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About AudioEnz |
Mini-system bashers!
True hi-fi alternatives to buying a mini or midi
By Michael Jones
September 2000
[This is a reprint from ther print edition of AudioEnz. Although products will be out of date, the general philosophy remains true - Editor]
For the March 1997 issue, we thought we’d do something a little
different with “Our Favourite Things.” Instead of pontificating
on and on about the hi-fi the AudioEnz writers like, we asked several
hi-fi retailers how they cope with the mini/midi-system threat.
What do they say to people who think they want a mini-system, but really
want the performance you can only get from buying a well-matched separates
system? What systems do these retailers show customers as alternatives
to mini/midi-systems?
For this article, I approached three stores. I spoke to Stephen Ching
from The Real Music Company in Wellington, Phil McIsaac from Auckland’s
Smith’s Sound and Kevin Moylan from Dunedin’s Strawberry Sound.
Bruce Kirkby from Christchurch’s The Top Hi-Fi Shop also contributed
some thoughts, although due to time constraints, a recommended system
was not supplied. [The suggested systems are not detailed here, as the
systems are now out of date].
Just how good are minis?
I’ve undertaken a bit of listening to mini and midi-systems (midi-systems
are around 300mm wide – the width of an LP – while mini-systems
tend to be around 200mm wide. Micro-systems are even smaller!) and spoken
to several mini retailers about what sells and why.
The impression I’ve been left with is that many people buying mini-systems
don’t know of the alternatives. To them, mini-systems are the modern
equivalent to the AWA Series 9 of the 1970s, or the Akai Pro-Lab of the
1980s – a good, easy-to-buy stereo.
But with one difference. Listen to an old Series 9 today, and it can
still sound good. These systems encouraged the playing of music.
Listen to a typical mini-system. They sound thin, they sound tinny, they
sound harsh, they sound hashy. No number of “super-bass” buttons
can fix this. It’s difficult to listen to most mini-systems for any
extended period of time. Is it any wonder that listening to music has
become less important for many people?
Around 130,000 mini and midi-systems were sold in New Zealand last year
- a large number, but down from the heady days when Pioneer virtually
invented the concept in New Zealand.
Of all these mini and midi-systems sold, there is only one model that
I’ve been happy to recommend for sound quality – and that costs
$2400 without speakers! From here we developed this article.
Go to it
So does it often happen that a person looking for a mini-system wanders
into a hi-fi store?
“Quite a few do”, says The Real Music Company’s Stephen
Ching. Down south, Kevin Moylan from Strawberry Sound said “because
of the large student numbers in Dunedin,” the mini versus separates
question “is asked every day.”
The hi-fi retailers often find that perceptions of separates systems
are coloured by misinformation. According to The Top Hi-Fi Shop’s
Bruce Kirkby, many people believe that separates are very expensive, and
that separate components take up much more room.
Both misconceptions probably date from many years ago. In the 1970s separate
components could be very big - sometimes more than 150mm high each, and
did take up large amounts of room. Today, separate components tend to
be much slimmer.
Back in the bad old days of import licensing, hi-fi separates were very
expensive - as were most imported goods. Over the past decade, hi-fi separates
have reduced in price to where they are cheaper in both dollar terms and
“real” (inflation-adjusted) terms than ever before.
That a hi-fi separates system can be purchased for very little money
is shown in the sidebars to this article. Three retailers have put together
four hi-fi systems for under $1500 that will beat any mini-system for
sound quality.
Advantages
So what are the advantages of a hi-fi separates system?
“Separates are designed around a specific job,” says Stephen
Ching of The Real Music Company. “How can you expect each and every
part of a midi-system to do a good job?”
Bruce Kirkby from The Top Hi-Fi Shop points out the “higher grade
of components that go into the manufacturer of separates,” giving
both higher performance and longer life.
Strawberry Sound’s Kevin Moylan points to the separate power supplies
in each component as being a large contributor to their improved sound
quality over a mini-system.
Both Bruce Kirkby and Kevin Moylan point out the versatility and flexibility
of separate components.
Smiths Sound’s Phil McIsaac asks “do you need all the bits
in the midi-system,” adding that many people today don’t want
a tape deck. With a mini-system, what you see is what you get - whether
you want it or not. A separates system allows you to tailor a stereo system
to suit your specific needs.
Part of this flexibility is a large degree of future-proofing. You may
not want a tape deck today, but if you want to add one in two years time,
you can easily. Or add a Dolby Decoder to your existing amplifier to include
home theatre.
Convincing demonstration
And how does a hi-fi dealer show that a separates system is better than
a mini? Simply by demonstrating.
“Let them hear the difference,” says Phil McIsaac.
Stephen Ching encourages people to have a good listen to a mini-system if they haven’t done so already, and then come in and hear a separates system.
If the person is interested in music, they’ll hear the superiority
of a separates system.
Which means that they will enjoy the music more, now and for years to come.
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