While I consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool audiophile, it’s the music that always comes first for me, which is why I derive pleasure from listening to it whether it’s through the built-in Bluetooth speakers on my bicycle helmet, the ear buds on my iPhone, or my home Hi-Fi music system. 

Listening to my favourite tunes on my bike can be liberating, intimate, and transporting. I might even break out in a little dance on my pedals or sing along with the lyrics while I explore parks, beaches, and city neighbourhoods. But when it comes to serious music listening, to trying to replicate that sense of closeness we can feel to the music and artist at a live venue, there’s no substitute for a properly designed and set up Hi-Fi system.

A Hi-Fi also has advantages over the concert experience: you can hear music on it when you want; there are no parking issues, lineups, bad acoustics, audience members blocking your view or talking too loud, or the chance the band is having an off-day. You control your listening environment at home, which you can also improve in a variety of ways.

At the time I was featured in the column, “No, I Have the Best System in the World, #7”, I had an excellent-sounding Hi-Fi, but certainly not one of the best in the world.

Since that article was published, I spent tens of thousands of dollars upgrading many components in my system, and doing countless tweaks. Along that journey, I experienced continuous significant improvements in sound quality and musicality that far eclipses what I used to have.

The saying goes that upgrading your stereo is a game of diminishing returns. For example, purchasing a stereo component or speaker that costs 40% more than what you currently own might provide only a 10% improvement in sound.

My own experience has been different. As I made significant changes to my system, I did not experience diminishing returns. Every upgrade or major tweak to my system opened another dimension in sound quality. My current setup sounds far beyond what I thought it was capable of.

Before I tell you what I did to get here, a word of caution about room treatment. Yes, it’s important, but I was surprised to discover that my room’s acoustics improved after I took away some of my acoustic panelling. The result was a far wider and higher soundstage with superb centre imaging, better mids and highs, more details, and deeper, more refined bass. So, beware of installing too much acoustic treatment.

List of upgrades and tweaks that changed my world:

Utopik power supply for my Linn Klimax DSM/3 hub/streamer

I replaced the Dynamik power supply in my Linn Klimax DSM/3 hub/streamer with the new Utopik one and the latter is a stellar improvement over the former, offering a comparatively more open and dynamic sound. The Utopik power supply can be retrofitted in a number of Linn products.

Solid stainless steel and acrylic Hi-Fi stands (no-name brand)

I upgraded from an MDF Hi-Fi cabinet to costlier DIY Solidsteel-like stands made of 1.5″ solid steel tubular bars and 1″-thick solid acrylic shelves. Compared to my previous MDF cabinet, the new stands produced a bigger, better defined soundstage, and a fuller, more extended frequency range.

Silent Angel Bonn NX digital switch

The Silent Angel Bonn NX digital switch is the manufacturer’s flagship switch, which I bought to replace my 2 Bonn N8 switches and Forester F1 power supply. The Bonn NX has an aluminium and steel double-wall to reduce EMI.

The NX’s built-in power supply can be upgraded with the use of an external power supply, such as the company’s Forester F2 or the newly introduced Bonn FX power supply that looks like the NX’s twin brother. I use an Sbooster BOTW P&P ECO MKII power supply, which raised the sound quality by dropping the noise floor and removing a digital sound signature. Compared to my previous N8 setup, the sound now is much more organic, fluid, and detailed.

SBooster linear power supplies (for the switch and HD box)

The external SBooster linear power supplies are a big step up from the switched-mode ones that come standard with most equipment. These have upped the performance of my system, offering a more organized and effortless sonic presentation.

Cardas Clear Beyond and Cardas Clear Beyond XL power cords

Once I heard how supremely detailed, relaxed, and balanced my system sounded with the Cardas Clear Beyond and Clear Beyond XL power cords, I refused to return them to the dealership. While they’re not inexpensive, I consider them a bargain for what they do in my system.

Cardas Clear Ethernet cable

The amount of noise travelling along an Ethernet cable along with the ones and zeros is significant. Your choice of Ethernet cable, despite what the naysayers say, can make a significant difference. There is simply no comparison in the performance between a basic cheap Ethernet cable and a carefully-designed one that prioritizes signal purity and noise reduction.

I’ve tried a variety of Ethernet cables over the years, including Cat5, Cat6, Cat7 and Cat8, shielded and unshielded. The best bang for the buck I discovered was the Bonn C7 Ethernet cable from Silent Angel, which, in my estimation, offered at least 90% of the performance of a well-known cable company’s Ethernet cable selling for twenty times the C7’s price.

Then, I discovered Cardas’s Clear Ethernet cable, which retails for about four times the cost of the Bonn C7. Once I tried a couple of them in my system, they never left. They are excellent.

Synergistic Research Tranquility Pods and Tranquility Bases

The Synergistic Research Tranquility Pods and Tranquility Bases were a surprising addition to my system—I just did not expect them to work as well as they did in making the music sound simultaneously less fatiguing and more detailed. These devices sit atop or under the component.

Synergistic Research Active Grounding Block SE (with silver grounding wire)

The Synergistic Research Active Grounding Block SE has been the biggest surprise of all my upgrades done in the last couple of years. I had no clue of the magnitude of the improvement in sound a grounding block could bring to my system. 

Noise floor? What noise floor? With the Block in my system, it was if my components were free to operate without (electrical) distractions, and in the process effortlessly deliver musical detail, rhythmic agility, and a bloomy soundstage. I was even more in awe of the results when I swapped out the Block’s copper ground wire for a silver one purchased from Parts Connexion.

Cardas Duplex Receptacles for my Environmental Potentials EP 2400 Power Conditioners

The Environmental Potentials EP 2400 power conditioner, of which I have two, uses a patented waveform correction circuit to absorb and remove internally and externally generated surges and noise. Replacing the receptacles in those units with Cardas duplex ones (in addition to using the EP 2400s with Cardas Clear Beyond or Cardas Clear Beyond XL power cords) made a “clear” improvement (sorry, I couldn’t resist) in transparency and imaging focus.

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To say these upgrades and tweaks changed the sound of my system for the better is a huge understatement. Their cumulative effect on the sound I previously had is nothing less than staggering. Truth is, in my “No, I Have the Best System in the World, #7”, I didn’t know what I was missing—until I heard it.

Is my upgrading and tweaking journey over? Not likely, because upgrading and tweaking my system is a big part of the fun I get from this hobby. That said, I have never been more satisfied than I am now with the sound of my Hi-Fi. Is it so good that it can convince me that Ella Fitzgerald or Muddy Waters are there playing live for me in my listening room? Not quite, but it’s pretty darn close.