The Sound Kitchen is a professional recording, mixing and mastering studio, based in Staffordshire
02/01/2025
Is it possible to get great sound for under a hundred? It sure is. Here’s how.
These days, most people tend to get studio monitor speakers for their dj setup. This is due to ease. They’re usually ‘active’, so each speaker contains an amp inside. Downside of this, they cost a lot and are heavy.
What many don’t realise is that studio monitors are designed to be clinically accurate, which actually means they are meant to expose the flaws in sound. Hifi on the other hand is often designed to flatter the sound and make for a smooth listening experience. Studio speakers are designed to have a very specific sweet spot as well, very close, where as Hifi generally fills a room better if you’re having party’s.
There’s loads of cheap bits to be had at the moment on the vintage market. You’ve just got to know what to look for.
When going for a ‘passive’ Hifi setup, you need the speakers to match the amp. Firstly in impedance. It’s simple, if the speakers are 8ohm the amp needs to be 8ohm.
Secondly, you need roughly the right amount of watts. You’re looking for an amp that is around 1.5-2 X the watts of the speakers eg. 100 watts speakers need a 150-200 watt amp for best results.
Three-ways are better than two! sorry what? 😵 This just means that each speaker cabinet is made up of three separate speakers (see vid), one for bass, one for mid and one for the top end. This allows each component to be better at its required job, rather than just 2 doing all the work.
70’s and 80’s HIFI is often considered the best on the forums as components used got cheaper as we entered the 90’s. Modern speakers tend to have better bass response though.
There is good quality bits from all eras however, do some googling/chatgpt’ing. Don’t forget this step of checking reviews before committing to anything.
