Here is a list that will allow me to get rid of the older, less functional hi-fi junk that’s cluttering up my life.
1. Line 6 JTV 69 Guitar
£699, dolphinmusic.co.uk
Guitar fans will know there’s only one real debate: Gibson or Fender? Les Paul or Strat? With a Line 6 Variax you don’t have to choose – at the twist of a switch on the body, you can switch “guitars”.
2. Line 6 HD500X FX Pedal/Pre-Amp
£429, dolphinmusic.co.uk
The Variax’s other half, this hefty floorboard functions as an expression pedal, a loop station, a MIDI controller and any number of effects pedals. Plug into this and you’re well on your way to stardom. Surely?
3. Sonos Play:1
£169, sonos.com
Sonos’s promise is simple: stream any content you want, from online, computer or even your TV, to any part of your home. The Play 1 is a compact speaker that can connect to your home Wi-Fi or an Ethernet jack.
4. Sonos Playbar
£599, sonos.com
The Playbar sits below or above your TV and produces a huge sound. It connects via the audio out of your TV; or, because it’s Sonos, streams music from online or other sources (including Spotify, Deezer, and any live radio including the BBC).
5. Bose QC25 Noise-Cancelling Headphones
£269.95, bose.co.uk
The QuietComfort range is the benchmark for noise-cancelling headphones. Unlike many over-ear headphones, they’re light yet tight enough that the sound cancellation is effective. Putting them on during your commute is like walking into a quiet room.
6. Roberts Splash
£100, robertsradio.co.uk
The Roberts Splash is a battery-powered DAB radio: it’s waterproof and has an LED torch built into one end, making it perfect for camping.
7. Audio Technica LP120USBC Direct-Drive Turntable
£279, audiotechnicashop.com
Somewhere, somewhere in your house (or your parents’ house) there will be a vinyl record, and what you need to play it is a Technics SL-1200 turntable. Sadly, these are no longer made but an Audio Technica AT-LP120 is a reliable replica. Add in a Shure cartridge (elliptical diamond stylus obligatory - none of your circular styluses, please) tracking at less than two grams and you had the perfect way to listen to all the bumps, scratches, and off-centre pressing that vinyl conferred on the world.
8. Deezer
£9.99 per month, deezer.com
What I value from a streaming service is its ability to find new music that’s quite like what I’m already listening to, but different enough to grab my attention, and ideally to find someone absolutely fantastic I’ve never heard before. I discovered Imogen Heap like that, and via her The Kills, and via them The Dead Weather.
I’ve tried Spotify’s “artist radio”, but find it keeps playing the same big-name artists I’ve already heard. So I’d rather pick Deezer, which I’ve also tried, and found artists I’d never heard of but who are right up my street. A Premium subscription costs the same as Spotify, and you can play it on your new Sonos system (because it’s streaming – joined-up thinking). (Its mobile app is something of a thicket, but persist.)
9. Arcam rBlink Bluetooth DAC converter
£159, richersounds.com
A DAC converter helps you get the best sound by converting a digital stream (from Spoitfy, for instance) to analogue – which an amplifier needs as input. This Arcam converter isn’t showy but is excellent.
10. Skullcandy Fix Earphones
£40, uk.skullcandy.com
I’ve tried a lot of headphones; the Skullcandy Fix are the best in-ear ones I’ve ever come across. The bass is more than solid, while the treble is excellent, and they’re light and easy to carry. Hard to beat unless you want over-the-ear headphones with noise cancellation.
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