HOME AUDIO GUIDE

Soundtracking your commute with a bit of Engelbert Humperdinck is all very well, but music is best enjoyed at home – in peace, in comfort, and with a cuppa in your hand. So we’ve hand-picked the best hi-fi gear to give you the ultimate listening experience…

[ Words Simon Lucas ]

● TECHNICS SC-CX700

T he idea of an entire streaming system in a pair of speakers is no longer a novelty – so it’s performance that separates the ‘great’ from the merely ‘good’. Well, that and a finish that feels a bit like a carpet…

The Technics SC-CX700 is a well-specified, properly built pair of active speakers with plenty of power (200W), an integrated streaming platform, and a load of physical and wireless inputs allowing it to be a full-on audio system with support for everything from a turntable to a television. It has several control options, including an app that’s not much to look at but covers every eventuality. And it has a tactile finish in a suede-like material called Dinamica.

Separate thrives

Inside, each cabinet is divided into two chambers – the amplification is separated from the drivers in what Technics calls “acoustic solitude construction”. And while we’re discussing important-sounding features, the Technics Orchestration Concept uses “model-based diaphragm control” to reduce distortion based on simulations of driver movement.

As is usual in products like this, one speaker is in charge and the other does as it’s told. So one just has amplification, a socket for mains power, a button for wireless pairing to its partner and an RJ45 socket for making a wired connection instead, with a bass reflex slot below the coaxial drivers. The other has all that plus the connectivity stuff, and a few buttons on top.

And that performance? It’s safe to say the SC-CX700 has got plenty of it. It doesn’t matter what sort of stuff you want to listen to, or where it’s coming from – you get a big, wide-open and properly defined soundstage, and every part of a recording has the space it needs. Its tonality is natural and convincing, and from the bottom of the frequency range to the top it sounds smooth and detailed. It’s dynamic, controlled, and utterly confident. In fact, this is just the sort of balanced, expressive and entertaining sound quality for which the Technics brand became famous decades ago.

£2399 /go.stuff.tv/CX700

Key specs

● 0.75in tweeter, 6in mid/bass

● 200W

● HDMI ARC, digital optical, Ethernet, USB-C, RCA, 3.5mm, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

● 313x276x201mm, 9.1kg + 313x272x201mm, 8.9kg

STUFF SAYS If you want convenience without sonic compromises, this is a great choice ★★★★★

● ALTERNATIVELY...

FELL AUDIO AMP

To launch a brand-new hi-fi company into the current global situation is either brave or foolish. If the first products from the UK’s Fell Audio are anything to go by, the company is definitely on the ‘brave’ side – and not only in the choice of Class D amplification. The boldness looks to have paid off, though: the Amp (and who doesn’t love the direct nature of that model name?) is nicely equipped and properly built, and most importantly, sounds every penny of the asking price. Add in a look that’s evocative without being retro and it’s obvious that Fell Audio is a name to watch. £599/go.stuff.tv/FellAmp

REGA BRIO MK7

At a glance the Brio 7 might look like more half-width Rega amplifier business as usual – and that wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. But this latest model not only features the Class AB power, the outstanding phono stage for use with turntables and the line-level inputs of previous Brio models; it also adds digital optical and digital coaxial inputs – which means that all of the sonic vigour, dynamism and drive everyone admires about the Rega Brio can be enjoyed from digital sources as well. No, it’s not a reinvention of the wheel – but it makes a brilliant amp even better, so who’s complaining? £799/go.stuff.tv/Brio7

QUAD 33/303

‘Revisiting past glories’. ‘Playing the greatest hits’. This is not unheard-of in the world of home audio, but very few brands have the back-catalogue bangers of Quad – and the new 33/303 preamp and power-amplifier combination is one of the more effortlessly evocative designs in all of hi-fi land. But this is not a tribute act or an exercise in nostalgia: the Quad pairing is all sonic business, from its turntable-friendly phono stage to its bold, detailed and full-scale sound. It’s not so much a wolf in sheep’s clothing as a wolf that looks just like wolves did back in the day… £2395/go.stuff.tv/33303

● NOW ADD THESE

GRADO 325X

Yes, the Cambridge amp is all sleek modernity and these Grados look like a throwback to the days of aeroplanes with propellers. But they have it where it counts: these are thrillingly detailed and endlessly listenable headphones that will make your music sing. £249/go.stuff.tv/325x

WIIM PRO PLUS

WiiM has put the frighteners on every other company building music streamers, because its products sound great, are simple to use, and are priced aggressively. The sweet spot of the lineup is the Pro Plus: if there’s such a thing as a bargain in hi-fi, this is one. £199/go.stuff.tv/ProPlus

ROON

It’s good to have digital audio from different places – streaming services, NAS devices and so on – but how do you amalgamate and curate your music when it’s all over the place? By using Roon, that’s how. Get seamless access to everything, everywhere, all at once. $12.49/m/go.stuff.tv/Roon

BLOK STAX 2G

A proper equipment rack is essential, of course – but Blok is one of the few brands that realises ‘functional’ isn’t going to cut it for many people. So its Stax 2G modular range offers all the support and isolation your system needs, and also looks lovely. from £275/go.stuff.tv/Stax2G

HOW TO CHOOSE

● Your amp’s power output must align with your speakers’ continuous power rating – double the power of the speaker rating is a broad rule.

● Ensure an amp supports all the equipment you want to amplify – for instance, you’ll need a phono input to run a turntable.

● How many pairs of speakers would you like to drive? Many amps can only deal with one pair, but some can feed two.

AMPS

● CAMBRIDGE AUDIO EXA100

I t’s saying something, when you consider just what a roll Cambridge Audio is on at the moment, that the EXA100 integrated stereo amp is the best pound-for-pound product in its entire catalogue. Yes, those streamers and headphones and all-in-one systems are great… but when it comes to offering performance way beyond the asking price, this thing is untouchable.