How hi-fi works

Each page takes one kind of component apart. Hover a part to see what it does, and read what it means when you pair it. The glossary has the words.

• Analog

  

  Turntable

  A stylus reads the groove of a spinning record.

• Analog

  

  Phono stage

  Lifts a cartridge’s tiny signal and puts the bass back.

• Digital

  

  Streamer

  Fetches music over your network and hands it to a DAC.

• Digital

  

  DAC

  Turns a file or a stream into a signal an amplifier can use.

• Amplifiers

  

  Integrated amplifier

  Picks the source, sets the volume and drives the speakers.

• Amplifiers

  

  Tube amplifier

  Glowing tubes and output transformers drive the speakers.

• Speakers

  

  Dynamic

  A cone, a coil and a magnet in a box.

• Speakers

  

  Planar magnetic

  A thin film between magnets, with no box.

• Speakers

  

  Subwoofer

  One big driver and its own amplifier, for the deepest bass.