Fidelity

It's not a stupid question. For it not to be an ignorant question, you would have to know the answer.

I think accuracy and 'high fidelity' is generally the same thing. High fidelity was coined to describe a system that was very close to the original sound, or one that is not 'unfaithful' to what was heard in the studio.

Accuracy is a word used to describe a systems ability to sound like the instrument played. It usually refers to tonal accuracy. Many times a listener determines what instrument is being played by a process of default. The listener knows it's not a trumpet, or tuba, and eventually concludes that it must be a French Horn since they know what it isn't. Tonal accuracy allow the listener to skip this process by reproducing the tone of a French Horn (for instance) accurately enough that it is easily recognized. This is an over simplification of the idea, but I'm trying to be clear.

Nearly no one is really able to determine how accurate their system is since they don't know the sound of each instrument, the make and model of the instrument, and the tonal qualities of the hall or studio in which the recording was made. People might like their systems, but statements beyond that tend to be disingenuous.

It's actually an interesting philosophical question, though in the end Reubent is right, if it brings you enjoyment don't worry about it. Initially, my understanding of the meaning of high fidelity/hi-fi was to mean fidelity to the source, i.e., the master tape, not necessarily the actual musical event being recorded, as the recording engineers and producers would be the ones to determine how close to the actual recorded event the master tape/record/disc came out. An accurate component was one that faithfully amplified what it was fed, or accurately read and transcribed what was on the disc. There were precious few components in the early days of hi-fi that did this. This led to the "spec wars" when transistor equipment first came out, where solid state amps would have vanishing amounts of distortion, especially when compared with tubed designs, in an effort to be more "accurate". They also sounded awful compared to those tubed designs. If you look at the specs of a lot of today's equipment, you'll see that many manufacturers of high end equipment today (see, for example, the Wavac measurements, or any single-ended triode amp's measurements--Sean started an excellent, though controversial, thread on this point) seem to be taking a different view of what high fidelity is supposed to mean. It might be an attempt to sound more like the original musical event, or else to get to the artist's message via your emotions. Perhaps not accurately transcribing or amplifying what was on the tape, but also perhaps getting across the musical message or the sensation of being at the recording venue, trying to make up for what was lost in the recording process. This may not be all that bad, given some recording practices where orchestral recordings spotlight individual instruments in a way you'd never hear in the concert hall, and pop producers use all sorts of devices to create the sound they think will sell, rather than faithfully portray the actual sound of the artist performing. From my standpoint, I prefer a component that makes my recordings sound more real, as if I were at a musical event, than one that shows me every splice of the master tape made by the recording engineer, every creak of a chair, etc.--that's the illusion that I'm asking my system to create. But there is a basic amount of accuracy to the master tape I do expect as well--I don't want boomy one-note bass, I don't want bassoons that sound like saxaphones or clarinets, or violas that sound like cellos or violins. So my definition of "accuracy" may differ from many others' here, and certainly from the original concept of the word as I understand it. But it's really a philosophical discussion, not one that should be thought about too much lest you lose your perspective on why you have your system in the first place.

Hi Tim,

I would generally agree with many points that Uppremidfi has made but make the definition even more concise. "Fidelity" would refer to the ability of the system to faithfully reproduce what has been captured in the recording. We assume (hope, pray?) that the recording team, mastering engineer and pressing plant have done their jobs correctly and the recording does contain an accurate representation of the sound of the instruments in the recording venue. If the playback system has "fidelity" it will show exactly how accurate the recording is. With the best recordings such a system will sound very close to the sound of the original instruments. With a recording of lesser quality a "faithful" system will conversely show the limitations of the recording.

A system that exhibits colorations or individual components that possess a particular "personality" by virtue of their design or by accessories that have been used inappropriately will not be able to have "fidelity" to the recording and will add those colorations to EVERY recording that is played through that system. That will take us further away from the ultimate goal of perfect audio reproduction.

Best Regards,

Barry Kohan

Uppermidfi,

A lot of us "golden eared freaks" can tell the difference between different brands/version of instuments on recordings. In addition, we are able to hear the recording venue. Some of the extreme "golden eared freaks" can even tell you mike type and positioning from a recording.

I go small clubs, classical concerts, quartets, etc to hear what live instruments sound like.

The holy grail of hi-fi is to recreate the performace in your living room.

Later,

Thank you. I appreciate your answers.Reubent: I like your advice. I do enjoy myself. My connection to music has always been emotional and so I do not make much headway with any analysis of my system.However, I do find audio related subjects really interesting, even if my understanding is a bit limited.Bright star audio: This is where I always get hung up! I do like my system the way it sounds now but I know it adds its own sound to the recording. Warmth, mostly. I think often that my ears are too easily appeased- a little lazy.