I love music. I’ll listen to pop and chill, jazz, mashed remixes, classical and everything in between. Many systems stream digitally but my current ones don’t. Technology has evolved. Should I splash the cash and upgrade? Or find a way to reuse my old kit?
If you want to dust off your old turntable, add a tape deck to make mix tapes for a 1980s Mercedes that still has its original audio system or stream music from your phone — that’s very different from hankering after an all-singing, dancing and playing multi-room connected system that’s concealed, neat and smart. And, most importantly, showoffable.
I’m no audio engineer, but I’m aware that Dolby Atmos is a thing — initially in cinemas, then in home audio from 2019. Recently I experienced the amazing impact when I ventured into a bespoke audiovisual screening room. Two Bowers & Wilkins floor-standing speakers that retail at a cool £25,000, a central soundbar, concealed ceiling and wall speakers, a Rotel Amp and pre-amp configuration, the last two items together costing the best part of £5,000.
All are connected with myriad hidden cables in hand-built cabinets, with airflow and a proliferation of power sources. Positioned in front are inordinately comfy chairs, giving a prime view of the 80-inch OLED screen for an ultimate engulfing audio visual experience. Even better? The room was soundproofed. Turn up the volume without upsetting anyone.
That sort of arrangement would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, these installations are designed for movies. Real audio enthusiasts don’t embrace surround sound or Dolby Atmos.
If you want an affordable multi-room home solution for both music and movies, buy Sonos. Bring in the decorators to fix and repaint your home once it’s installed. Or go high end. Drop tens of thousands on a Steinway Lyngdorf collaboration. Just the remote will set you back over £8,000 — get ready for eye-watering expense. But there is a cheaper option.
Back in the real world, I don’t intend to rebuild my home, chisel any more cables into the wall or install ceiling speakers in a room with beams. The simple answer to any problem may be to ditch what you have and start again. But there must be a way to retrofit and re-use the old kit I use or have gathering dust in the loft — especially when it comes to speakers.
Yes, I’m sure the MBL Radialstrahler 101 X-Treme Speakers are amazing. Perhaps they’re a bit big for my home and, at around £295,900 a pair, somewhat excessive. Especially if I simply want to enjoy Sophie Ellis Bextor’s “Murder on the Dance Floor” just like it’s 2002.
Anyway, would the sound quality justify the expense? I’m from the generation that hovered over the cassette deck’s play and record buttons during the Top 40, grabbing the latest hits for an up-to-date mix tape. I was of the generation that used an HB pencil to stab an annoying brother or spool a cassette mangled by a hungry Walkman.
We didn’t worry about sound quality as long as we could play it loud enough to dislodge items from shelves while parents and family were out. Years later, my loft has become a gallery of audio relics: a graveyard of amplifiers, speakers, cassette decks, graphic equalisers and CD systems. I want to use them, as selling them would only raise pennies.
Over the years I’ve oscillated between music tech that’s style over substance versus the quality precision engineering of real hifi experts. JVC recognised the “need” for a graphic equaliser with an LED display, dancing to the tune of whichever appalling music was thrown at it.
The absolute don was and remains Bang & Olufsen. Beautiful, timeless and punctuated with a range of seemingly unnecessary features from sliding glass doors, speakers appearing from nowhere, televisions that swivel automatically and user interfaces that are anything but intuitive. Style is its agenda.
To niche manufacturers, quality and purity of sound make up for the lack of technological frippery. Arcam and Naim amps, speakers by Bowers & Wilkins, Celestion or Tannoy — all British companies in a field in which the UK still excels — to name but a few.
The Bang & Olufsen kit I own is 20 years old. It still looks cool, has a nice enough sound and is ideal for my living room. It’s never going to be required to blow the doors off. I don’t have those kinds of parties any more.
However, it does suffer in one regard: it’s analogue. Though there are plenty of CDs in my collection, no one wants to chop and change them while you’re chatting, quaffing fizz and eating nibbles. But upgrade technology is available. An Apple AirPlay or somewhat expensive Beosound Core device will digitalise old kit. New Beolab wireless speakers will set you back £8,399 for a set of two. My system has four speakers and a subwoofer. The cost of conversion — £699 — is a small price to pay to avoid extinction. It sounds great, looks fabulous and I’ll get another decade of use from the old system.
That’s fine for the entertaining space, but what about the man cave? Recently, I upgraded the TV to a Sony 75-inch OLED. Supported by an Arcam receiver, Gallo Acoustics speakers, soundbar and subwoofer. Great for movies. Terrible for audio.
But the joy of a man cave is that there is no need to hold one’s profligacy in check. Two separate systems and plenty of speakers are more than acceptable. The aim is a quality audio-only system with digital capability. Yes, for £699, I could buy the Sonos Amp, a Bluesound Node at £449 or the WiiM streamer for £299. But I am not sure that’s worth the outlay when there’s a loft to plunder.
I’ve assembled my vintage Dual turntable, a Kenwood stereo graphic equaliser, a Sony double tape deck and a Yamaha amp purchased in the 1990s. I connected them to some table-mounted Gallo Acoustic Strada 2 speakers I found in a cupboard and for added oomph, a bass subwoofer.
Spruced up with some Pledge, they were as good as new. There are cables everywhere, though not gold-plated ones as the emperor has enough clothes. With a few cable ties and hidden behind a unit, they can’t be seen. After I added a final touch for streaming — a Bluetooth-enabled 1Mii receiver for £79 bought on Amazon — I’m up and running and the sound is fantastic!
I’m still thinking about investing in a set of Celestion 66 floor speakers and a proper streaming amplifier, but for now I’m happy with the few hundred quid I’ve spent upgrading my old kit for the digital age. Before you spend a tonne of money, I suggest you do the same. It’ll be much less expensive, and you’ll have a lot of fun putting the band back together.
James Max is a broadcaster on TV and radio and a property expert. The views expressed are personal. X, Instagram & Threads @thejamesmax
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