So what is the best Hi-Fi stereo in the world?

The best Hi-Fi (High Fidelity) stereo in the world is...no of course its not that simple, one persons idea of the best is different from the next persons and it depends entirely on what you need and what you can afford. If you really want the best stereo in the world it takes a little effort and some research, lucky for you we have prepared a summary of all the important points of what you should look out for to help you decide.

1. CD player.

It is unlikely that you will be looking for a stereo that does not play CD's but no two CD players are alike. Some will only read CD's, some may read CD-R and/or CD-RW, if they do are they able to read mp3 files or only Wavs? It is useful to purchase a stereo that can play mp3 CDs as you can make up your own CDs that can last for hours and hours full of your favourite songs, but only useful if you intend to make these CDs in the first place, and completely pointless if you don't think you will bother, or if you don't have a PC with a CD writer.

Does the CD player come with a CD changer so you can load up a few CD's and let them play one after the other or random tracks from any CD, if so how many can you load up. Although a large number of players do have this function it is very often ignored, firstly we humans are quite changeable in mood and what you want to listen to now may not be the same as in an hour or two, you may find yourself manually changing the CD anyway. Secondly CD albums are usually an experience in themselves and are intended to be listened to in the order the tracks are listed, most people enjoy listening to the tracks in the order that they are presented in on the CD. You will probably already know if you are CD changer type of person or not already.

2. Cassette player.

Do you still own cassettes? It is likely that you may have cassettes and so you are going to need something to play them on. A good quality cassette player can produce even better sound than a CD player. Famously the Chemical Brothers said of their album, 'Exit planet dust', that they found it sounder better on a cassette player than on CD, it had a fatter and warmer analogue sound. If you want to record radio programs etc. does the cassette player have a record function and can you set it to a timer to cacth your favourite radio show if you are out? If you require tape to tape recording you will need two cassette players, or the ability to plug a further cassette recorder into the sterio via an Aux input.

3. Vinyl record player.

It is becoming increasingly hard to find stereos that also include a record player but they do exist. If you have records that you want to play or even record to cassette or transfer to your PC you will need one of these. Again the quality of record players can vary enormously and if you are a big audiophile it may be better to buy seperates, or a stereo with an Aux input and a seperate record player. This will give you more options in future, and it may even work out cheaper.

4. Radio, analogue or DAB (digital audio broadcasting).

It is unlikely you will find a stereo that does not include one or the other, but which one should you choose. Well there is no doubt that DAB radio is of a much higher quality of sound, for the most part allows a wider choice of radio with CD quality sound. Often DAB radio can automatically tune in the stations and tell you what they are very quickly and at the touch of a button. It can be more expensive although the cost is not anywhere near as expensive as it used to be and when you think about what you are getting, unlimited access to high quality music of almost any type you can imagine, well it is well worth it.

One big disadvantage is entirely dependant on your location as you must be within a reasonable strength broadcast area. Unlike analogue radio where you can still pick up a weak signal even with significant interference, digital radio you either get or you dont, there is no in between. If you have some experience of freeview digital television this will give you some idea of the difficulties you may or may not encounter, however even if you live somewhere that may have limited access to DAB radio broadcasts this is likely to increase and become more widespread in the future and may still be a feature you want the possibility of using.

If you use the radio alot and listen to many different stations on a regular basis you may also want to look out for the preset function, where you can tune each station to a set number and put that station on simply by selecting the corresponding number in future.

5. MD (minidisc) player.

Minidisc was once heralded as the replacement for CDs but it never took off in the way that was predicted by many, however there are plenty of us out there who have minidiscs and still like the format. If you have then you may want to look for one of the rarer stereos that has this function too. If you don't use minidiscs already it is unlikely that you will ever need to so it is unlikely that it will be worth the extra expense of paying for this extra functionality.

6. Speakers.

Most speakers will be described in terms of imepedence and RMS (root mean square) output. There is no need to go into detail about this as it is likely to confuse more than educate. Effectively the impedence is usually given in ohms shown a sign that looks a little like an upsidedown horseshoe with bent back ends. Most speakers will operate at 8 ohms which is fairly standard, and generally they go down to 4 ohms which is usually indicative of a higher quality sound but can be mean that you will have more issues if you want to connect more or different speakers to your stereo at a later date.

Generally the figure a lot of people use to measure how good a stereo is will be the RMS figure, people who do this however do not know a great deal about sound reproduction. Really it is a measure of the power output of the amplifier in the stereo and your speakers need to at least match this. Obviously if it is a bundled unit then they will (if they dont you must have bought from a cowboy!)

For a home stereo you are unlikely to need anything above 10-20 rms, anything over this is likely to make you a neighbourhood nuisance. Obviously this will depend on how big and remote your home is. Additionally even though you may not need a higher RMS to be played at full power, it will often indicate if the amplifier and speakers are capable say of 100rms that they are built to a better quality as they will need to be able to reproduce accurately the same sounds at much highe volumes, this is a guide but it does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that all 100 watt rms stereos will be better than all 30 watt rms stereos.

You will also note quite often the word woofer, sub woofer, air woofer, tweeter etc. Basically woofers are used to help accurate reproduction of low frequency bass sounds, tweeters are used for the higher end frequency treble sounds. They are specially designed to reproduce the frequencies more accurately and powerfully. A standard speaker alone cannot reproduce the full range of frequencies all at once that a set of two or three speakers units can, usually they are housed in the same box so you may not even be aware that they are there. If you generally listen to music while chatting to friends, doing the ironing/hoovering and while drying your hair before a night out you are unlikely to find that these are particularly important features.

On the other hand if you are the sort of person who will sit on the sofa, eyes closed and just listen to the music you will almost certainly notice a difference with a higher spec speaker. Speakers are often underestimated in the sound reproduction process but really they are the most important part as they are what converts the electronic signal into a physical movement of the air which is what your ears sense and turn into sound. In a bundled stereo you should look for speakers with woofers, bass-reflex systems etc. Home stereo units in the mid-price range will usually have some of these and they produce a very satisfying sound for home music listening. If you are madly keen on the best possible sound reproduction you will probably be looking for speakers alone that cost the price of a small car but be warned, many people really can't tell the difference between a £100 stereo and a £1000 one, partly because the differences can be very subtle and largely because some people's hearing just isn't that sensitive or atuned to the subtle differences. It is likely that if you are not sure which category you fall into that a mid range stereo will have enough quality to satisfy you entirely.

Have you thought about where you will place the speakers? Don't forget to consider the length of the wires supplied and check that they will be long enough, generally you will get a metre or two and for most this is long enough.

7. Clock, alarm, and timer functions.

It is unlikely you will want a time display just as an additional clock but you may looking for alarm and timer functions. Waking up to the sound of your favourite CD can set the day off to a much more positive note than simply being woken by a random song and ranting radio presenter or an annoying repetitive bleep, with an alarm function that can be set to play the CD or cassette you choose exactly what will wake you in the morning.

As an extension of the clock functions a timer may vary in functionality from switching the stereo on and off at set times (can be useful while you are away to fool people into thinking there is someone home) to setting the cassette player or even CD recorder on top spec stereos to record specific radio programs at set times for you.

8. Connectivity - inputs and outputs.

The most obvious of these is a headphone socket, and generally most stereos do have these either with a 1/4 inch jack or the smaller 1/8 inch connection.

You will also need to consider whether you will want to connect your stereo to other units, and if so how many at once. You may want to add an extra CD player or plug the output of your PC soundcard into your stereo and for this you will need aux inputs. Do you want to record via a microphone, do you want an extra output to run to other units in the house or back into your PC? Connectivity of this kind often adds expense to a unit because of the extra work in design and fitting but it is generally better to find you have too many inouts and outputs than too few. Some stereos have USB connectivity to connect directly to your PC for playing music and often for transferring mp3 directly to minidisc or similar.

9. Remote control.

Most units are now supplied with a remote control. Things to look for are whether it is capable of controlling all the features of the unit or only a couple like play, stop and volume. Does the remote control operate functions that are not controlled by the buttons on the unit, such as timer record etc. If so what will you do if you lose the unit or break it? Are batteries included, if not how many will it require?

10. Design and layout.

Design is not all about good looks, many stereos may look just like another anyway and most modern stereos are fairly pleasing to the eye. Layout is important, particularly for loading discs/cassettes etc. and for access to buttons. Think about where you will keep the unit, will it be easier to load and unload from the front or top unit, can you access all the controls easily. Will you need to gain regular access to the headphone and aux sockets, if so are they at the front, side or rear? How big is the unit, the picture may show a very compact stereo hi-fi but is it twice as deep as it is high thus preventing it from fitting snuggly onto that shelf you had planned to house it?

11.Depreciation.

How much will you get for your stereo in a year or two if you decide to sell it on and upgrade will depend on the make, model and functionality, so keep this in mind too. You may buy a hi-fi for £250 which will be worth £100 in a year, or you may buy one for £400 that is worth £300 in a year. Its obvious which one has really cost more.

12.Its your choice.

Sometimes the choice can seem overwhelming, but once you understand your requirements and also set your budget you will usually find that the hi-fi stereo will choose itself, and it will be the best one in the world for you.