Build the minimalist hi-fi
Breakthroughs in digital amplification and speaker engineering make it possible to assemble a serious hi-fi system that won’t steal half your living-room floor space. Start with the Wadia 151PowerDAC mini [$1,199; wadia.com]. This 8x8x2 wonder box contains a preamp, a 50-watt-per-channel amplifier, and a USB DAC (with technology descended from Wadia’s $10,000- plus CD players) all in one. Wire it to the inexpensive (but awesome-sounding) Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 Bookshelf Speakers [$450 a pair; soundimport.com], which feature an understated look backed up by a neodymium-driven tweeter and a woofer made of Kevlar. Then plug in your source to one of the Wadia’s three digital inputs and proceed toward aural ecstasy.