Technically Sublime: 7 Gorgeous Home Electronics

Alex Nino Gheciu June 10, 2015

Home technology has come a long way since the days of clunky gramophones and anvil-like televisions. Now that tech manufacturers have embraced beautiful design concepts, it is the perfect time to invest in the highest-end technology for your home. After all, television is better than most films, and your wine cellar is as well stocked as any restaurant. Why go out? Innovation and aesthetic beauty need no longer be mutually exclusive.

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Stax SRS-4170 Earspeaker System

Most traditional headphones attempt to reproduce sound through magnetic drivers. The Stax SRS-4170s, however, are different. Like speakers for your ear, they use an electrostatic driver instead. Translation: they offer a much higher frequency response and an incredibly immersive soundstage, allowing every sonic nuance to be heard—from the lowest bass to the highest highs.

$2,195 (Available at Planet of Sound)

Sony XBR X910C Series 4K Ultra HD TV

This 75” leviathan from Sony will serve you well. It’s the company’s thinnest LED TV yet, at some points measuring just 4.9 mm. That’s slimmer than most smartphones. The TV’s new 4K Processor X1 dramatically elevates clarity, colour and contrast. Plus, its Google Android operating system lets you stream video, play video games and control programming with your voice. The golden age of television, indeed.

Price TBD

Naim Mu-so

Audiophiles typically despise wireless music systems because they offer sound shortcuts that decrease quality. The Mu-so, however, is an exception to the rule. Finely tuned by Naim’s audio engineers, it takes digital music into the high-res realm, boasting 450 watts of power that offer the most accurate reproduction of source material possible. In no other context will streaming your Spotify playlist sound—or look—this stately.

$1,700

Aerelight OLED Lamp

Your workstation should be practical, but it doesn’t have to be utilitarian. This svelte, slimmed-down organic LED lamp offers plenty of brightness, while straddling the line between class and cutting edge. It also boasts a Qi charger that can charge your phone wirelessly. Practical, like we said.

$240

LessLoss DFPC Series High Performance Power Cables

Too many armchair audiophiles overlook the importance of quality cables. Don’t be one of them. More than you might realize, electromagnetic noise infiltrates your music via power lines. These cables, however, offer the most effective—and elegant—skin-filtering technology out there. Hear your record collection for the first time, again.

$595 per cable

MartinLogan Theos Speakers

The way to home audio Nirvana is finding the perfect equilibrium between aesthetics and sound. MartinLogan’s Theos electrostatic speakers achieve it—they’ll melt your ears and mesmerize your eyes. Their XStat electrostatic technology and Vojtko crossover topology work together to produce laser-precise sound. Just as impressive is the 44-inch tall speaker panel, tightly curved to achieve a 30-degree dispersion pattern that makes it look see-through. Zen audophilism at its best.

$5,000/pair (available at Executive Audio)

ALLNIC Tube Amps

Don’t desecrate your favourite records with the icy digital output of an iPod dock. Allnic tube amps offer warm, analogue sound with unmatched clarity, detail, speed and dynamic range. The brand name stands for ‘all nickel’—all their output transformers are made with permalloy, an alloy made with 80% nickel. The result? Sound staging so flawless you might for a second think you’re listening to Hendrix live.

$20,000/pair of A5000 DHT mono amplifiers, $12,000/pair of L3000 pre-amplifier (Available at Audio by Mark Jones)