HiFi vs MidFi

+1 for @mikelavigne @jjss49 millercarbon , @jjss49

"Mid-fi" is meaningless? Just a put down? Give me a break.

The term "mid-fi" has a clear, useful, and non-derogatory meaning. It indicates that a piece of gear or room treatment or combination has pressed beyond the ordinary bad situation (tubby bass, over-bright, echoing, etc.) and achieved some of what audiophiles strive for. But existing accomplishments can be improved, and missing ones can be added. And flaws can be eliminated.

My Adcom 535L and RTP 400 are perfect examples of mid-fi. Decent bass, soundstage, mids, mediocre highs. They are better but still middling/mid-fi: way better than my old Yamaha receiver but leagues behind my current tube gear, R2R, etc. Plus all my room treatments.

Mid fi comprises gear and room yielding an audio experience *on the way* to hi-fi. Could there be an easier concept to grasp and accept?

And, I agree with jjss49 that the notion this can be accomplished for peanuts is delusory. Bless the person who can live in a shack and call it a castle, but...

And, I agree with jjss49 that the notion this can be accomplished for peanuts is delusory. Bless the person who can live in a shack and call it a castle, but...

It could.... Nobody called my Shack a deceptive castle....😁😊

But anyway most people dont knows by experience it seems that the difference in S.Q. between MOST relatively good gear most of the times are exceeded by the powerful S.Q. impact and effect in the way the room is designed and controlled acoustically to adapt and enhance TO AND FOR a specific audio system...

Then i am bless 2 times...

It cost me nothing...

and it is real Hi-FI in my "schack" ....

Mid-fi is a name invented by gear  marketting sellers... No acoustician use it.... 

MidFi

could be Mighty Damnnnn Fine, as great sound can be achieved without spending a fortune.

Brands most people have heard of at prices most people can afford sold in places you can walk into and buy. 

The answer as to what constitutes Mid-Fi versus Hi-Fi is predicated upon the habitus of the audiophile. The average person thinks that lower end rigs are higher than they are. The person with a tremendous amount of system building experience knows far better the true spectrum of performance. 

Calling the designations Mid-Fi or Hi-Fi states of mind/attitude is, imo, unproductive in making a clear judgment. There are clear distinctions in performance; if you don't agree, feel free to revert to your computer monitor's built in speakers. 

As someone who was a budget audiophile for many years, but in the past 14 was reviewed and built hundreds of rigs from approx. $10-100K, my range would be about like this:

$2-3K MSRP  Mid-Fi
$5-10K MSRP  lower end Hi-Fi
$10-40K MSRP  midlle HiFi
$40K+ MSRP  various shadings of upper end HiFi

I am not interested in arguing over or debating my assessment.  :)