Page 30 - Hi-Fi

When  does portable start being... cumersome? When you have to fill your pockets with too much stuff - we're willing to wager. Don'[t get us wrong - we love that portable players are giving us the abiloity to take our hi-fi outside. That never ceases to be awesome. But when there are other factors to consider - such as portable headphone amplifiers - you start to run out of room for other things. Like your phone, your wallet, your keys...

Your fruit. Life is tough.

The solution? No, we're not

As nice as it is to preen about our own products, sometimes it's nice to take a little step back (or step up, at times) and see what else the big, wide world has to offer. Now... hi-fi is a luxury industry. And as a luxury industry, it's pretty unlimited. Where there's a will, there's a way. Which is why there are some extraordinary examples of extremely expensive hi-fi paraphinalia floating around in the ether.

Which brings us to the rather gobsmaking Avid Actus.

Do you like your music loud and proud? Do you like it in stunning high fidelity? And do you like it... outdoors? Well now you can have all of those things.

Okay, you have technically been able to have all of those things for some time. But hey, it's hi-fi, there's always room for improvement. And the latest portable player to hit our shelves has really got us excited. Yes, there's a new player in town. Enter: the FiiO X3 II / X3K - FiiO's second generation of high-fiedlity music player. It's everything

Buy yours here:

https://www.audioaffair.co.uk/fiio-e12k-mont-blanc-2-portable-headphone-amplifier-dac

via IFTTT

If you're new to the hi-fi game, or if you're looking for a complete system overhaul - sometimes it's hard to know exactly what to get. There are so many options, which way do you turn?

Well luckily we've identified this as an issue, put our heads together and come up with a series of packages. All of which will work well together, look great together and - most importantly - sound great together. Each of these packages will form a complete system: i.e. all you will need is the cables, and you're

No, it's not obvious, and yes - we get asked it all the time. The fact of the matter is: hi-fi is a little... complicated. There are choices, there are preferences, there are brands that are more compatible with other brands and combinations that are more effective than other combinations... and the list goes on (... and on. And on). So it's no wonder we get asked such things, even by those with the know-how and the passion.

Well, I have good news, and I have bad news... which are both also good

Where did all of this come from? The hi-fi industry, I mean? Well, it came from a want of music the way it was supposed to be heard, of course. But all of that stems from the music being there in the first instance. And there is a consumable, repeatable and purchasable way. We've come a long way since the only way you could hear some music was to have it played within your direct vicinity. It's the rise of vinyl that made this possible. It's the rise of vinyl that has made music what it is

Listen up, because this is important. If you want to listen to vinyl - you need a phono stage. Yes, we know it doesn't seem necessary. And yes, we know it's hardly the most glamourous topic in the hi-fi realm - especially not if it's overshadowed by its considerable more glamourous partner: the turnatable - but trust us when we say that you can't have one without the other. Some turntables come with them built in, but if you're serious about your vinyl collection, you will want to keep things

There comes a time, in every music lover's life, that they must consider the possibility of a turntable. Sure, they're not for everyone. They're tricky, they're impractical and they can be an expensive venture. But... that's not exactly the point. And if you're considering entering the world of analogue, you already know this to be true. Turntables are cooler than cool, and they epitomise true hi-fi. Who cares if they're tricky, impractical and expensive?

Well, we care. A bit. Nobody wants their

We're often asked, 'what is the best looking turntable' and the simple answer is - they're all different!

Turntables come in all shapes and sizes, colours, finishes, styles... There are so many variations that we wanted to pull them all together on one page...

So here's a round up of some of our favourites from around the web. Which do you prefer?