There are terms we in this hobby use to describe certain characteristics of the components or sound evoked...Without fail,the terms entry level,mid-fi & high end will show up in component reviews or conversations regarding equipment components...
So exactly how do we define these terms in absolutes?I understand there are components that,in this day & age,outperform their asking price in orders of magnitude but even if they do,they will invariably be tagged as entry level,mid-fi or high end simply based on their asking price..
Assuming entry level starts at say $500.00 per component,where does that end & mid-fi start,$2500.00 per component,$3500.00,$4500.00,$5000.00?
How far does that pricing structure go until you consider a component to be "high end"?
What are YOUR PERSONAL thoughts on this subject?
If we disregard all this expansive language, the goal for many of us is to reproduce the recorded music in such a manner as to be as accurate as possible to the source. The best approach to this goal is to choose DACs and amps that have the maximum measureable SINAD, IMD, etc., and speakers combined with room impacts that provide an ideal, measureable reproduction accuracy.
That’s why it is best to rely on professional measurement resources like Erin’s Audio Corner, Stereophile measurements, and Audio Science Review as a first blush for finding extraordinary audio components. We can also rely on them for calling into question all the silliness about cables, power conditioning, cable lifters, and related audiofoolery.
Then we get to real hi-end stuff, equipment that performs optimally regardless of cost or heritage.
ASR: "All amps sound the same, just get the one with the best SINAD. Ditch your preamp, it only adds distortion. 192 Kbps is all the digital resolution anyone ever needs. Just buy whatever that’s rated Golfing Panther and you’ll do just fine".
Audiogon: "My $3000 network switch sounds stunning. You need to invest at least 30% of the cost of your system in cables. A good USB cable costs $1500, but some $500 ones are said to sound decent. Caelin personally recommended these speaker cables and they are such game changers that I will never need new speakers again! Best $15,000 I’ve ever spent! You get what you pay for!".
Both of the above are attempts by people unable to decide for themselves what sounds good from what doesn’t, to quantify the value of hifi gear through criteria unrelated to sound quality.
My two cents here is that both extremes are doing the community a disservice.
You are completely right in my book ....I repeated this here for years...
Subjectivist audiophiles and objectivist few specs measuring obsession are focussed as twin brothers are on the "Gear piece" specs for one group or taste for the other group...Not on the system/room/ears-brain ...
The two group ignore the optimization process of their system/room especially the acoustics and psycho-acoustics part...
ASR: "All amps sound the same, just get the one with the best SINAD. Ditch your preamp, it only adds distortion. 192 Kbps is all the digital resolution anyone ever needs. Just buy whatever that’s rated Golfing Panther and you’ll do just fine".
Audiogon: "My $3000 network switch sounds stunning. You need to invest at least 30% of the cost of your system in cables. A good USB cable costs $1500, but some $500 ones are said to sound decent. Caelin personally recommended these speaker cables and they are such game changers that I will never need new speakers again! Best $15,000 I’ve ever spent! You get what you pay for!".
Both of the above are attempts by people unable to decide for themselves what sounds good from what doesn’t, to quantify the value of hifi gear through criteria unrelated to sound quality.
My two cents here is that both extremes are doing the community a disservice.
Where Does "High End" Start? Like @wsrrswmentioned, it's a state of mind, but it might start at the point where you consider yourself an Audiophile and realize a whole other world of audio equipment. I don't remember the term High-End used growing up. It's when I learned that shops like Victor's Stereo, Paul Heath, Audio Consultants, and Quintessence Audio existed beyond Pacific Stereo, Playback, Musicraft, Midwest Hifi, and their ilk.
ASR: "All amps sound the same, just get the one with the best SINAD. Ditch your preamp, it only adds distortion. 192 Kbps is all the digital resolution anyone ever needs. Just buy whatever that’s rated Golfing Panther and you’ll do just fine".
Audiogon: "My $3000 network switch sounds stunning. You need to invest at least 30% of the cost of your system in cables. A good USB cable costs $1500, but some $500 ones are said to sound decent. Caelin personally recommended these speaker cables and they are such game changers that I will never need new speakers again! Best $15,000 I’ve ever spent! You get what you pay for!".
Both of the above are attempts by people unable to decide for themselves what sounds good from what doesn’t, to quantify the value of hifi gear through criteria unrelated to sound quality.
My two cents here is that both extremes are doing the community a disservice.
I think it’s a tremendous service to the community to provide diligent measurements of gear that point to the most accurate reproduction capabilities! The additional angle that arises is, of course, how to effectively integrate those systems into rooms using DSP, room treatments, good speaker choices, REW, Dirac, and so forth.
That’s real hi-end stuff when you get to the point that you feel confident about your frequency response curves into Dirac from your calibrated microphone, the entire chain is sublime, and the sound is delicious!
Mid-fi is a Lexus ES or BMW 3-Series — refined, high quality, plenty fast, satisfies almost everyone.
Hi-fi is a Porsche 911 Turbo or McLaren — extreme engineering and performance, but with rapidly increasing cost for smaller gains.
It ranked my system:
So, your system as a whole sits in a “bridge zone” between mid-fi and hi-fi. You’ve outgrown mid-fi in most areas, but to an audiophile purist, the R11s keep you from being “all the way high-end.”
Like mechanics basics has nothing to do with car pricing classification, a good sound system /room has nothing to do with pricing of audio design pieces..
The fact that better design cost more is a common place fact promoted to be the audiophile supreme goal when our brain is wipe out by marketing instead of studying basic acoustics understanding about system/room...
I say that because i remember my own brain wash when i begun to dream about a good audio system and almost everybody as usual talked mainly about brand name purchase pricier and more pricier till emptying our wallet..
The car comparison analogy is both useful and wrong. For hypercars there is a measurable difference between the 911 Turbo and the Lexus ES based on track performance, 0-60 mph, 0-100 kph, top speed, etc.
Many high-end audiophiles are averse to measurements of their gear in terms of SINAD, IMD, identification of actual value of cables, etc. They insist their "car" is performant because it costs a great deal and has a pretty case.
The truth in modern audio equipment is that measurements show that very cost-effective DACs and amps and speakers perform extremely well. This shows the flaws of the high-end car analogy. Until audiophiles start taking measurements seriously they will be victims of marketing in a way that no car aficionado would ever do!
High end system/room started with the minimal acoustical threshold satisfaction experience...
For example i listened non stop since two days the integral of " I Musici " Vivaldi works because i cannot stop listening because the sound quality is much better in my actual system than anything i ever enjoyed...
It is a system /room well done at peanuts costs...
I cannot stop hearing beautiful sound with no real negative trade-off ...
Is my 1000 bucks system high end ? Not at all by all means but it feel like it is...
Acoustics basics with electrical control basic , mechanical control basics with synergy between the pieces and coming back to the right dac (SPS French Nos dac) did the job...
Did i want a better and bigger system ?
Not at all because i dont need it ( our needs vary in time as well as our budget ) and dont want to anyway, i am too proud of my works with a basic system able to reach his own optimal level workings...
I pity anyone with a costlier system who do not know how to reach even minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold ... It is a work asking for months of thinking each time i had done it (4 times in my case with 4 different systems in two different room with one TOP high end headphone system then three relatively low end speakers system)
I agree with the people who stated that high end is not a matter of money. My definition of high end is the playback of recorded music which approaches a live performance. I believe that my system does so: Magnepan 3.7i, REL subwoofer, Conrad Johnson amp and pre-amp, Technics S1200 turntable and Marantz SACD player.
Y'all are all going about this the wrong way. Cost is no longer an objective measure of entry level or Low-Fi, Mid-Fi, true Hi-Fi or high end due to the ability to buy things at great discounts. Therefore:
Entry Level -- sounds decent at normal volumes, some loss of highs and lows at loud volume, includes integrated components that are very inexpensive. Movies and pop music sounds good.
Mid-Fi, investor/researcher-type audio hobbyist -- components and speakers that play loudly and cleanly to a point where you can hear any music, free of distortion, in any room of your home... while vacuuming.
Pinnacle Hi-Fi -- similar to previous, can hear any music clearly, cleanly, free of distortion with the windows up and you're mowing your yard with a Honda push mower 🙂
Agree with Mahgister. Chasing hifi "highs" is logarithmic similar to power required for drag racing or top speed, e.g., the Veyron achieved 253mph with 987hp whereas the Super Sport achieved 267 with 1183hp.
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