Hifi to look at (and listen to)
Category: Buy secondhand
Decmatic is nothing if not a place to yap about my personal obsessions. Hifi equipment is definitely one of them.
Unless you hide it all in a cupboard with the door shut, what you play your music on at home is part of your decor. I know this might be a post-rationalisation by someone obsessed with electronics design, but hear me out, there’s some logic to it. If your CD player, record player or smart speaker is in full view, how could it not be?
The following are pieces that I occasionally get exercised about and spend an hour or two googling before forgetting them until the next time a random reminder prompts another obsessive search.
I should stress that the focus here is design rather than audio fidelity. In adolescence, I played records on a Dansette and listened to home recorded cassettes on cheap Walkmen; in adulthood, audiophile precision never became a priority. That said, in the range of audio reproduction, I’m sure all the following will be much nearer the good end than bad. But the priority is always style or perhaps some crazy pop culture reference. Perhaps you love Huey Lewis and The News? Then you might consider the same set-up to fellow Huey Lewis devotee, Patrick Bateman. Thanks to Film and Furniture, you too can replicate the separates featured in American Psycho. It’s mostly Harman Kardon, full details here.
Braun
If you invest in some Vitsoe shelving, what better to plonk on it than some vintage Braun hifi separates? After all, Dieter Rams designed them to fit his Vitsoe 606 shelves. And if not the separates, then perhaps the classic SK4 or one of its descendants.
Frankly, everything just looks gorgeous but I particularly like many of the speakers: boxy, pared back, sleek silver grey slabs. If you want to search deeper into the Rams-era Braun backlist, go and check Das Programm, where these beautiful photos come from.
Sony
There’s so much to choose from in Sony’s long history. My favourites are these vertically oriented separates. The TA-88 amplifier and the ST-88 tuner. The SS-300 Decoder I’m less familiar with but appears to complement the others. I love how they zigged vertical when the audio world was - and is still mostly - zagging horizontally. For years, I used a predecessor of the amp as part of my system and it sounded great, despite finding it lying abandoned and dusty on the back stairs of an office I used to work at.
Harman Kardon
Harman Kardon Soundsticks, originally developed in partnership with Apple and designed by Jonny Ive, they followed the Apple design language of the time, in particular the iMac. Still in production today, albeit with updated design which, in my opinion, makes them less attractive. Search out some older examples.
Transparent
A few years back, I was mad about these transparent speakers from, er, Transparent. Now, a bit less so. I think my line between just enough and too much contrivance has moved. Whatever, these are still an interesting option.
Ojas
Supplier of hifi design to the rich and famous, Devon Turnbull’s Ojas brand is where this list crosses over with the audiophile world. You’ve probably seen his equipment in videos of listening sessions at The Lisson Gallery and 180 Studios. Ojas’s collaboration with the storied Klispch brand comes in at over $11,000 so isn’t for everyone. Ojas does a shelf speaker for an eye-watering $6000 and a kit version for $3,500. I suspect Turnbull’s cool kid status has something to do with these prices. Either way, these speakers look great. If you have a few thousand to drop on a pair of speakers, have at it.
RON ARAD
Finally, we come to my personal dream hifi set up. Ron Arad’s Concrete Stereo will remain a dream until someone issues an affordable new edition. One came up for auction at Christies in 2019. The estimate was £15,000 to £25,000. It sold for £47,500.
I’ve loved these things since, I guess, Arad first created them in the 80s. At least I can comfort myself with the fact that there has never been a point that I could have afforded my own. The one sold by Christies was commissioned by the seller directly from Arad in 1985 and paid £1,175. That’s £3,616.41 in 2026 money, a sum I could never have afforded at the time. Was there a moment that second hand prices were more achievable? Who knows? Given only approximately ten were ever made and five are in museums, I doubt it.
That’s it. Drop a comment below if you have any other favourites.