Top 10 Hi-Fi

High fidelity—or hi-fi or hifi —reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts (audiophiles) to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment, or the inferior quality of sound reproduction characteristic of recordings made until the late 1940s. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has minimal amounts of noise and distortion and an accurate frequency response.

One effort to standardize the term was the 1966 German Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN) standard DIN 45500. DIN 45500 approval was intended to provide audio equipment buyers with reassurance that their equipment was capable of good quality reproduction. In theory, only stereo equipment that met the standard could bear the words 'Hi-Fi'. This standard was well intentioned but only mildly successful; in practice, the term was widely misapplied to audio products that did not remotely approach the DIN basis specifications.

Below are top 10 Hi-Fi images.



01Sonos Digital Music System

£700 27 July 2007

STUFF SAYS 

Still the king of multi-room music, and now much more affordable. The Sonos is a pleasure to use, sounds great and looks stunning. We like

1. 02

   

   Denon D-M38DAB

   £330 18 December 2010
   
   Denon's been doing this longer than most, and it shows. This is a very well-sorted, cost-effective system

2. 03

   

   Naim UnitiQute

   £1425 11 August 2011
   
   Not since Prince's heyday has such sweet music emerged from such a tiny thing

3. 04

   

   JBL OnBeat Xtreme

   £450 05 March 2012
   
   Fun, dynamic and versatile, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme may be the ultimate tech dock

4. 05

   

   Marantz M-CR603

   £500 06 May 2011
   
   The Marantz lacks wireless networking, but its sound quality more than makes up for it

5. 06

   

   Geneva Model M

   £550 23 September 2011
   
   True hi-fi sound from a one-box premium dock. The Model M’s a new benchmark.

6. 07

   

   Pure Digital Sensia

   £250 15 January 2010
   
   Give us modernity or give us death – therefore, give us the Pure Sensia

7. 08

   

   B&W Zeppelin Air

   £500 23 September 2011
   
   A thumping party-starter with a new wireless dimension for Apple devotees.

8. 09

   

   Focal XS Book

   £300 05 February 2012
   
   A new desktop champion, the Focal XS Book speakers will have your PC singing in style

9. 10

   

   Logitech S715i

   £100 20 July 2011
   
   A small, lightweight dock that does everything you'd want a small, lightweight dock to do