The joys of mid-fi


What I’m writing about here applies to classical music but might have parallels in other music too. I’ve brought this topiic up in different ways before.

Years ago when I was blissfully ensconced in mif-fi, I could easily compare different performances of the same classical work with the confidence that the sound quality would be essentially the same. There would be no issues of soundstaging, detail, et al that would make it hard for me to compare. It was easy to judge a performance on its own merits without complicating factors. Now, it’s almost impossible to assess a performance without placing SQ into the mix. A mediocre recording might be extremely attractive due the sound alone, Conversely, a very good performance might be shunted aside as “unlistenable.”

Oh, for the good old days of mid-fi! 😁

128x128rvpiano
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RV, FWIW, IME, I'd bet that when you were listening to music over a mid fi system you were not focused on its recorded sound so much as you were exploring new music or the alternative performances of music of which you were already aware. From that experience you developed preferences which you carried forward into your development of a high fi system. Music, or performances of such, dicated how you wanted to hear it over your hifi. By way of example I fell in love with Kleiber's version of Beethoven's 5th. Even now, I don't listen to other versions by conductors whose version doesn't draw me in regardless of the competence of the recording. 

Not so much with Richter's version of Mussorgsky's Pictures (1957 live at Sofia). To me there has never been a better performance more ineptly recorded as this. I do not take it off the shelf but I do find that I there are quite a few newer performances, better recorded, which I can easily enjoy. 

I guess the importance of the sound quality today is greatly influenced by  the importance of the music (to me).  Much of the music is well heard in my mind so what I hear is not so important over my hifi(?) system so long as the sound is not offense to my hifi ears. This morning I'm listening to RR's recording of Copland's Fanfare, Appalachian Spring, and 3rd Symphony. Hog heaven, even though I'm sure there are better (technically speaking) performance available. Over my system the sound is as good as it gets (or needs to be). Guilty pleasure.

 

Veridian, Most of what you hear in a hall is, IME, determined by where you sit and what you are listening to. The closer you sit to a center seat,  just in front of the orchestra pit, the more you you will hear instrument specificity, so long as it's not overwhelmed by by the volume. For example, listen to some Mahler in, say, rows 4,5,6 or 7. In his quiet sections you can easily hear the sound stage so long as your ears can still hear anything after listening to the blaring of the brass and impact of the booming drums. This is a sound you will never bring home on a recording, but if you could you could never reproduce it!  

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Mid-fi are the days before the apple was given to Eve and Adam by the serpent.

You can't go back before the Fall, @rvpiano , but you can pray for redemption. (And drink a beer.)