John Darko
We normally talk about hi-fi gear on these pages but today I want to discuss the furniture used to arrange and display that hi-fi gear. I’ve got three everyman hi-fi furniture suggestions, two of which (I think) most people would consider ‘affordable’. None of the three were designed with hi-fi in mind. They just happen to fit hi-fi gear. Before we get to those suggestions, I need to give you the back story; the all-important context.
When I moved to Berlin in 2016, I started with a dedicated hi-fi rack called the Slimiine Podium Reference made by the UK’s Hifi Racks (since acquired by Atacama). It cost me around €500 and I bought it because I’d enjoyed a Podium Reference in Australia. I later bought a Podium Reference for use in Berlin only this time I put it on wheels.
I then graduated to a double-wide version of the Podium Reference in white (and on wheels). That’s now in my office in Portugal but over the years, I’ve found the cable visibility increasingly irritating. And very few hi-fi racks help us hide those cables. This was the main reason I switched to everyday furniture. The second reason was that dedicated hi-fi furniture often looks ‘specialist’ and is harder to visually integrate within a normal living space. The third, as we shall see, was the money saved.
Long-time readers of this website will know that, since 2019, I have used dedicated hi-fi racks alongside regular pieces of furniture. Those same readers will also know that I’ve been through three different sideboards in the past five years: two from Maisons du Monde and one from Tikamoon. One of those I gave away to a YouTube follower and the other two have been redeployed elsewhere in my Berlin apartment.
I’ve also used IKEA’s KALLAX on and off. It’s the gold standard for affordable vinyl storage and half-width hi-fi components. The downside is that KALLAX can look a bit cheap, especially when supporting amplifiers and DACs that sell for many times its extremely low asking price. For me, the best version of the KALLAX is the 4 x 1 with the two additional slots on top. I’ve been using one in Portugal since January 2024 and I’ve had all manner of amps, DACs and CD players do time in its top slots.
BUT! Last week, I made significant changes to the furniture I use for hi-fi gear in Lisbon. Those changes were based on the furniture I now use in Germany. You might have seen some of it in our recent videos.
USM Haller Lowboard/Sideboard (€1400 and up)
Several YouTube commenters have asked about the large beige sideboard currently sitting between my loudspeakers in Berlin. It’s a USM Haller Sideboard. Confusingly, some resellers call it a Lowboard. No matter. It’s a Swiss design that’s also modular. I have two replacement top plates waiting in the wings should I scratch one. Being a full-time hi-fi reviewer means I frequently move gear in and out and a scratch isn’t an ‘if’ but a ‘when’.
The USM Haller Lowboard is 1.5m wide. That’s wide enough to comfortably fit two full-width hi-fi components on top. As a reminder: a full-width component in the hi-fi world is 43cm wide. And two full-widther can go in the slots below where the height limit is 17.5cm. The drop-down doors on the front of the USM Haller obscure storage spaces that are tall enough and deep enough for a row of vinyl records. However, the unit’s depth is only 38cm – so it might not accommodate some of our bigger amplifiers and DACs — like the Cambridge Audio Edge W amplifier or the Hegel H590 integrated. I often add an IsoAcoustics ZaZen isolation platform whose offset feet add an extra couple of centimetres of depth and keep airborne vibrations away from turntables. Why? Because the USM Haller is made of metal.
The USM Haller’s depth and construction materials are two compromises to keep in mind but I’ll not step on the landmine of dedicated audio furniture sounding better than regular furniture in this post.
Another compromise is the price: in its drop-down door configuration, the USM Haller Lowboard sells for roughly €1700. And that price is one reason I don’t yet have a USM Haller in Lisbon. The other reason is shipping time: in Germany, I can get a USM Haller unit delivered to my door within three days. The lead time in Portugal is a staggering six weeks.
Also available within a few days of ordering is the IKEA BAGGBODA whose vintage-styled tubular metal frame supports a pair of wide and deep storage shelves for a very modest €69. They are wider and deeper than we need for almost any hi-fi component. And I’ll say that again: 69 EUROS. The catch? Availability on the BAGGBODA can vary. At the time of writing, it was sold out across Germany but available in Portugal. I have one unit in Berlin and two in Lisbon.
I don’t just like the BAGGBODA’s price. I like how the internal shelf height (at 29cm) is tall enough to house a Cambridge EDGE W power amplifier and EDGE NQ pre-amplifier stack – and with space to spare on the sides. And below the lower shelf, there’s room for an AudioQuest PowerQuest 303 power conditioner. What about on top? In Lisbon, I have a Technics SL-1210GR and in Berlin a FiiO R9, a MOONDROP CD player and – sounding the hipster alarm – a Noguchi lamp.
Zara Home Dark Wood Side table (€249)
And yet: I think my best find this year has been the “dark wood side table” from Zara Home. Check out those curved corners! Such visual elegance. The two internal shelf spaces are wide enough for a full-width component and in some cases, tall enough for two stacked components. The internal shelf height isn’t listed on the Zara Home website but I’ve measured it at 25cm. There’s also room on top for a turntable — albeit with a depth limitation of 35cm. Again, an IsoAcoustics isolation platform adds an extra couple of centimetres to stop a Thorens TD124 turntable from tipping off the back.
Can you spot the irony? The IsoAcoustics ZaZen isolation platform sells for as much as the Zara Home side table itself. In Germany, that’s €249. In Portugal, €200. I bought one in each country and both arrived within 3 days of ordering. In the context of dedicated hifi furniture, €250 is a stone-cold bargain. The only thing I don’t like about the Zara Home piece is the open area at the bottom that exposes the cables and power adaptor on the floor — but I’ll soon add another AudioQuest power conditioner to plug that hole.
Further information: IKEA | Zara Home | USM Haller
