Experienced Audio Advice - Since 1981
I want better sound but don't know where to start
I'm Brian, and I've spent 30 years helping people get more out of what they listen to. Here's the honest place to start — the one change that does the most for the money.
WHAT YOU ACTUALLY NEED TO KNOW
Should I start with the speakers?
Almost always, yes. The speakers move the air your ears hear, so they shape the sound more than anything else in the chain.
But "start with the speakers" doesn't always mean buy new ones. Sometimes the pair you own just needs better placement, or a solid set of stands to get them steady and at ear height. Try that first — then decide if the speakers are really the limit.
Speakers first. Replace them, reposition them, or put them on good stands — whichever your pair actually needs.
Before you spend anything, pull your speakers 18 to 24 inches off the wall behind them and aim them at your chair. The bass tightens up and the image snaps into focus. It costs nothing.
Does the source really matter that much?
More than most people expect. There's an old rule that still holds: garbage in, garbage out.
A worn stylus, a low-quality streamer, or a thin Bluetooth feed puts a ceiling on everything after it — no speaker can add back what the source threw away. Once your speakers are right, a better source is often the next real jump.
Garbage in, garbage out. A clean, capable source lets good speakers show what they can really do.
Where does the amplifier come in?
Usually last — unless it's the thing holding you back.
A decent amp or receiver driving the right speakers is often fine. But a genuinely underpowered or low-quality amp can strain, distort, or go flat when you turn it up. If that's your symptom, the amp is your weak link — not your next luxury.
Amplification, usually last. It matters most when it's clearly the limit — straining or distorting under load.
Watts don't tell you how an amp sounds. A well-built 40-watt amp will walk all over a sloppy 200-watt one. Trust your ears, not the spec sheet.
Will my room ruin the sound?
Probably not. Most rooms are fine.
Two things matter more than the rest: where the speakers sit, and what's right behind and beside them. Hard, bare walls close to a speaker tend to make the sound harsh and boomy.
Pull the speakers a minimum of 18 to 24 inches off the wall behind them. Give them a little room from the side walls too, if you can. You'll hear tighter bass and a clearer center — and it costs nothing.
Speaker placement basics. A little breathing room behind and beside each speaker does more for the sound than most upgrades — and it's free.
Most calls come down to the same few mix-ups. Here are the patterns I run into again and again — and where the real fix usually was.
More watts, when the speakers were the limit
My most common call: someone wants a bigger amp because the sound feels small or harsh. Nine times out of ten, the speakers — or where they're sitting — are the real ceiling. A new amp wouldn't have fixed it.
Spent big up top, fed it garbage
Others put real money into speakers, then feed them a worn stylus or a thin stream. Good speakers are only as good as what you send them. Garbage in, garbage out — every time.
Moved the speakers and heard a different system
My favorite calls cost the customer nothing. Pull the speakers off the wall, aim them at the chair, sit down and listen. People are surprised how much changes for free.
We are here for support. Recently, I had a customer who bought a really nice system, including a turntable, a music streaming transport, and a D2A converter. When he got done connecting the components, he found that the turntable played fine, but the digital to analogue converter and streamer combination hardly at any volume at all. So he called, we got into it. The music streamer, which was the Eversolo T8, and the Cambridge D2A converter, DAC Magic 200M, have variable controls. We had to get those changed to fixed outputs, so now everything worked fine and the customer was very happy.
LET'S CLEAR A FEW THINGS UP
What usually isn't the problem
These four beliefs send people spending in the wrong place. I'd rather you didn't.
More expensive gear always sounds better.
The biggest jump comes from fixing your weak link — not from spending the most across the board.
More watts means better sound.
A well-built lower-watt amp beats a sloppy high-watt one. Power matters only once you've run out of it.
You have to replace everything at once.
Fix one piece — the weak link — and you'll hear it. Build out from there at your own pace.
Cables and tweaks are where the real gains hide.
Cables matter, but keep them to about 10–20% of the budget. Speakers, source and placement move the needle far more. More on cables →
Dynaudio's Evoke 10 bookshelf speaker is "the ultimate reference in this price category."
-Brian Orcutt
"The B1xi integrated amplifier channels Musical Fidelity’s renowned amplifier expertise into a versatile, high-performance package, featuring 100 WPC in a refined Class A/B circuit."
-Brian Orcutt
"Considering adding streaming to your hi-fi system? Do it the easy way, the best sounding way, with the Cambridge Audio CXN100 Music Server."
-Brian Orcutt
Want to go a little deeper?
No pressure to read it all. Here's where to go next when you're ready.
Still not sure? Talk with an Audio Advisor.
Brian Orcutt
Audio Expert