Blog

The Cables that We Think Really Make a Difference

Audio cables are one of those things that enthusiasts love to argue about—either one is better than the other, or that no cable makes any audible difference at all. As a hi-fi retailer and technology integrator, we're here to tell you that cables do matter. We're also here to tell you that you don't always need the best cable for every speaker or interconnect, but if you've invested serious money in your audio gear, it makes no sense to hobble it with cheap cables. You wouldn't outfit your C8 Z06 Corvette with SUV tires, would you? We didn't think so. Here are our favorite home audio cable brands and why we like them.

Preventing Your Room from Sabotaging Great Sound

You've spent many thousands on speakers, amplifiers, and source equipment in your listening room or home theater. Yet the sound still isn’t the aural nirvana you had envisioned. Unless your room’s acoustics are near-perfect, it might be working against you. Hard walls bounce sound around like a racquetball court, bass builds up in corners, and dialogue gets muddy no matter how much you tweak the settings. That’s where acoustic treatments come to the rescue, fixing what your gear can't—they tame the room itself.

As part of our series on Show and Tell's favorite brands, we're covering three acoustic treatment solutions that consistently deliver for our Park City, UT, clients. Vicoustics brings European design sensibility to functional panels. ATS Acoustics offers American-made durability at prices that won't break the bank. And Quest Acoustical Interiors engineers custom solutions for clients who want perfection. Each brand tackles room acoustics differently, but they all solve the same problem: making your expensive audio gear sound as good as it should.

From Simple Streaming to Audiophile Networks

Remember when enjoying music meant choosing between your CD collection, radio, or maybe one streaming service? A home music server changes all that by bringing everything together—your streaming subscriptions, digital music library, vinyl records, and any other audio sources—into one unified system you control from a single app.

Here on this installment of a series on Show and Tell's favorite brands, we're covering four home music server approaches that consistently deliver for our South Salt Lake, UT, clients. Sonos makes ecosystem integration simple and reliable. Eversolo brings audiophile-grade streaming with serious convenience features. Silent Angel specializes in network audio purity for the most demanding setups. Control4 also embeds music that serves directly into smart home automation. Each tackles the challenge differently, but they all solve the same problem: making all your music accessible from anywhere in your home.

From Simplified Streaming To Audiophile Performance—Here Are Our Favorite Wireless Systems

Can wireless audio satisfy a real music enthusiast? While we’ll always still advocate for traditional good quality cabling for audio, whether in a two-channel rig or a whole-home setup, wireless audio has come a long, long way. You can have the convenience of an app to stream a wide variety of sources to wireless speakers that sound amazingly good, with no wires required. OK, you do have to plug all of these in, because power has to come from somewhere. 

Continuing our series on Show and Tell's favorite brands, we're covering three wireless audio solutions that consistently deliver for our Bountiful, UT, clients. Sonos makes multi-room audio simple and expandable. Bluesound brings audiophile-grade streaming to serious music lovers. And KEF focuses on single-room hi-fi excellence that rivals traditional stereo systems. Each tackles different challenges, but they all prove that wireless doesn't mean compromising on sound quality.

Our Go-To Brands, from Simple Whole-Home Audio to Video Matrices

Getting music and video to every corner of your South Salt Lake home sounds straightforward enough. But anyone who's tried to set up a serious AV distribution system knows the real challenge isn't just moving signals from point A to point B—it's making complex technology disappear so you can actually enjoy it.

As part of our series on Show and Tell's favorite brands, we're diving into three AV distribution solutions that consistently deliver for our clients. There's Sonos, which keeps things beautifully simple with sophisticated app control. Control4 embeds distribution into complete home automation, so your entertainment works seamlessly with lighting, climate, and more. And AVPro Edge delivers the kind of sophisticated video distribution for those that want superb audio and video quality, as in "everything, everywhere, all at once."

Each solution tackles different challenges, and understanding what makes them special can help you choose the right system for your Utah lifestyle.