Building your own Hi Fi system can be a fun, rewarding and a lifetime’s journey. You can tailor it to your needs and budget and choose components that appeal most to you. If you catch the bug, you can tweak, upgrade and enjoy fabulous music for years to come.
What are the key elements of a Hi Fi System?
All hi fi systems comprise a set of elements that enable you to listen to music from your preferred music media. The block chart below shows these elements, along with potential components that you might want in your own hi fi system.
What does it all actually mean?
The world of Hi Fi is packed with unfamiliar terms and concepts that can intimidate and confuse people who are new to it (and those who are not so new to it!)
If you check out My Hi Fi Setup, for example, you will see that I put a record (Music Media) on my record player (Audio Source). The record player is connected to a phono stage (Amplifier), which in turn is connected to an integrated amplifier (Amplifier). Finally, the integrated amplifier is connected to my speakers (Output). I have the following Ancillaries: Hi Fi Stand, Record storage cabinet, Power Cables, Speaker Cables, various Interconnects and a variety of gadgets for cleaning records.
Tip: There is a glossary of Hi Fi terms at the end of this post to help explain some of the terms.
Hi Fi Elements vs Components vs Packages vs Separates
Whilst all of the elements of a hi fi system must exist (source media, audio source, amplifier, output), they don’t need to be separate components. A Sonos speaker includes a music streamer, an amplifier and a speaker, all in one physical package. Likewise, an integrated amplifier contains a preamp, a power amp and, sometimes, a phono stage.
At one end of the scale, you might have an all-encompassing package that includes CD player, music streamer, tuner, and amplifier all in one physical package. At the other end of the scale, you could opt for Hi Fi Separates, where you have an individual, separate CD player, music streamer, tuner, preamp and power amp, all connected using Hi Fi Interconnects. Typically, a packaged system will be much cheaper than a system built from separates.
Building your own Hi Fi system
Now that you know the key elements and components of a Hi Fi system, how do you build your own?
You need to work out your requirements and how much money you have available, then decide how you want to spend that money to get the best that you can afford.
So, let’s walk through the process with a Hi Fi newbie who has £500 to spend. That’s about half the cost of a smartphone.
Requirements
Have a think about how you currently listen to your music. Maybe you stream albums and playlists from Spotify using your smartphone and a nice set of headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.
You’re really happy with this approach but you want a better quality experience around the home. You’re not interested in vinyl but you would like to listen to all of those CDs from your youth that your older sister is about to take to the charity shop.
You don’t have much space but you would like some nice speakers and you need something to put equipment on and store the CDs.
Choose your components
OK, with your listening requirements identified, you can look for the components that you need to satisfy those requirements.
Your music media are Spotify (music streaming service) and CDs. You’re going to need a music streamer, a CD player, an amplifier, loudspeakers, speaker cables and some kind of cabinet.
How much can you afford
One thing is for sure: Hi Fi is not a cheap hobby. Even if you have £1 million to spend, I almost guarantee that there will be some options outside of your budget.
For the rest of us, we need to prioritise, be creative and be patient.
Prioritising the most important components will help you to spend your budget in the right areas. Music streaming is the most important aspect of your system to you, so that is where to spend the main part of your budget. You may need to compromise on some other aspects, but get the best audio source that you can afford for your main type of listening.
OK, so you’ve spent two-thirds of your budget on your on a lovely WiiM Amp, combined music streamer and amplifier. How are you going to get all of the other components? Prioritise again. What is the next most important component?
If we stick with the premise that streaming is the most important aspect, a nice set of speakers would be my next choice. You would then have an end-to-end Hi Fi experience for your main type of listening.
Time to get creative
From the initial budget of £500, there is about £170 remaining. With the best will in the world, that is not going to be enough to buy nice speakers, a CD player, a cabinet and speaker cables. A nice set of budget speakers alone, like the Elac B5.2 Debut, will cost over £200. So, what to do?
Well, you can do what all other Hi Fi enthusiasts do; increase your budget!
If increasing your budget is not an option, secondhand Hi Fi equipment is the way forward. You could ask around the family: does anyone have any old Hi Fi equipment in the loft that they want to get rid of? See if you can ask for some items as birthday or Christmas presents.
Facebook Marketplace and eBay (other online selling platforms are available 🙂 ) are great sources of secondhand equipment. I bought a secondhand set of Bang & Olufsen CX100 bookshelf speakers for £50 from eBay. There was a little bit of damage to the case but that was easy to cover up and they sound fantastic in my office.
I have just looked on Facebook Marketplace in my area and found a pair of B&W DM600 S3 speakers (these are award-winning speakers) on Atacama speaker stands for £100, a SONY CDP-XE270 CD Player for £50, Hi Fi Interconnects for £5, Speaker cables for £20 and a suitable cabinet for £10. The grand total for this lot is £185. OK £15 over budget but not bad at all.
As with any items that you buy secondhand, caveat emptor, “let the buyer beware”. Do your research to make sure the items are what you want, that they are compatible with other items that you are buying and don’t part with any money until you are happy they work and are in the condition that you are expecting.
Patience is a virtue
Another option to consider is to delay buying some of the components until you can increase your budget. In our example, maybe take the CDs off your sister’s hands, store them and forego the CD player for now. You could then put more money towards your highest priority components and wait until you can afford the CD player.
Getting the best that you can for your money actually saves you money in the long run as you won’t need to upgrade those components so soon.
Conclusion
If you decide to build your own Hi Fi system, follow these pointers:
- Be clear about what your requirements are.
- Also, be clear about what your budget is.
- Identify the components that you need.
- Prioritise the components that satisfy the main way that you listen to your music.
- Spend the biggest chunk of your budget on your highest priority components, having done tons of research beforehand.
- If your budget won’t buy all the components you need, be creative about where to get them from, e.g. friends, family, or secondhand.
- If you can’t have everything, then be patient and wait until you can afford it. I’ve been waiting 40 years to get a valve amp!
- Above all, enjoy the process so that, in the end, you can enjoy your music.
Glossary of Hi Fi Terminology
I’ve put together a short glossary of Hi Fi terms that not everyone will be familiar with; I hope it helps.
Active Speaker – This is a loudspeaker with an active (powered) crossover network and built-in amplifier. From a practical perspective, this means that you do not need an external, integrated or power amp to use them, but they do need to be plugged into an electrical socket.
Amplifier – Typically, the signal from your audio source is not very powerful and is at a level known as “line level”. An amplifier takes this line level signal and increases it to be powerful enough to drive your output (speakers, headphones, etc.)
There are potentially different types of amplifiers in Hi Fi systems. A Preamp, a power amp, an integrated amp (which incorporates the functions of both the preamp and the power amp) and a phono stage, aka phono preamp.
Audiophile – a passionate Hi Fi enthusiast.
Audio Server – See Music Server.
Crossover Network – The circuitry inside a loudspeaker that splits the incoming signal into bass, midrange and treble frequencies which go to the appropriate drive unit in the loudspeaker: bass, midrange and tweeter.
DAC – A Digital to Analogue Converter is a component that converts a digital signal (Binary 0’s and 1’s), possibly from a computer that you are using for streaming, into an analogue waveform which can then be sent, via an amplifier, to your loudspeakers.
Digital Music – music stored in digital files, for example, on a computer, a CD or a Music Streaming Service. A DAC is required to convert them into analogue waveforms so that you can listen to them. There are many different formats of digital music: MP3, FLAC, ALAC …
Hard Drive – This can be the one in your computer or an external one, that contains digital music. You connect it (either directly or via a network connection) to a music streamer.
Hi Fi – is an abbreviation of High Fidelity, which, in relation to sound, means reproducing the source faithfully, without distortion.
Integrated Amp – an amplifier that comprises both a preamp and a power amp in the same physical component. The majority of Hi Fi amplifiers sold are integrated amplifiers.
Interconnects – cables that connect line level audio sources, such as a CD player or phono stage, to a hi fi amplifier.
Line Level – in simple terms (and it is quite complicated, involving voltage, impedance and power), line level is an industry-standard level of signal strength that a preamp or integrated amp requires to function correctly. Most audio sources, CDs, cassette tape players and tuners produce output at line level. Record players, or more accurately, the phono cartridge, produce output at a much lower level, so they use a phono stage to raise the signal strength to line level.
Music Server – a device (dedicated computer and software) that typically catalogues your music files from a hard drive or NAS so they can be searched by album title, track title, artist name or genre. They also stream the requested music files to a Music Streamer.
Music Stream – before music streaming, you had to download an entire music file to a player, e.g. your computer, before you could play it. With a music stream, when you request a track to play, a music server (either a music streaming service or your own network music server) starts to deliver that music file in a stream of small packets of music data. Your music streamer can begin playing the track as soon as it receives its first packet of music data. This stream continues until the track has been completely delivered
Music Streamer – a device used for playing a music stream from a music server or music streaming service. The streamer can be connected to your amplifier and played via your speakers.
Music Streaming Service – an online, internet-based service that enables you to stream music from vast libraries to your music streamer. These are generally subscription-based e.g. Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Qobuz.
NAS – A Network Attached Storage device is used to store data (in our case, digital music files) on a network. The music files can then be accessed for example, by a music streamer, anywhere at which you can access the network; including wirelessly.
Passive Speaker – these are what most people think of when thinking about loudspeakers. There are no built-in amplifiers, and the crossover network is passive (not powered). From a practical perspective, you will need an external amplifier to drive them, but they do not need to be plugged into an electrical socket.
Phono Preamp – See Phono Stage
Phono Stage – is a specialised preamp for your record player’s phono cartridge. Their function is two-fold: Firstly, they apply an RIAA Equalisation to the input signal; secondly, they increase the power of the output signal up to line level so that it can be connected to an amplifier.
Power Amp – takes an input signal from a preamp and increases the power of that signal to drive your speakers to the volume that you require. This can be an individual, separate component or part of an integrated amp.
Powered Speakers – one of the loudspeakers needs to be plugged into an electrical socket as it contains an amplifier used to drive both speakers. It is the same concept as an amplifier with passive speakers, as the crossover network is passive (not powered, unlike an active speaker in which the crossover network is powered, i.e. active). In practical terms, you do not need an external amplifier, but they do need to be plugged into an electrical socket.
Preamp – a preamp enables you to connect a variety of audio sources, e.g. CDs, cassette tape players, and phono stages and then allows you to select which one you want to listen to. It also handles volume control. The output signal is fed into a power amp. A preamp can be an individual, separate component or part of an integrated amp.
RIAA Equalisation – is a specification for the recording and playback of records, produced in 1954 by the Recording Industry Association of America. In practical terms, for your Hi Fi, it means that you will need a phono stage in order to accurately play a record which has been recorded using this standard (basically, all records since the mid-1950s).
Hi Fi Separates – are individual Hi Fi components such as CD player, music streamer, pre-amps etc. Hi Fi separates approach contrasts with the integrated Hi Fi approach, where all components are housed in a single unit.
Smart Speaker – a self-contained speaker which has a voice-controlled virtual assistant built-in. Some can be considered Hi Fi, others, most definitely not!
Speaker Cables – these connect your amplifier to your loudspeakers. As with other cables and wires in Hi Fi, they can be mind-bogglingly expensive!