How To Grow A Sound System

Dance, Trance, Reggae, Fusion, Hard House, Black Metal, Ambient, Experimental, Hip Hop, Trip Hop or Avant Garde Pop... Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to music! However, an appreciation of great sound quality is universal. You can have a love for thumping bass lines, spine tingling lead guitars, Down Tempo record scratching or hypnotic Jungle drum loops, but one thing is for certain; you will want to hear it on a good sound system!

Now, there are two different ways of getting yourself fixed-up with a 'top banana' beat box; you can buy yourself one outright or you can go about building your own. Obviously, if you are suitably loaded, then purchasing an uber quality stereo is not going to pose any great problem... but what to do when you are a little strapped for cash???

Back in the mists of time (namely the 1970s), music lovers had their own ingenious answer to this problem... and that is how the 'grow their own' sound system came about! This would basically mean purchasing a stereo in 'separates' on an 'as-you-can-afford-it' basis. But fear not; we aren't talking about circuit boards, wires or soldering... each 'separate' would actually be a sizable chunk of stereo. For example, you would start off with an amp, speakers (and speaker cable!) and record deck. This would allow you to listen to your favourite vinyl albums until you had some more spare brass...

Over time you would add other 'separates' to your system; a tuner, a tape deck, a graphic equaliser... As you can imagine, this would often result in a pretty impressive stereo! And you would also have the option of upgrading each of these components; a more powerful amp, a superior CD player a better quality speaker cable. Over time, you could end up with a truly formidable skyscraper of a sound system!!!

The 'grow your own' stereo is a brilliant idea and many music lovers are continuing with the trend today! There are still plenty of 'separates' being sold (new or second-hand) and people all around the world are continuing to create their own personal sound systems. A cheap CD player one week, an amp and a length of speaker cable the next; it is a brilliant way of getting the sound quality you are longing for and it will last you for many years to come! And if one of your 'separates' ever gives up the ghost, then you will not have a whole super-expensive system to replace!!!