Are you thinking about replacing your old Hi Fi equipment or just buy a new one? Probably if you are not an audio expert and was looking around the market you found too many brands and prices from U$S 300 to more than U$S 50.000 or more and you could became frustrated and confused, so here is one advice given by a friend of mine who is a musician and it was very helpful to me:
1.- How much is your budget? This is not necessary related to your income but how much you are willing to spend in a new Hi Fi. Are you a music fan?, I mean, you use to listen and enjoy music almost every day or just occasionally? Do you really listen music as an activity itself or use music as at a background such as in a party or meeting with friends? When you answered to yourself these questions you can go to the point 2.
2.- Size of the room where you are placing your audio equipment. This is important to have an idea of the power requirements. A big amp in terms of power but placed in a small room probably could not deliver all the sound richness you are looking for. This is mainly because big amps needs some level of power to send the appropriate signal to excite the speakers. It is like have a Ferrari but always driven at 10 mph .. For a room of 20 sq meters it is better to have a 25watts amp used at level 5 rather than a 100 watts amp driven at level 2 volume.
3- At this point you should know how listening music is important for you and the power you need. Now, take your favorite music, you know, a song you know very well how it is sounding at your actual audio system and take it to go on shopping. You will find at least 2 categories of audio system:
Regular Hi Fi at very convenient prices (depending on countries between $ 300 and $ 1000)
Hi Fi / High End devices: usually you don’t find these products on supermarkets or deptl. stores but in specialized audio shops. Audio equipment in this category are expected to bring you higher sound quality as well as long life of use as they are expected to be build using high quality components.
Note: if you want to have also a home theater system, advice remain the same, you can find in the market equipment that allows you to combine both things.
Now what you need to do is testing your favorite music at different equipments, and compare its prices against the quality of sound you perceive. Try to test different components (i.e.: speakers, amps, cd players, etc) to really compare sound and prices. Never try to save money like for instance buying a good reputed amp but a cheap pair of speakers, remember that good sound came from both amp and speakers. Finally the music as other arts is a matter of personal perception, and doesn´t mean you have a kind of sensorial deficiency or similar, it is just the way you perceive music and the importance that it has in your life, so if you don’t perceive a difference in sound between a $600 and a $2000 audio system, or you note the difference but in your opinion does not justify the $1400 price gap, you should by the first one. You should not buy an expensive audio system just to satisfy your friend’s personal music perception when he visit you at your home. Good luck!!!
