While old and new may blend wonderfully when it comes to barn conversions and Lucy Dacus covering Carole King, it doesn’t always in the case of hi-fi system aesthetics. We should know – on our rack we have an old-school, dial-heavy Marantz integrated amplifier sitting below a sleek, minimalist Cambridge Audio streamer. And, to make it worse, one is silver, one is black. The company badges don’t remotely line up. Visually, they are as compatible as wedding invitations and the Goosebumps font.
On the flip side, there are surely very few things more beautiful to the eye of a hi-fi enthusiast than a handsome rack of matching separates. Naim’s streamlined black-punched-withilluminated-green, heavy metal components spring to mind, as do the attractive tiers of blue glow that come from the marriage of multiple illuminated McIntosh electronics. You can probably picture those, but if the image of a Chord Electronics source stack is beyond your mental conjuring, just take a look at that beauty on the opposite page and try not to drool. It displays the kind of uniformity of which an army lieutenant would be proud.
But while aesthetics are important – more so to some people than others, naturally – and are the most obvious advantage of keeping it in the family when it comes to building a system of separates, it shouldn’t be what first and foremost determines your system. There are other things to take into consideration, starting with component compatibility.
Strong sonic synergy
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision India.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2023-Ausgabe von What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
YG Acoustics Carmel 3
On paper, the Carmel 3 from Colorado-based speaker specialist YG Acoustics has a credibility problem. They cost a huge amount of money but are small, rather plain-looking two-way floorstanders.
SME Model 20 Mk 2/Series V
SME launched the Model 20 turntable back in 1992. The partnering tonearm on our review sample, the now legendary Series V, dates back even further to 1986.
TOP FIVE LAUNCHES
Five products to look out for this month
Real slim shady...
FOR Slim profile, superb dispersion, soundstage AGAINST Can get a little expensive
THE BIG PICTURE
This projector-based home cinema set-up aims to please
MOVIES ON THE MOVE
Great pictures and quality sound-wherever you are
DREAM CINEMA
An incredible high-end home cinema experience, at a price
GAMING GEM
Serious gamers will be well served by this serious rig
CINEMATIC STUNNER
A truly immersive system for both gaming and movie nights
SOUNDBAR SUPERSTAR
The benefits of a surround set-up, without the fuss