As the sun sets on the dumpster fire that was 2024, and 2025 tentatively pokes its head through the shell of its egg-like embryo, you’ll probably be thinking about all of those things you were supposed to get done this past year. You were going to get immersed in the exciting world of macramé, learn to cook, become a better spouse, stop eating processed cheese and finally fly off to Turkey to get the deadly tooth-and-top combo that would slice a good five years off your mileage. 2024 was going to be the year.
Most of those ambitions can go to the wall as, like the rest of us, you’re probably ready to sweep the last 12 months under the rug and turn your attention to 2025. Meditation and yoga be damned, there was one pursuit that you always meant to get around to investing in above all others: you were going to get properly into the world of hi-fi. Plenty are doing it, with youngsters especially ditching the allure of mobile streaming and supercharging the vinyl revival, the CD revival and even the cassette revival. They are getting into 'proper' old-school hi-fi, and you won’t be invited to sit on the cool kids’ table if you’re still playing your tunes from a knock-off Bluetooth portable or, worse yet, your phone’s built-in speakers.
But where on Earth do you begin? Hi-fi is a daunting word just to speak (or is it two words?), a rarified world packed full of costly separates, myriad inputs and outputs, confusing file types, driver arrays and system matching, not to mention the wacky world of cables and racks. You’ll need a source, but which one? Then a stereo amp, and what's a preamp? If you want a turntable do you need a phono stage, or is it already built in? What kind of speakers are best, standmounts or floorstanders? Where are my anxiety meds?!
Chill. It’s a scary world out there, and indeed there is a lot to learn about and consider when building a hi-fi system from scratch out of multiple components. Your reward for that time, effort and outlay will be worthwhile, giving you the best performance your money can buy, not to mention a set-up you can tweak and upgrade incrementally down the line. If you’re looking to dip your toe into the hi-fi pool without belly-flopping straight in at the deep end, we’d suggest starting with something a little easier. More specifically, we’d recommend the streamlined, (somewhat) affordable convenience of the wireless speaker streaming system.
Everything in two neat boxes
For the uninitiated, a wireless speaker system is typically a pair of bookshelf stereo speakers with amplification and streaming capabilities built in. That means that, while you can add additional sources and components if you like, all you then need is a source player, such as a phone or tablet. You don’t have to have a separate amplifier, nor do you require trailing cables or a mighty host of separates or racks. We'd advise that you get some decent stands, but apart from that, it’s pretty much a plug-in-and-play kind of arrangement.
What you get, then, is hi-fi in appearance and performance without the complexities and permutations that can often go along with it. Such systems will have their inevitable limitations, but the quality of our favourite set-ups is beyond question. Plus, you’re getting stereo sound and that lovely look and feel of having a pair of proper speakers playing in your living room in a way that a Bluetooth speaker, or even some of the finer single-box wireless models, can’t quite replicate.
The best place to start rather depends on your budget, but let's say it's around / $800 / AU$1500. Your natural starting point would be our 2024 Award winner. The LSX II LT by KEF, a British manufacturer that offers seriously high-end speakers alongside accessible pairs and more lifestyle solutions such as this one, is just about the perfect product in terms of achieving its brief at the best price possible. Just use your phone or an alternative source (laptop, tablet etc) to control it and you’ve got stunning sound at a very sensible price.
The LSX II LT supports hi-res playback with a wired connection between the two speakers, all while granting access to the likes of AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast and pretty much any major streaming service you can think of. Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Deezer and Qobuz, they’re all here, and if you have a CD player, you can use the aux input to get an analogue source involved. A CD player plus a handsome pair of KEF speakers sounds like a very nice starter package, especially if you’ve already got a decent disc collection. There's no phono stage, though, so if you want to add a turntable you'll need to look elsewhere.
The LSX II LT is also our pick for audio performance. Balanced and refined but never boring, it’s the best sound you’ll find in a system of this type and price. As our review enthused: “There’s very little fatness to the KEFs, and while that might have you summoning adjectives such as 'thin' or 'lean' in your mind, the LSX II LT instead feel immediate, taut and controlled, like a ballerina’s calves as they perform a perfect plié”.
More affordable alternatives
Similar rivals and alternatives offer the same sort of set-up for a more attractive price. The Q Acoustics M20 isn’t as glamorous and friend-impressingly 'boujee' as the KEF system, but it is an eminently affordable five-star set-up that grants you a neat, affordable stereo system without the fuss. You could just pop the M20 on a desktop, stream music from your phone and have a very nice time doing it, and while it’s not quite got the ‘hi-fi’ aesthetic to the whole arrangement, it’s a fine place to start.
Then there’s the Triangle AIO Twin, another Award-winning system that, if you’re not willing to stretch to the LSX II LT, grants a similar hi-fi feel and sound from a more affordable, but no less attractive package. Again, all of your amplification, connectivity and features are housed in the chic cabinets, and while the KEF system sounds objectively better, Triangle’s effort is enthusiastic, peppy and incredibly fun to listen to. Audio support goes up to 24-bit/192kHz, which is always good for users with hi-res digital library or a subscription to a platform’s hi-res tranche.
Also consider...
Let's just tap the brakes for a moment, though. You don't have to go for a wireless speaker system at all, with options at the other end of the scale offering decent sonic solutions of their own. You might be tempted by the idea of stereo speakers that do all of the work for you, but remember that you’ve still got to find somewhere to put them. Simpler one-box music systems, such as the gorgeous Ruark R410 or Naim Mu-so 2, grant all of that sonic loveliness in one box – just don't expect such wide stereo sound.
Clever microsystems, such as the outstanding-value Denon D-M41DAB, also offer an absolute host of playback options, including CD, streaming and radio, from a wonderfully compact system. You’ll get your two bookshelf speakers plus the main player unit, so you don’t even need to find your analogue or digital source.
None of this is designed to put you off the KEF or its counterparts. It’s simply worth remembering that there are dozens of different ways of listening to your music, all of which come with their own particular virtues and vices, and that the start of your hi-fi journey is about finding something that fits your needs, tastes and budget. There's a good deal of snobbery about what a system should be and how it should look and perform, but ultimately, you're the one who has to live with it.
Now that we know that alternatives abound, what's the key allure of the wireless speaker system? What the LSX II LT and its counterparts represent is a coming together of convenience and quality, demonstrating systems that are designed to give you an entry point into the world of hi-fi without having you drown in a sea of complexity. Set-ups such as these give you the bones and quite a bit of muscle to go with them, but their flexible, accommodating nature grants you enough leeway to make such set-ups feel as though they're your own by integrating a variety of sources and streaming services. Plus, you get the look and feel of owning hi-fi and that, for many people, is a big part of the appeal – your friends won't be impressed by a JBL Flip 6 perched on a stool, after all.
If you're serious about getting into hi-fi but aren't yet sure you want to go the whole nine yards and build a hi-fi system with various components, we think this is the place to start. Systems such as the KEF and Triangle aren't so cripplingly expensive as to not be worth experimenting with, but they have sufficient quality and versatility to give you a taste of that refined hi-fi sound. If you're not willing to remove the stabilisers and commit to a full-blown separates system, a wireless speaker system is a new year's resolution worth committing to.
MORE:
Read our KEF LSX II LT review
These are the best hi-fi systems to check out
Ask The Industry: hi-fi engineers weigh in on the value of 'running-in'
