Avantgarde or Tonian?

What does "more hifi sounding than musical" mean? Hi fi used to mean high fidelity. High fidelity was the goal. What in the blue h--- happened?

Hello. I think the Ocellias are great speakers, don't get me wrong. The model I have might have a better extension in the upper frequencies. I have considered adding a supertweeter. Tonians use the same driver but they also mount a ribbon tweeter and I've read superlative reviews. So, I was curious.

By the way, the Berning Siegfried is the best amplifier I've ever listened to (and I had pretty good ones, but for the most part push-pull).

I've heard Avantgardes many a time and they can sound amazing but I can also understand when someone says they sound hi-fi sounding what is meant. They tend to grab your attention and make you take notice and say wow! On the other hand I've owned single driver speakers and now a PHY based speaker and it doesn't have that wow factor but let's me forget about the gear and just enjoy the music.

(dealer disclaimer)

"I've heard Avantgardes many a time and they can sound amazing but I can also understand when someone says they sound hi-fi sounding what is meant."

I can understand it I suppose when someone says this. I suppose its more that I do not agree with the hi fi versus musical distinction. Semantics I suppose. To me, the music either sounds good or not. IF it sounds good, by any sort of objective criteria compared to others, it is essentially by definition "High fidelity". If it doesn't sound good (ie "musical"), then it is not high fidelity. Can't have one without the other.

I've had this discussion many times with friends. I describe modern hi-fi as giving an incredibly accurate and vivid visual image of the musical event. You can see as if you were at a concert. The best modern speakers all do that. I think that that has increasingly moved us away from the reproduction of music. If you sit in a symphony hall, even if you're close to the orchestra, and close your eyes, you will never be able to locate the instruments with precision. You get the whole picture. That's music and that's what speakers like for instance Ocellia or old Sonus Fabers or old Quads do. I believe that that is what people call musicality. A friend of mine recently got a pair of high-end Kharma. They definitely had an amazing wow factor...but is that what music is about? They certainly offer a sensory experience on steroids (you see into the music) but as far as I am concerned, the reproduction of music is something else.