Dream about your next upgrade

There is nothing wrong with dreaming.

Now that's out of the way, give yourself the freedom to read up about wonderful hi-end products in Stereophile or Absolute Sound or hifi+ or hifi news magazines or perhaps visit us to listen to some absurd equipment - just to re-calibrate your ears when you visit Vancouver's Hi-Fi store Audiofi!

Upgrading is about understanding your system and knowing where the potential weakness is. Some say speakers are the place to start. Some believe amplifiers actually sound very different. Then there is the source-is-important brigade, not to mention the cable fanatics. 

A chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

A hifi system is similar. Try to create system balance and ensure that system components are matched in quality. Each component has something to bring; - the source is important because the best speaker cannot reproduce what is cannot receive in terms of resolution - the amplifier could distort the signal and lose dynamics - speakers could sound bright and boomy. The trick is to find the weak link.

Another approach is to look at the system's role of making you "see" the orchestra. You are looking through three or four slightly dirty panes of glass which could obscure what you see. Taking out any one pane of glass, cleaning it, putting it back will lead to an improved image. Thus improving any system component will lead to an overall improvement.

E-mail us with your intentions, the stuff you own, some detail of your room, your budget, and we will suggest some upgrade alternatives.

There is nothing as satisfying as hearing your music for the first time - again.

 Next: Cleaning your system