The Best Hi-Fi Music Centers for Home by Our

In the field of playback quality, a significant step forward has also been made: additional speakers have been added to the traditional speakers, reproducing exclusively high-range frequencies, as well as subwoofers that play bass lines.

Recently, the so-called Hi-Fi centers have become quite widespread, which are distinguished by a very high level of playback quality, regardless of the source — be it a flash drive, an external hard drive or a vinyl record. Unfortunately, not all music lovers know how to choose the right Hi-Fi music players. It is for them that we wrote our today’s article. Let’s just before starting to analyze the characteristics of the centers included in the review, let’s figure out on the basis of what parameters one should choose such products.

Content

What factors influence the purchase of a Hi-Fi music center?

First of all, it should be noted that such devices are characterized by small overall dimensions. A similar center consists of a head element and two columns. The most modern products are equipped with a remote control and wires for connecting elements. On sale you can find products that can be connected to various kinds of gadgets via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi channels, and setting up devices is not very difficult.

Front Hi-Fi music centers can be floor-standing or wall-mounted. The former are best suited for fairly spacious rooms, the latter are designed for rooms with limited free space. A fairly functional device can act as a sound source or receiver, which includes several players, almost always equipped with a radio receiver.

It is very important to properly warm up this product before using it directly. Thanks to this operation, it will be possible to perfectly balance the elements of the music center, so in the future they will sound as harmonious as possible. The diffusers of the emitters during this process are stretched and become elastic. For this, experienced music lovers recommend using music that can fully cover the entire frequency range. Of the existing genres, symphonic rock fully corresponds to this, but you can turn on a radio station that plays music belonging to a wide variety of genres.

There is another important trick: when the music center is warming up, the speakers included in it should be placed to each other so that they are close, but not touching, they are covered from above with any material that makes it difficult for sound to pass through.

When choosing models for compiling our ranking of the best Hi-Fi stereos of 2019, we were guided by all the points above, but took into account several more factors. In particular, we took into account the value for money of the model, and also relied heavily on user reviews. We tried to include mainly budget models in the review, so that each of our readers can choose for themselves products that will fully meet their music lover’s needs. Now it is a high time to start the direct analysis of operational characteristics of musical centers.

The best models of Hi-Fi centers

10. Denon Ceol N9 Black

In the central unit of this gadget there is a very wide functionality, in addition, the model is equipped with two entry-level Hi-Fi speakers, however, in a limited room, the sound is in no way inferior to professional products. The brightness of the liquid crystal display is quite high — all information is clearly visible at a distance of about five meters, and it can be adjusted from the remote control. The central unit has two digital and one analog outputs, there are spring clips, in addition to them, there is a Wi-Fi module, a connector for connecting an Ethernet cable, and several USB sockets. The latter can be used not only to connect external sources, but also to charge various devices. Connecting to Wi-Fi is very easy — just use the remote control to enter the desired password. After the connection is established, you can update the device firmware if the device requires it.

Like most music centers, this equipment has a wave radio, but you can also listen to Internet radio — the library of supported stations is very large. To control the center from a smartphone, there is a special application where the functionality of the remote control is significantly expanded. It works on all platforms of mobile devices. The body of the speakers is made of chipboard coated with glossy polymeric materials. They should be handled very carefully as they are easily scratched. The speakers are under non-removable grills, and the fabric practically does not absorb dust.

Advantages:

• Decent appearance;
• Many radio stations;
• The presence of a large number of connectors and modules for wired and wireless connection;
• Decent sound quality of music, regardless of the source.

Flaws:

• Non-removable grills are difficult to clean.

9. LG CM2760

The device has a fairly compact size, the appearance is very attractive. There are two speakers, each of which includes three speakers at once — for low, medium and high frequencies. This moment allows them to be far enough apart from each other without loss of sound quality. The front side of the speakers and the central unit is covered with a layer of plastic with a glossy finish. It looks very stylish and attractive, but will collect dust and fingerprints on itself, so you will often have to clean it from such contaminants. Functionality for use at home is very good — with this device you can play discs of various formats, work with USB media, both with classic flash drives and with external hard drives, the capacity of which can reach 2 TB. It does not matter at all what format they are in — FAT32 or NTFS.

This music center easily connects to any phones via Bluetooth, there is a special application for smartphones Music Flow Bluetooth, with which you can easily control all the main functions of the unit. The center works without any problems with high-definition audio files in .flac format. A remote control is provided, which has small overall dimensions and at the same time has excellent ergonomics. The acoustics are quite loud, the entire frequency range is heard well. Radio easily finds all channels, and the broadcast can be recorded on external media.

Advantages:

• Spacious and rich sound;
• Convenient control panel;
• Attractive appearance;
• Excellent build quality.

Flaws:

• Regularly have to be wiped from dust accumulating on glossy surfaces.

8. Pioneer X-HM76-B

It has a rather strict, albeit concise appearance. Together with the central unit, a pair of two-way speakers made in a classic style is supplied here, in addition, there is a receiver that plays CDs. On the front side, you can find a fairly large LCD full-color display, the diagonal of which is 3.5 inches. Almost all controls are located on the top of the case, only the rotary volume control is located in front. The music center comes with a full-size remote control. As with some of the products included in our review, an application has been developed specifically for this model that allows you to fine-tune products. The device has a class B amplifier, which is capable of delivering power of the order of 50 watts.

Each of the speakers included with the product has a soft dome tweeter with a diameter of 25 mm, as well as a full-range woofer. The kit comes with everything you need to get a stable radio signal. In particular, the music center is equipped with two antennas for operation in the AM or FM band. In addition, there is a mono output, and a fairly bright clock equipped with an alarm function and a one-time timer is also provided. If you update the firmware of the model, you can get compatibility with the latest standard from this manufacturer, with which you can organize a multi-room radio.

Advantages:

• Very wide functionality;
• Interesting appearance;
• The presence of a liquid crystal display of a rather large size;
• Convenient and fully multilingual mobile application.

Flaws:

• Sometimes there is a lack of low frequencies.

7. Yamaha PianoCraft MCR-N670 Black

One of the most modern designs that allows you to work not only with physical music media such as disks, flash drives, but also with streaming audio stored in cloud storage. In addition, it is possible to listen to Internet radio. The conversion of the received signal is based on a special SABER 32 chip, which has a high speed of operation, so the output delay is minimal here — this has a positive effect on the sound quality. This processor provides conversion parameters at the level of 5.6 MHz. This music center is designed to function fully offline. It comes with everything you need to play a variety of music.

There is a CD player, the speaker system is equipped with a fairly powerful amplifier. If necessary, you can connect additional speakers, although, as it seems to us, in the domestic environment, two speakers, the power of each of which is 70 watts, will be quite enough. All cables through which the connection is made are supplied in the kit. It should be noted that on the body of the central element there is a connector for connecting an Ethernet cable, thanks to which the connection to the Internet will be more stable. In general, the music center itself is decorated in a traditional way, all sides are rectangular, even. The model is available in black or silver.

Advantages:

• Excellent clear sound;
• Strict and stylish appearance;
• There is everything you need to connect to the Internet;
• Pretty functional product.

Flaws:

• Very costly.

6Sony SHAKE-X30D

The acoustic system is characterized, first of all, by the excellent power of the Sound Pressure Horn bass line. In many ways, due to the original design, significant acoustic pressure will be injected. This allows you to get more power with minimal energy consumption — to achieve a similar effect on other devices simply will not work. The software is based on the original LDAC codec, which provides high quality playback of music transmitted via a wireless Bluetooth or Wi-Fi channel. It takes about three times more data, respectively, the sound goes to a completely different level. The speakers have LED lighting that will turn on to the beat of the music. With its help, you can turn even an ordinary evening into a real disco, create a club atmosphere.

The original solution was the presence of an input for an electric guitar, and the sound will be quite deep and strong. There are jacks for connecting two microphones at once. This will allow you to arrange a real concert on request, especially since you have the opportunity to sing a duet. The music center has professional DJ effects, with which you can get the real spirit of a nightclub.

Advantages:

• Excellent sound, no distortion was noticed;
• Original backlight based on LEDs;
• Excellent build quality;
• The presence of a number of additional features.

Flaws:

• The diagonal of the display is not too large — information is visible only up close.

5. Panasonic SC-MAX770

A full-format music center that includes a control unit and two acoustic systems, each of which has a mass of 40 kg, and the total weight of the product reaches almost 100 kg. Each speaker has 4 speakers: a 38 cm superwoofer is designed to work with low frequencies, two more speakers with a diameter of 20 and 10 cm are responsible for reproducing the middle range, high frequencies are played by a 6 cm speaker, additionally equipped with a bullet-shaped diffuser. The speaker cabinet is made of high-quality chipboard, so that the return during low-frequency playback is even higher, the manufacturer installed two more phase inverters here.

The sound output power here is very high — 3300 watts. The sound amplifier is very efficient, digital, and is divided into several circuits, each of which is responsible for its own frequency range. In this regard, the main unit is connected to the acoustics using special connectors — no spring or screw type clamps are provided in this product. The control unit has a drive for working with music discs, several USB connectors, and 2 GB of internal memory is also provided. Regardless of the format of the music files on the disk, the center can rewrite them to a USB flash drive or to its memory in .mp3 format.

Advantages:

• Very easy to manage;
• Huge selection of sound settings;
• Interesting appearance;
• Good workmanship;
• High power.

Flaws:

• Heavy and bulky construction.

4. Yamaha ISX-80 Black

It is characterized by a fairly compact overall dimensions, so it is quite suitable even for a small room. The central module operates on the basis of the Bluetooth channel, with the help of which a local network is formed, which includes all the details of the audio complex that can support the MusicCAST system. In addition to the Bluetooth module, there is also a Wi-Fi unit that allows you to directly access streaming audio services. The maximum distance from which the unit can receive and process the received signal is 10 meters. As in most music centers included in our review, this device has a radio receiver, built-in acoustics, represented by speakers with a diameter of 8 cm for low frequencies and 3 cm for high frequencies.

The power is not very high — in total, all the speakers at maximum volume are capable of delivering about 20 watts. This allows you to save a decent amount of energy and at the same time provide yourself with a decent level of sound. The dimensions of the device, as already mentioned, are not too large — they are 302x302x65 mm with a mass of 3.5 kg. Products are available in several colors — black, purple or white.

Advantages:

• Small overall dimensions;
• Attractive appearance;
• Pretty decent volume level;
• Able to organically fit into any interior space;
• There is everything you need to ensure comfortable sound;
• You can forget about the wires under your feet.

Flaws:

• Not too suitable for large rooms;
• The remote control supplied with the device is not very convenient to use.

3. Pioneer P2-K

In third place in our ranking of the best Hi-Fi music centers is a compact and very original model, which includes two speaker systems and two independent units: a sound source and a receiver. An optical disc player is not provided here; instead, a file network player is installed, which is capable of working with streaming sound, including high-resolution. It is worth noting a very beautiful appearance of the product. In particular, its front panels are made of special high quality anodized aluminum. They look very solid. A third of the front panel is occupied by a 3.5-inch LCD. It will display information about the video being played, the cover of the album from which it was taken, and information about the artist.

On the display, you can find a list of files and folders, but it is quite short, so navigation is not very convenient — for this it is easier to use a smartphone or tablet with a special application installed. There are also several control buttons and a USB connector. All other sockets can be found on the back of the device. Not surprisingly, this music center is equipped with several wireless communication units — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RCA. The data transfer rate is very high here, so even very heavy files will be played without any delays. The total power of the speaker system is 48 W — quite enough for home conditions. The remote can control both the receiver and the player itself. The sound is detailed, the entire frequency range is heard very clearly.

Advantages:

• Quite decent sound quality;
• Small overall dimensions;
• Original technological solution;
• Looks nice.

Flaws:

• It is quite difficult to understand the functionality of the control panel.

2. Yamaha MCR-N570 black

This music center is capable of supporting network music services, in addition, it is equipped with an optical disc drive. However, it has a huge number of new features — streaming audio stored in the DNLA cloud storage, the ability to play Internet radio stations, work with music located on external media, and there is also an AirPlay connection. There is only one central control unit here — an optical drive is built into it, and a power amplifier is also located here. The shelf-type speaker system has small overall dimensions, which allows it to be installed in compact rooms, providing excellent sound quality there. The music center is a completely self-contained Hi-Fi system. All cables required to connect the elements are included in the kit.

The sound is very decent — the system can work with both instrumental and popular music, songs of various genres. Despite the fact that the native wires do not look very reliable, they transmit the signal with high quality, nothing is lost. The only thing that users regret is a bit weak bass line.

Advantages:

• Decent sound quality, and you can adjust the high and low frequencies;
• There are all modern modules for wireless connection with various devices;
• Excellent product build quality.

Flaws:

• The filter of Internet radio stations is made only by their names, so finding the right one can be a little problematic;
• High price.

1. Pioneer X-EM16-B

One of the most compact systems among all the models included in our review of the best Hi-Fi music centers — its dimensions are 180x121x221 mm with a total mass of speakers and the main unit of about 3.5 kg. The device is equipped with two identical columns, which are made of laminated chipboard panels, coated with special compounds that reliably protect the front surface from the occurrence of various kinds of defects such as chips or scratches. Made in strict black color, so it will fit well into almost any interior. Unlike speakers, the central unit has a metal case. All elements have a matte finish that will reliably protect against accumulated dust and prevent fingerprints. The control panel is small, but quite functional.

Understanding the connection and control of the system is quite easy — no latches are provided here, only classic plugs and sockets, and each socket is signed. You can’t attach speakers to the wall. The total output power of the speaker system is 10 W — quite enough for a room that is not too large. You can strengthen the bass line (by default it is quite weak) using the corresponding button on the remote control. The model works with media such as optical discs or flash drives, it can work with .mp3, .cd and some other formats. On the front panel there is a small LCD display, which displays information regarding the track or radio station. Next to it, you can find a chrome handle for adjusting the volume.

Advantages:

• Very high build quality;
• Pleasant and quite powerful sound for rooms;
• Convenient control panel;
• There is a full set of necessary functions.

Flaws:

• Works with a limited number of playback formats.

In conclusion, a useful video

Our rating of the best Hi-Fi music centers has come to an end. Finally, I would like to express the hope that you were able to choose the best products for yourself that will delight listeners with high-quality sound for many years. If you still have some questions, then feel free to ask them in the comments to this article. We will promptly respond to your comments and provide all the necessary information.