Hi Fi

I was at a friends house a few weeks ago for some drinks and a chat. They are into music like me and we play some music to go with the evenings chat. But they don't own a stereo or what was called years ago a Hi Fi. They do have MP3 files on a laptop that they then power up and play. I was listening to the quality of the music and I was shocked at how bad it is. Ok I am a bit of a geek and that but I was struggling to tell what some songs were.

I personally have what is known as a Hi Fi. Very simple, an amp, CD, turntable and speakers. That is it some connectors and that is what I play my music on. Top price now about £200. The sound makes the laptop a waste of time as you really do miss out on much of the music.

When an album is recorded and mixed it is never made so someone can listen to it on a laptop with a maximum output of 1 watt. It is made to be played on the most expensive system you can get.

Ok I am not saying you have to spend £20K on a music system but just spend your money wisely. Again I have MP3 files and I do play over my computer but I have a sound card at £80 and an audio lead that cost £10 hooked into my £200 stereo and again the sound difference is so big for such a little amount of money.

For under £300 my Hi Fi and computer will sound better than any laptop on the market and just about any set of speakers for laptops as well.

It is not just about the money but the sound is so important to the music, when listening to music in the old vinyl days the engineers made sure they could get as much from the recording as everyone used a turntable and a Hi Fi. People would complain about an albums mix or sound. But now people just don't care.

Just think when listening to Queen, A Night at the Opera. That album cost £1 million to make back in the 70s. All the hard work and dedication that was put into the sound and mixing. Then people play it on a camera phone.

So there I was in my mates house trying to work out what album he put on, I did wonder if I was spoilt but people do spend a small fortune on laptops and I pods and phones. To the point it is way more than a good quality set up. Why do people think new technology is always better? Whit is Apple considered better than everyone else when it is made with the same parts as the cheapest Dell laptop. Same for Sony who make their own components to the cheapest standard where others buy in the best quality.

I have yet to be given an answer from someone to explain why they do this. And every time I have friends round they always comment on how good the sound is when playing music.