Choosing music ยท listening better
Less stuff.
More music.
Guides to buying a turntable, choosing speakers and headphones, cleaning and storing records, and making more time for what is already on your shelf.
Start here
A better compass for your next hour of listening.
No noise
A guide for real-life listening.
Start with what pays off most
Sometimes that is a better spot in the room, sometimes a new stylus and sometimes simply a better speaker. We say which.
You are allowed to develop taste
We write about choices that suit your room, budget and attention. With enough context to choose for yourself.
From room to set
Three questions, and you know what you need.
Your room, how you listen and what you already have. From that follows a set in the order you would buy it, with the guide each piece of advice comes from.
The basics
Guides to start with.
Every guide starts from a concrete choice and ends with something you can act on.
Start here / Start here
01Buying a turntable: what actually matters
What you really need to know about a first or second turntable: the drive, the cartridge, the preamp, where it stands in the room and what to expect at each price.
Read the guideChoosing music
02Vinyl or CD: which one, and when?
LP or CD, vinyl vs CD: what each format asks of you, what you actually hear, what it costs and how much shelf it takes. Plus the honest answer to whether vinyl sounds better.
Read the guideListening setup
03Setting up a listening corner: start with the chair
You do not need a listening room. A chair in the right spot, a cabinet that takes the weight and a lamp that lets you read the sleeve do more than new equipment.
Read the guideCare & maintenance
04Cleaning records: how to do it safely
How to clean a vinyl record: dry before every play, wet when a record asks for it, and a list of things you never use. Fewer clicks and less dust without a laboratory.
Read the guideListening setup
05Choosing speakers for an ordinary living room
Big floorstanders do not win by default. Bookshelf or floorstanding, active or passive, placement, neighbours and what to expect at each price.
Read the guideChoosing music
06Buying second-hand records: what to look for
What to check in the crate, what the condition grades mean, where to buy them and what to do at home before the stylus goes down.
Read the guideListening setup
07Headphones for your turntable: choosing and connecting
A turntable has no headphone socket. What you need instead, how to choose between open and closed, and why comfort is the only spec that still counts after twenty minutes.
Read the guideCare & maintenance
08Storing records: a storage system of cabinet, size and order
Record storage without a warehouse: which cabinet, how many records fit in a compartment, a storage system you keep up, where not to put it and which sleeves help.
Read the guideChoosing music
09Giving vinyl as a gift that actually gets played
Start with a habit, check that it can be played at home, and know what 180 gram and coloured vinyl do and do not mean for a gift.
Read the guideListening setup
10Connecting a turntable: amplifier and speakers
From turntable to amplifier, active speakers or a receiver: where the phono preamp sits, which cable goes where and what to do when it hums.
Read the guideListening ritual
11The listening evening without a schedule
One side is twenty minutes. Choose beforehand, put your phone in another room and give your hands something to do, and it will happen.
Read the guideChoosing music
12Building a record collection on a small budget
A monthly amount, knowing where the cheap records are, and the insight that the unplayed pile costs more than any purchase.
Read the guideChoosing music
13Collecting CDs: why the CD is a good choice again
The cheapest way to own music. What a tenner buys you, what to check on second-hand discs, the size of a CD and how to store them without giving up a whole wall.
Read the guideCare & maintenance
14Organising a record collection: your first hundred records
Alphabetical, chronological, by genre or by how often you play it: the system matters less than the edge cases you decide beforehand and whether you keep it up.
Read the guideCare & maintenance
15Replacing a stylus: when, how and what it costs
Hours on the packaging say little. This is how to hear and see whether a stylus is really worn, how to change it yourself, and why waiting too long costs you records rather than a stylus.
Read the guideCare & maintenance
16Buying a record cabinet: which one suits you
Cube shelf, sideboard, crate or a cabinet made for records: what each type costs, how much it holds and where it goes wrong.
Read the guideListening setup
17Buying a used turntable: how to judge it before you pay
What to check on the spot on a used turntable, which parts are cheap to replace and which are a reason to walk away.
Read the guideListening setup
18Speaker placement in a small room: move first, buy later
Distance from the wall, the tweeter at ear height, the triangle and where the sofa goes. Why a small room is no disaster and the best advice costs nothing.
Read the guideListening setup
19Buying a phono preamp: do you need one, and what should it cost?
Do you need a phono preamp? Often there is one in your turntable or amplifier already. Where to look, why two is the most common mistake, and what a separate box should cost.
Read the guideListening setup
20Turntable hums, sounds quiet or makes no sound
Turntable humming, sounding quiet, distorting or making no sound? The likely cause for each symptom, in the order you check it. Almost all of it costs nothing.
Read the guideListening setup
21Connecting a turntable to a Bluetooth speaker, soundbar or TV
Connecting a turntable to a Bluetooth speaker, soundbar or TV: which input to look for, where the preamplification comes from and what to expect from the sound.
Read the guideAmazon
What is everyone playing this week?
The best-selling vinyl and CDs right now, tracked by Amazon itself. Handy to see what is popular before you choose something.
See the current Amazon music page (affiliate link)How we work
Every guide starts with a choice you really have to make, not with a product.
How we make them