While old and new can coexist beautifully when it comes to renovated barn conversions and Lucy Dracus covers for Carole King, not always in the case of hi-fi system aesthetics. This writer should know – their rack features an old-fashioned, dial-heavy Marantz integrated beneath a sleek, minimalist Cambridge Audio streamer – and, to make matters worse, one is silver and the other is black. The company badges are not lined up. Visually, they are as compatible as wedding invitations and the Goosebumps font.
On the other hand, there are probably very few things more beautiful to the eye of a hi-fi enthusiast than a nice rack with matching loose parts. Naim’s sleek black-perforated-with-lit-green, Salisbury heavy metal components come to mind, as do the attractive layers of blue glow that result from the marriage of multiple McIntosh electronics. You can probably imagine those, but if the image of a Chord Electronics resource stack is beyond your mental prowess, take a look at that beauty below and try not to drool. The uniformity an army lieutenant would be proud of.
But while aesthetics are important – more to some people than others, of course – and the most obvious benefit of keeping it in the family when it comes to building a system of separations, wouldn’t it be your primary concern? system to determine. There are other things to consider, starting with component compatibility…
Strong sonic synergy
First, there’s the undeniable appeal of ‘designed with the same ears’ technique. More than one of our recommended separate systems contains two components (often a source feeding an amplifier) of the same brand and, more specifically, the same product line. It’s actually pretty sensible, as engineers settle for a sound and try to keep it consistent across a range of products and maybe even an entire catalog. Products from the same line are matched and, more than any other circumstance, specifically designed to perform well together.
Essentially, a well-designed duo (or trio) of electronics from one brand will negate the need to find sonic synergy, which is perhaps the most crucial element of system tuning. For the record, combining two or more components with the same kind of sound character is usually a recipe for disaster, so it’s better to combine, say, a clear-sounding source with a warm-ish amp and speakers so you get a more ‘livable- with sonic balance. Put together a rich sounding kit and you get a kind of sonic soup.
Full electrical compatibility
Electrical compatibility used to be something you had to pay close attention to when building systems, although it’s much less of an issue these days as most kits on the market are generally electrically compatible and tolerant of each other.
Almost anything will go with almost anything in the sense that they will work. You can use almost any source with any amplifier, and more or less any amplifier to drive speakers. Okay, so amp/speaker matching isn’t that easy, but as long as the amp is at least as powerful as the minimum rated power of the speakers, albeit no more powerful than the maximum rated power of the speakers, everyone should. be good.
Obviously, as with sonic affinity, electrical compatibility won’t be an issue if you stick with the same brand and line. Again, products in the same range are designed to work together and will connect and power or receive power from each other just fine.
One remote to control them all
For practical reasons, there is one major technical appeal: one-handed remote control. It’s neat and efficient to have just one remote to turn on your CD player and amplifier, for example. And means there’s one less thing to lose in the bank.
Perhaps you’ve picked up the handset of a hi-fi component before and realize that a quarter of the buttons are dedicated to controlling another ‘matching’ component in the family – useless if you don’t own it, but useful if you do. do you have!
Benefit from patented technology and integration
It’s quite niche, but some hi-fi manufacturers have proprietary technology that only works within their own products and isn’t brand independent. For example, McIntosh has its digital MCT connector that allows its SACD player to be connected to a compatible McIntosh preamp or integrated (via a cable specifically designed by McIntosh) to play the high-res audio from SACD discs in supposedly optimal sound quality .
And then, to aid system integration, Cyrus has its MC-Bus connections, allowing unified control of Cyrus products that are all connected in this way. So, for example, if a DAC is connected to a Cyrus CD player and amplifier via MC-Bus, they can all be turned on and off simultaneously using the latter’s buttons or remote, or the DAC can be set to turn on automatically, for example when the CD input is selected on the amplifier.
While such family-exclusive features are much less universal than single-remote control, they can significantly improve a system’s user experience.
BUT, is this the best you can get?
Obviously if you stick to one brand you don’t have much of a choice as you’re likely going to be pairing components that fall within one or two ranges, probably leaving you with a choice between just a few boxes. Obviously you can be limited by the brand not even having matching electronics in the first place! While all of the above may apply, if you branch out and consider the wider hi-fi market, you may not be getting the best performance-per-pound quality possible, or the feature set that’s best for you. As I mentioned in the “sonic synergy” section, more than one of our recommended separate systems contains two components (often a source feeding an amplifier) of the same brand (this five-star system consisting of Cambridge Audio’s CXN V2 music streamer and its CXA61 amplifier , which powers Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers, is a good example). But most of them don’t.
While it is true that simply choosing two What Hi-Fi? Award winning and hoping for the best doesn’t always result in sonic harmony, there are many cases where it does; when pairing the best performing amplifier at a given price with the best performing source at a given price results in something that is sonically compatible. This really makes sense, as few companies specialize in multiple categories to industry-leading levels, even if their catalogs include everything from turntables to amplification.
Since it’s often the case that something from brand X complements something from brand Y even better than the brand Y alternative, a bit of sensible mixing and matching can pay off here. And if such a multi-brand system looks smarter than the black-meets-silver, new-meets-old mess that some amp and source pairs do, bonus!
it comes down to
Ultimately, if there’s a component pairing from a particular brand that you’re tempted by, try them together at your local dealer and then trade their suggested alternatives to see if you prefer the supply of a different combination. As always, it is invaluable to listen to the kit for yourself and follow your dealer’s advice or follow our proven system recommendations.
A single brand system can offer the ultimate in sound and usability, but only go that route if it gives you exactly the sound you want, and not because it’s all visually similar or can be controlled from a single handset, attractive as those aspects may seem. Mixing and matching brands can take more effort than sticking to one brand, but in most cases it will yield the best results.
MORE:
How to choose and set speakers, stereo amplifiers And turntables
How to build the perfect hi-fi systemincluding system suggestions
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