's attic... Think of anything that might be useful. Even if it's not state-of-the-art equipment, we can start with what you already have and then make improvements.
This is the main benefit of building a stereo system instead of buying an all-in-one device. The sound quality will be significantly higher, you will get better results for the same money, and you can then purchase other components as your needs change and new technologies become available.
For me, it all started with an old dusty receiver that I found in my parents' basement. Then I bought myself a pair of beat up speakers from craigslist. My father gave me a power cord from a broken lamp and showed me how it could be used as a speaker cable. Finally, I connected a wire from the headphone jack of my portable CD player to the receiver.
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That first system wasn't perfect, but it was the spark that started my passion for audio technology, which has become my life's work (or lifelong addiction, as some call it). Now we're ready to help you get started with your first audio track.
Let's get started!
The first step to creating a great-sounding home stereo system is quality speakers. When you find a couple that “speaks” to you (and this is not a joke), you will feel completely immersed in the music and deeply connected to it.
In this section, we'll look at some frequently asked questions about choosing speakers for a two-channel hi-fi system:
Ultimately, the type of speaker you choose will determine which components will best suit your needs and what makes the most sense to spend your money on. Factors to consider include the size of the room, the genres of music you'll be listening to, and the budget you have available.
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Important. If you already have an amplifier, you need to choose speakers with characteristics within its capabilities. We'll go into more detail about this in the next section, so we recommend that you familiarize yourself with it first and only consider speakers that will work successfully with your amplifier.
We interact with sound-producing devices every day, from morning to evening. There is a speaker on your phone, at the self-checkout counter at the grocery store - and even the microwave oven, when informing you when a dish is ready, does so using its simplest version. It's important to understand the difference between a speaker squeezed into the back of a flat-screen TV and a full-range, high-fidelity speaker system designed to play music.
The job of any speaker is to take an electrical audio signal and convert it into something we can hear. Hi-Fi speakers fulfill this requirement, but are not limited to:
They must produce a sound that exactly matches what its source produced. If you want a piece of music to sound exactly the same in your home as it did in the room where it was recorded, your speakers must reproduce most of the frequencies audible to the human ear. That's why…
Speakers must recreate sound over a wide frequency range. The human ear typically perceives sounds in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz (20,000 Hz). As we age, we somewhat lose sensitivity in the high frequency region, and on average the upper limit for an adult approaches 15 - 17 kHz.
The sound pressure level over the entire frequency range should be approximately the same. Simply “hitting” certain frequencies is not enough; If your speaker emits sound waves above 20 kHz but produces bass that overwhelms everything else, you won't get good results. The characteristics of the room and the location of the speakers in it greatly affect the sound. The graphs given in the technical characteristics of the selected model are designed for very neutral rooms from an acoustic point of view and are based on measurements taken at certain distances.
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Bookshelf or floor standing speakers :
There are two main types of speakers for a home stereo system: bookshelf, or rack-mount, and floor-standing, or tower, speakers. Bookshelves are smaller and more affordable; Floorstanding speakers tend to produce deeper bass and a larger music stage.
Both of these options are quite good, and you can't go wrong either way. If you're on a budget, you'll probably be better off looking at shelf models. Well-designed bookshelf and floorstanders from the same line will sound similar. However, the latter have several advantages.
What are the benefits of floor standing speakers?
Thanks to the increased dimensions of the cabinets, floor standing speakers can be equipped with a larger number of emitters, which are also larger in size compared to bookshelf speakers. This is especially true for models in the higher price range.
When comparing the two types of speakers head-to-head, people often describe the sound of the floorstanding speakers as being "thicker," "more powerful," and "compelling." This is also due to the increased body size.
Sometimes floor-standing ones are more sensitive.
These are not strict rules; you can find bookshelf speakers with much deeper bass than floor-standing speakers - and the latter are much less sensitive compared to the former. But more often than not, in a direct comparison, floor-standing speakers turn out to be somewhat more impressive.
It should be noted that large speakers are usually designed for listening from a greater distance. If you sit too close to multi-speaker floorstanding speakers, the sound may not reach your ears properly, so for close listening, bookshelf speakers are a better choice.
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Why bookshelf speakers are good :
In the early days of home audio, high-quality speaker systems for the intended use were exclusively large and floorstanding. Speakers with small cabinets had a reputation for being inexpensive and of poor quality. Today things are completely different.
Twice the price does not mean twice the performance. The cost reflects higher production costs: additional materials, a larger cabinet, one or more speakers, another crossover... not to mention the added weight, which leads to higher shipping costs. Bookshelf speakers are a great option for those with a limited budget or tight spaces.
Bookshelf speakers are perhaps the best way to introduce newbies to the world of high-quality audio. They should be considered, first of all, by those potential buyers who are on a limited budget or are creating a system to work in a small room.
Advantages of floor-standing speakers:
Since they are built into active speaker cabinets, they can use specially designed electronic components optimized to create the highest possible sound quality. Thanks to this, you don't have to guess which device to choose as a partner for a specific speaker model. The development company's engineers have already done this work for you.
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2. Active speakers may have built-in additional functions and capabilities
Some powered speakers even boast built-in streaming capabilities, making a pair of them a complete stereo system (speaker, amplifier and sound source in one package). This approach reduces flexibility, but provides maximum simplicity and convenience.
On the other hand, if new formats appear, you will not be able to update the internal units. Let's take a look at just a few of the features that have appeared over the past ten years: updated Bluetooth standards, Dolby Atmos, new versions of HDMI, eARC - and much more. If your speaker doesn't have these options, you'll have to connect external components one way or another.
3. More order and space in the room
Built-in amplifier frees up one shelf space; the built-in network player adds one more thing to it. You can also find wireless active speakers, which allows you to get rid of cables at the same time. Keep in mind that they will require a power cord (and access to a nearby outlet).
However, all these functions and capabilities come at a price: active speakers are more expensive than their passive counterparts.
But if you're starting from scratch, you can combine your speaker and amplifier budget and buy a pair of active speakers (just keep in mind that if you want to buy passive speakers in the future, you'll need to buy an additional amplifier for them).
Advantages of passive speakers
1. Affordability
The most significant advantage of passive speakers is that they are more affordable than their active counterparts. If you already have an amplifier or receiver, you can save quite a bit of money by opting for a pair of passive speakers. If you don’t already have such a device, be sure to take its cost into account when comparing options.
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2. Versatility
Passive speakers allow for a much more flexible approach to system design. You're not tied to a specific amplifier, which means you can upgrade or change other components as you see fit, leaving the speakers in place. This will allow you to experiment with combinations of speakers and amplifiers from different brands to achieve the sound of the system to your liking (this feature can be either a plus or a minus for users, depending on their approach).
3. Breadth of choice
Finally, there are many more passive speaker options on the market than active speakers. And whether you're looking for a specific sound, or the model needs to meet some aesthetic requirements, there are almost certainly passive speakers that will fulfill your desires.
So which should I choose? Passive or active speakers?
Powered speakers are a good option for those who want to leave more space in the room and do not plan to upgrade their system in the foreseeable future. You will get excellent quality with a minimum of effort.
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Most Hi-Fi speakers on the market only emit sound waves at frequencies of 40 Hz or slightly higher, whereas your ears can only hear tones at frequencies around 20 Hz. Some subwoofers go even further and produce sounds that can be felt rather than heard.
What sounds is a subwoofer best for?
The subwoofer will improve the sound of bass guitar, kick drum and organ. The frequency range of this speaker is typical for electronic music, hip-hop, reggae and pop music. However, it will enhance the bass in almost any genre of music or other audio signals.
It also enhances the impact of low-pitched voices and movie acoustic effects (like explosions), so it's a great addition to a stereo system that will also be used for watching videos.
Another important advantage of using a subwoofer is that the rest of the speaker system can focus more on reproducing the upper bass, midrange and high frequencies, while the subwoofer will be responsible for the deepest bass. This allows you to increase the reliability of the sound as a whole - but only if you have correctly set the crossover frequency (usually 60 or 80 Hz; one of the following articles will be devoted to this issue).
Important. You need to ensure that the impedance of your speakers is within the amplifier's capabilities. If the speaker is too low compared to what is listed on the amplifier's specifications, there is a possibility of damage to both components.