Tips and Hacks
Quick shop tips and hacks we figured out while building from scratch. Every endeavor starts with a roadmap.

Hacks
New hacks are on the way.
Frugal
Whole-Home Audio on a Budget
My uncle bought a pair of Sansui speakers overseas while he was in the Navy, and nearly 60 years later they still sound amazing. Good passive speakers don't expire. Got some sitting in a closet? Give them a second life, or find vintage pairs and high-end speakers from back in the day on eBay. Popular bookshelf speakers are another easy pick: small, great sounding and easy to find used. Power them with a Niles Audio SI-1230 or SI-1260 12-channel amplifier, which also turns up on eBay for a fraction of what it cost new 10 to 20 years ago. Then add a WiiM component streamer to feed it: any of the WiiM lineup works (WiiM Ultra, WiiM Pro Plus, WiiM Pro or WiiM Mini). To stay frugal, grab a used Yamaha WXC-50 streaming preamp (not the WXA-50 amp) or a used Google Chromecast Audio on eBay, a little screenless puck that plugs in by 3.5 mm or optical and turns any amp into a Wi-Fi player. For audiophile grade, Yamaha's new WXC-70A streamer is the step up.


