I like music. I listen to pop, chill, jazz, mash remixes, classical, and everything in between. Many systems stream digitally, but my current system does not. Technology has evolved. Should you splurge and upgrade, or find a way to reuse your old kit?
If you want to dust off your old turntable, add a tape deck and make mix tapes for your 1980s Mercedes that still has its original audio system, or stream music from your phone. This is completely different from just getting into singing, dancing, and playing music. A hidden, clean, and smart multi-room connectivity system. And most importantly, it's easy to stand out.
I'm not an audio engineer, but I'm aware that Dolby Atmos is getting a lot of attention. First in movie theaters, then from 2019 onwards home audio was also used. Recently, when he walked into a custom audio-visual screening room, he experienced an amazing shock. Two Bowers & Wilkins floorstanding speakers are on sale for as low as £25,000, with a central soundbar, hidden ceiling and wall speakers, and a Rotel Amp and preamp configuration, with the last two items Together they can add up to £5,000.
Everything is connected by countless hidden cables inside a handcrafted cabinet with airflow and numerous power sources. In front of you is a super comfortable chair with a great view of the 80-inch OLED screen, providing the ultimate mesmerizing audio-visual experience. Even better? The room was soundproofed. Turn up the volume without disturbing anyone.
This kind of arrangement would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, these installations are designed for movies. A true audiophile will not accept surround his sound or Dolby Atmos.
If you want an affordable multi-room home solution that lets you enjoy both music and movies, buy Sonos. Once your home is installed, hire a decorator to make repairs or repaint it. Or go high end. Steinway drops tens of thousands of dollars in collaboration with Ringdorf. The remote control alone costs him over £8,000. Be prepared for eye-watering expenses. But there are cheaper options.
Back in the real world, I have no intention of rebuilding my house, digging any more cables into the walls, or installing ceiling speakers in a room with beams. The simple answer to any problem may be to throw away what you have and start over. But especially when it comes to speakers, I'm sure there's a way to modify and reuse the old kit I have and the one that's gathering dust in my loft.
Yes, we are confident that the MBL Radialstrahler 101 X-Treme speakers are great. They're probably a little too big for my house, and at around £295,900 a pair, they're a little too expensive. Especially if you want to enjoy Sophie Ellis-Bextor's “Murder on the Dance Floor” like it was back in 2002.
Anyway, is the sound quality worth the expense? I'm from the generation that hovered over the play and record buttons on the cassette deck during Top 40, picking up the latest hit on the latest mix tape. I was of the generation that used HB pencils to stab annoying siblings or wind up mushy cassettes into hungry Walkmans.
I didn't worry about sound quality as long as I could play it loud enough to send items flying off the shelves while my parents and family were out and about. A few years later, my loft became a gallery of audio artifacts. It's a graveyard for amplifiers, speakers, cassette decks, graphic equalizers, and CD systems. Even if I sell it, I will only make a penny, so I want to use it.
Over the years, I've vacillated between music technology that values style over content and high-quality, precision engineering by true hi-fi experts. JVC recognized the “need” for a graphic he equalizer with an LED display that would dance to whatever horrible music was thrown at you.
The absolute don is, and still is, Bang & Olufsen. Beautiful and timeless, it's accented with a variety of seemingly unnecessary features, including sliding glass doors, speakers that appear out of nowhere, an automatically rotating TV, and a less-than-intuitive user interface. Style is the issue.
For a niche manufacturer, the quality and purity of the sound compensates for the lack of technical frivolity. Arcam and Naim amplifiers, Bowers & Wilkins, Celestion or Tannoy speakers, to name just a few, are all British companies in areas where the UK continues to excel.
The Bang & Olufsen kit I have is 20 years old. It looks cool, sounds good enough, and is perfect for your living room. You never have to blow the door down. I don't have parties like that anymore.
However, it has a drawback in that it is analog. I have a lot of CDs in my collection, but no one chops them up or swaps them while you chat, drink fizz, and eat snacks. However, upgrade technology is available. Use Apple AirPlay or the slightly more expensive Beosound Core device to digitize your older kit. The new Beolab wireless speakers are priced at £8,399 for a set of two. My system has 4 speakers and 1 subwoofer. The conversion cost – £699 – is a small price to pay to avoid extinction. It sounds great, looks great, and will probably last another 10 years on your old system.
That's fine as an entertainment space, but what about a men-only space? I recently upgraded my TV to a Sony 75 inch OLED. Supported by Arcam receiver, Gallo Acoustics speakers, soundbar, and subwoofer. Perfect for movies. Terrible for audio.
But the fun of the man cave is that you don't have to suppress your debauchery. Two independent systems and a large number of speakers are quite acceptable. The goal is a high-quality audio-only system with digital capabilities. Yes, you can buy a Sonos amplifier for £699, a Bluesound node for £449 or a WiiM streamer for £299. But if there's a loft you can loot, I'm not sure it's worth the money.
I assembled a vintage dual turntable, a Kenwood stereo graphic equalizer, a Sony double tape deck, and a Yamaha amp I bought in the 1990s. I connected them to table-mounted Gallo Acoustic Strada 2 speakers I found in my cupboard, and for added oomph, I connected a bass subwoofer.
Spruced up with some Pledge, they were like new. Cables are everywhere, but not gold-plated ones, because the emperor has enough clothes. Hide some cable ties behind the unit and they will be out of sight. After adding the finishing touches for streaming (I bought his 1Mii receiver with Bluetooth for £79 on Amazon) it's up and running and sounds great.
I'm still thinking about investing in a set of Celestion 66 floor speakers and a suitable streaming amplifier, but for now I'm happy with the few hundred pounds I've spent upgrading my old kit for the digital age. We recommend that you do the same before spending a lot of money. It costs a lot less and it's a lot more fun to put the band back together.
James Max is a television and radio host and real estate expert. The views expressed are personal. X, Instagram, Thread @maaaaaaaaaaaaaa
