1 2 3 4 5
(^117) HOW TO BUY TOP TENS
SAVE UP TO 53% BY SUBSCRIBING AND GET STUFF DELIVERED FOR FREE: THEMAGAZINESHOP.COMSTUFF
Sounds
expensive
How much you’re
willing to pay is the
fi rst issue. Naim
speakers off er
superb audio quality,
but with the Mu-so
priced at £895 and
the Mu-so Qb at
£595, you’re going
to have to pay to
fl ood your home
with sound. You
might do better siding
with Sonos’s more
aff ordable speakers;
the entry-level Play:1
only costs £169 and
sounds great.
● Get this:
Sonos Play:1
£199 / sonos.com
Start a
family
When investing in
a multiroom system,
you really want to
pick a hi-fi family
with a plethora of
options. The Denon
Heos range offers
a lot of variety, from
the portable Heos 1
to the room-filling
Heos 7. You can also
link them to other
Denon kit such as
the Heos AVR, which
turns your setup into
a 5.1 surround-sound
system and your
lounge into a cinema.
● Get this:
Denon Heos 7
£379 / denon.co.uk
Hit the
hi notes
If you’re after the
best possible audio
quality, you’re going
to want a hi-fi setup
that can handle
hi-res music. While
mp3 is compressed
down from CD quality
to make the files
smaller, hi-res is
generally defined as
better than CD – and
is thus a haven for
audiophiles. Sonos
doesn’t do hi-res, but
alternative systems
such as Denon Heos
and Bluesound do.
● Get this: Bluesound
Pulse Flex (above)
£299 / bluesound.com
Voice of
an an
el
If being able to control
your music with your
voice is a must, you’ll
need an Amazon
Echo or Google
Home. Unfortunately,
voice control comes
at a cost, as these
AI assistants are
fitted with fairly
average speakers.
But integration with
Amazon’s Alexa is
coming to Sonos later
this year, so you’ll
be able to have both
fantastic audio and
voice control.
● Get this:
Amazon Echo
£150 / amazon.co.uk
In with
the old
Still attached to your
old wired setup? Plug
a Google Chromecast
Audio into the back of
your amp or powered
speaker and you can
stream music to it
from your phone
via Wi-Fi.
● Get this: Goo
le
Chromecast Audio
£30 /
oo
le.com
● A RECORD PLAYER
The old and new rarely get along
(just ask your gran what she thinks
of young people nowadays), but
Audio-Technica’s AT-LP5 (£329)
can play your vintage vinyl through
your new Sonos speakers.
● AUDIOBOOKS
When you’re tired of rocking your
head to your favourite tunes, you
could use your hi-fi to read out
a book. At £7.99/month, Audible
gives you access to a huge library
from Dickens to Jon Ronson.
HOW
TO BUY A
HIFI SYSTEM
ere’s nothing better than
fi lling the whole house with
music – so take off those
headphones and invest in
some wireless speakers
Multiroom
A network of wireless
speakers that can
all play the same
audio in di erent
rooms.
5.1
Surround-sound
format usin
four
speakers and a
subwoofer to create
a 3D e ect.
MUSIC LESSONS BONUS TRACKS
NOW
ADD
THESE
Drivers
The actual
speaker cones. Some
units have separate
tweeters for
crisper treble.
JARGON
BUSTER