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Table of Contents
Overview
The world of high-end audio can be super complicated and confusing. As I researched my next system, I learned a lot about the state of the art in 2022. This guide documents my journey and decision making process in buying a reasonably priced audiophile-grade stereo for my home. I’ve enjoyed high quality audio my whole life. My obsession with speakers and amplifiers goes back 25 years when I learned the basics of audio from my Dad. Since then, I have spent hundreds of hours reading reviews, forums, and technical manuals researching different audio technology. Read on to understand what I picked, why I picked it, and my final thoughts.
How I Picked
When shopping for new technology, I have a bad habit (hobby?) of over analyzing the marketplace. I am looking for the best stuff. I am often looking for specific items that fit into my lifestyle – but I understand that what works for me may not be best for you. This article explains my journey to find a kickass HI-FI system in 2022. To help you find your own HI-FI system, I want to explain the criteria that I was looking for. I spent hundreds of hours researching components and technology online and spent dozens of hours driving to audio dealers to audition most of these components.
Excellent Audio Quality: The first and most important criteria is super high audio quality. I looked for an amplifier, speakers, and media sources that provide engaging and precise playback of music. It is important to note that some audio equipment is targeted at Home Theater use cases – these tend to focus on high-tech encoding schemes used in movie sound and are very good at certain things like dialog and explosions. In this article I am looking for gear that is a bit more old-school. I am looking for super high quality stereo (2.0) audio. Audio quality is not a feature that is easy to directly measure; it is more subjective than other attributes. However, you can look for THD in component specifications, which stands for Total Harmonic Distortion. THD is a measurement of the harmonic distortion present in a signal. This is one of the key items to look for in amplifiers.
Value: The Audiophile world can be scary. Not only do prices go up (quickly!) when you start looking at higher quality components, but there is also a significant amount of snake oil for some things like cables. The difference between $10 computer speakers and $100 powered monitors is massive. Similarly the difference between $100 and $1,000 speakers can be a huge improvement as well. Pretty soon, however, diminishing returns kick in. Is there a similar massive jump in quality between $1K and $10K? $10K and $100K? I don’t believe so. There is some amazing gear out there if you have the budget to support it. For me – I believe that the sweet spot for HI-FI systems is somewhere between $1K and $5K before things start to get out of control.
Simplicity: In the old days, audio equipment used to come in a massive stack of separate boxes. Each component was specialized. The amplifier was separate from the pre-amplifier, the radio tuner was separate from the tape-deck, etc… This provided a lot of flexibility in piecing together a system from different companies to build a high quality audio experience. As technology improved, audio companies started integrating components together. The most important merge for me was combing the different stages of amplification together into the integrated amplifier. While audiophiles today still like to build a system from “separates”, I looked for a high quality system engineered into as few boxes as possible. This fits into my living room better, and no longer requires a sacrifice in audio quality.
Playback Use Cases: My HI-FI system is in my Living Room, and serves double duty as a music playback system as well as audio output for my TV. It needs to be able to connect to all of the different audio sources I plan to use, as well as be expandable for the future. Right now, I need it to connect to my TV, my vintage Record Player, and my Chromecast Audio.
Looks: The looks of a Hi-Fi system are subjective to your personal taste. I personally love the retro look of 60s/70s HI-FI systems. I like how wood speaker cabinets fit into the style of my living room and the look of my 1925 craftsman house. Other people may prefer more a more polished and modern look. Because there are so many options in the HI-FI world, you can be sure to find something that fits your lifestyle. Because vintage HI-FI is so hot right now in 2022 (have you looked at the prices at vintage gear on ebay?), several companies (Warfdale, JBL, Klipsch) have been producing new speakers that pay homage to vintage styles. Many of them have been re-engineered to use modern components. I love that you can get modern high performance speakers that share DNA with heritage HI-FI.
Picking speakers:
Loudspeakers are the heart of HI-FI. I argue that this decision has the largest impact on the overall performance and experience of the finished stereo system. However, the sound quality will only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. If you spend all your money on Speakers and connect them to a terrible amplifier – you will not enjoy the result. After 200+ hours researching the marketplace, I selected the Klipsch Heresy IV loudspeakers for my new HI-FI stereo system.
The Champ: Klipsch Heresy IV
The Klipsch Heresy IV floorstanding speakers are the best choice for my new HI-FI system. They provide incredible sound performance, decent value, and awesome retro looks.
The Klipsch Heresy’s are fantastic choice for a ton of reasons. The name Heresy comes from the fact that Klipsch had established a deep legacy in triangular horn-based speakers. The Heresy’s were the first speaker in a rectangular cabinet (a heresy!). Paul Klipsch designed these speakers as a center channel between the legendary Klipschorns. The formula departure worked however – the speakers became legend. These are the speakers that coined the famous Klipsch tagline “Pissing off the neighbors since 1946”. The most modern version of the Heresy – the Heresy IV feature the classic three-way design updated with modern components and geometry. The cabinets are very similar to the original Klipsch Heresy design that was introduced in 1957 – but have recently added a port for extended lower range. The drivers have also been updated with the highest performance modern drivers that Klipsch engineers have designed, giving the speakers an incredible mix of modern engineering and classic soul.
The Contenders: LS50 Meta
If the Heresy’s are not right for you, there are lots of other amazing speakers available in the marketplace. As I was conducting my search, I considered many many speakers, but I wanted to highlight some of the fantastic models that ended up under serious consideration.
The LS50 Meta are the latest iteration in the legendary LS50 line from KEF. The LS50s have a very well deserved reputation since debuting in 2013 for being phenomenal speakers in a relatively small bookshelf package. KEF has engineered them with some very high tech components. Specifically the Uni-Q drivers set these apart. Uni-Q Technology places the tweeter at the center of the midrange driver – giving unparalleled soundstage alignment. The recent addition of KEF to the LS50 speaker is their new Metamaterial sound absorption technology. I have not been able to do an A/B comparison of the old LS50 to the new LS50, but the consensus of reviews online is that the legendary speaker has only gotten better.
The LS50 Metas are an amazing choice for incredible audio in a small, modern form factor. The KEF LS50 are famous for good reason.
The Contenders: Klipsch Cornwall IV
If you like the sound of the Klipsch Heresy’s but have a bit more room in your listening space and double the budget, consider the Klipsch Cornwalls. They are truly epic speakers that bring the spirit of old school dorm busting HI-FI into the modern era. These big, beautiful, speakers are such a treat to listen to, but are unfortunately too big for my living room.
The Klipsch Cornwalls, like most of Klipsch’s speakers are high sensitivity, horn based speakers. This means that they can be powered by a lot of high quality but lower powered amplifiers. You don’t need 100+ watts to power these speakers at normal rock-the-house volumes in your home. These incredible speakers will blow you away at low and medium volumes. I was not able to survive my audition of these speakers at anything more than medium volume. The 15″ drivers with passive radiators are going to be able to bring depth to anything you throw at them. Depending on what kind of music you enjoy, some of the other speaker choices above might want a subwoofer paired with them.
If you have more budget (and more room) for Speakers upgrading to the Cornwall IV is an amazing option. These legendary speakers have been re-engineered with modern components and are ready to rock the house!
Picking an amplifier:
Amplifiers are the other super-important choice when building a HI-FI system. There are loads of different brands, classes, designs, and philosophies. It can be really intimidating to start shopping for amplifiers. The first major choice you need to make is if you want to go digital or analog. Digital amplifiers rely on integrated circuits to amplify the source audio signal and power your speakers. Analog amplifiers rely on vacuum tubes to amplify the signal. There is a long and furious debate on the merits of each. To summarize, a lot boils down to your preference. I chose to focus on modern digital amplifiers for simplicity, reliability, and connectivity to modern data sources.
Connecting an Amplifier to your TV:
To connect your new amplifier to your TV, there are several choices in connection. Because there are so many different kinds of audio streams that come from a TV, it requires a bit of careful planning and research to make sure you are going to get the most out of your new equipment.
To begin, video streams (playing on your TV) are coupled with one or more audio streams. These audio streams take the lossless recordings at the studio and encode them into different formats for distribution. There are a few important things for you to consider:
- Which component do you want decoding the compressed stream? This can be done on your source, your tv, or your receiver/amplifier. One thing to remember; digital signals can be transmitted very robustly. 1 is 1 and 0 is 0. The quality of the components matters less when transmitting digital signals compared to transmitting and analog signal. Don’t fall for the common audiophile trap in buying $500 USB cables or ethernet cables to carry a digital signal!
- Which audio formats do you want to support? Make sure that each device in your audio signal chain can support what you are planning to pass through.
- Can your physical connections support the chain of signals required through your whole system? Can TOSLINK support PCM 2.0? Yes. Can HDMI support DTS-HD? Yes. Can TOSLINK support DTS-HD 5.1 Surround Sound? No. Make sure that what you are planning to do is supported by the cables you plan to use.
To simplify this mess, I recommend two approaches:
1) Connect your TV to your amplifier via Optical TOSLINK cable if you are planning to stick with 2.0 stereo. This is readily available on lots of existing TVs and Amplifiers, and is fully capable of lossless connection for 2.0 stereo. See below for an example of my setup.
This works because I am not asking the link between TV and Amplifier to carry any signals larger than 2.0 PCM. I rely on modern signal processing in both my source (NVIDIA Shield) and my TV (LG OLED) to handle the complex digital signals and decode them to stereo. But downstream audio quality is ensured because I know that the TOSLINK between TV and amplifier can support uncompressed 2.0 PCM Stereo and the speaker cables are high quality!
2) Connect your TV to your amplifier via HDMI ARC connection if you are planning for more than 2.0 stereo or are looking for more automation features. This setup typically requires a newer or more expensive TV and amplifier that both support HDMI ARC. I thought seriously about this option, but decided that it wasn’t worth the additional cost.
Connecting an Amplifier to your Record Player:
Connecting a record player is completely different than connecting your TV. This is because your record player produces a natively analog stereo signal. There is no encoding/decoding required. The goal then, is to maintain as clean and high quality a connection as possible while amplifying the signal coming off of the needle. The problem lies in that phono signals are typically not “line level” signals that can be plugged directly into an analog amplifier input. Most record players require a preamp to boost the signal to line level so that they can be connected to an amplifier.
You have a few choices when planning a HIFI system that includes a record player:
- Look for a record player that has an integrated preamp. I am lucky enough to have my dad’s old record player from the 1970s, which does not have an integrated preamp. This may be a good choice for you, however that was not an option for me.
- Buy a separate preamp. I am working hard to try and build a very simple but high quality system. While a separate preamp may be right for you, and most audiophiles choose this options because it is expensive; I wanted to try and minimize the number of components.
- Look for an amplifier that has an integrated preamp. I decided to only look for amplifiers that have integrated phono stages. This provides the input I need in one convenient box, while ensuring that the interconnect between phono stage and main stage is engineered to be compatible and high quality. Look for amplifiers that have inputs labeled “phono”.
The Champ: Audiolab 6000A
I chose the Audiolab 6000A because it has an almost perfect mix of the different features I am looking for. It has high quality digital to analog conversion coupled with strong 50WPC at an incredible <0.003% THD. Coupled with the incredibly sensitive Klipsch Heresy IV speakers, this combo will produce plenty of volume while maintaining audio quality. The Audiolab 6000A has plenty of inputs to match my use cases; 4 digital inputs, 3 line level analog inputs, a phono input (no need for a photo pre-amp!), and Bluetooth. All this awesome tech loaded into an attractive package. I love the simple round knobs, and the elegant display – It fits nicely into my living room decor.
The Audiolab 6000A has all the right features to be the heart of an awesome and decently priced HI-FI Stereo System.
Under the hood, the Audiolab 6000A sports classic Class AB amplification, delivering up to 9amps into your speakers. A massive 200VA torodial transformer and high quality capacitors ensures that this amp has plenty of grunt to power your speakers. The classic (if somewhat unscientific) way to gauge the seriousness of an amp is to see how heavy it is. The Audiolab 6000A is 21lbs!
The Runner Up: Cambridge Audio CXA81
I also considered the Cambridge Audio CXA81 because it also has an excellent reputation for audio quality while staying in roughly the same price range. Cambridge Audio is famous for their “British Sound” engineering all the way back to the 1960s. The modern CX series is super popular with entry level audiophiles because it maintains the Cambridge Audio legacy with (reasonably) good value. This amplifier is exciting because it offers balanced XLR inputs which are important for some people. I also love the A/B speaker zones. I seriously considered the CXA81, but I decided against it due to the lack of a phono input.
The Cambridge Audio CXA81 is fantastic amplifier that provides powerful clean audio with plenty of modern connections.
The Runner Up: Yamaha A-S801SL
The Yamaha A-S801SL was another serious contender for me. This is the most powerful amp I considered (100Wx2) compared to 80W with the CXA81 and 50W for the 6000A. I decided that because I am going with super high sensitivity horn loaded speakers in the Klipsch Heresy IV (99dB @ 2.83V / 1m), I don’t need a lot of power to fill my living room. 50W is plenty. If you have lower sensitivity speakers, you should consider the Yamaha A-S801SL. I love the looks of the retro silver face and the classic Yamaha tone control knob. Be aware, however, that this amplifier does not have a phono input; you will need a separate phono pre-amp.
For a classic look - the Yamaha A-S801SL Integrated Amplifier is a great alternative to the Audiolab 6000A.
