© Uncle Steve 2018
Just a short explanation of what
this site is all about.
Even though I stepped back from running Eastwood HiFi a little while ago, I still get frequent requests for advice on what equipment suits a particular situation as regards things such as room size, musical taste. budget etc. so I thought I’d start a site dedicated to reviewing and explaining various aspects of domestic music reproduction. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my views (having two offspring in their late 20’s, I realise that the majority of under 30’s know far more than I ever will) however, I’ve always been a take it or leave it kind of guy so if you think I’m full of crap, go read “What, Which or Who HiFi” as the Pommie magazines seem to have a gravitas that I lack (even though they’re probably taking the piss in their dour comedic English way). I’ll start by listing the equipment used in domestic music reproduction by their relevance, You’d think (logically) that the most important thing would be the Source (CD, Record Player, Streaming Device etc.) and if their were no other factors involved, you’d be right. However, since money is an integral part of the equation and the fact that the difference between a bad Source and a good Source can be relatively inexpensive, it throws that theory out of the window. In fact, the most important and critical piece of kit you’ll need is a really good loudspeaker system and the difference between good speaker systems and bad ones can be a financial chasm. Obviously the Amplifier needs to be of good quality but it makes less difference to the overall performance than the Source and Speakers. So far, most people will agree with my somewhat simplistic assessment but now we get to the Elephant in the Room - Cables (interconnects, speaker cables etc.) The Audiophiles stopped reading this a while ago so I’ll say my piece without fear of being lynched, Cables are the biggest rip off in the industry - Retailers make a bigger margin on cables than any other product - 500% markups are not uncommon. The difference they make (and they actually do make a difference) is relatively small and in the case of speaker wire, as long as the wire is thick enough to pass the necessary current without undue hindrance, any sonic variation between that wire and others is moot as (in my humble opinion) the guy who mixed the music in the studio wasn’t using $1000 metre speaker wire, he was most likely using 12 gauge 99.99% OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) costing $10 metre. That means, if you’d like to hear the music as the artist and engineer intended, you’re better off NOT using cable that sonically detracts from the original sound. I’ll get off my Podium now and let you look around.
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Just a short explanation of
what this site is all about.
Even though I stepped back from running Eastwood HiFi a little while ago, I still get frequent requests for advice on what equipment suits a particular situation as regards things such as room size, musical taste. budget etc. so I thought I’d start a site dedicated to reviewing and explaining various aspects of domestic music reproduction. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my views (having two offspring in their late 20’s, I realise that the majority of under 30’s know far more than I ever will) however, I’ve always been a take it or leave it kind of guy so if you think I’m full of crap, go read “What, Which or Who HiFi” as the Pommie magazines seem to have a gravitas that I lack (even though they’re probably taking the piss in their dour comedic English way). I’ll start by listing the equipment used in domestic music reproduction by their relevance, You’d think (logically) that the most important thing would be the Source (CD, Record Player, Streaming Device etc.) and if their were no other factors involved, you’d be right. However, since money is an integral part of the equation and the fact that the difference between a bad Source and a good Source can be relatively inexpensive, it throws that theory out of the window. In fact, the most important and critical piece of kit you’ll need is a really good loudspeaker system and the difference between good speaker systems and bad ones can be a financial chasm. Obviously the Amplifier needs to be of good quality but it makes less difference to the overall performance than the Source and Speakers. So far, most people will agree with my somewhat simplistic assessment but now we get to the Elephant in the Room - Cables (interconnects, speaker cables etc.) The Audiophiles stopped reading this a while ago so I’ll say my piece without fear of being lynched, Cables are the biggest rip off in the industry - Retailers make a bigger margin on cables than any other product - 500% markups are not uncommon. The difference they make (and they actually do make a difference) is relatively small and in the case of speaker wire, as long as the wire is thick enough to pass the necessary current without undue hindrance, any sonic variation between that wire and others is moot as (in my humble opinion) the guy who mixed the music in the studio wasn’t using $1000 metre speaker wire, he was most likely using 12 gauge 99.99% OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) costing $10 metre. That means, if you’d like to hear the music as the artist and engineer intended, you’re better off NOT using cable that sonically detracts from the original sound. I’ll get off my Podium now and let you look around.
