What defines mid-fi versus high-end?


I’m in my mid fifties and I recall 30 years back mid-fi to me fell into the NAD, Adcom, B&K…. For high-end I considered Mac, some of the Counterpoint offerings, Cary…. so forth.  I had another post going where I mentioned I acquired an Onkyo  home theater receiver that retailed new for $1,100.   Yet another agoner responded that it does not rate as mid-fi.   We all have our opinions of course.   So right or wrong here.
How do you define the parameters of high-end versus mid-if?  By money range, by brand…?

 

pdspecl

The size of your wallet, and the amount of envy for those who can afford a better system 😁will never rival my pride being able to create one at very low cost !

In this day and age, if something sounds “mid-fi”, it just means you bought the wrong stuff. Fix that! Hifi can be had for a pittance these days. A pair of Grado headphones and a smart phone to stream from  will do to start. Move up to a pair of Vanatoo active speakers and voila…..more hifi for practically nothing. Ditch the junk if it does not sound good !

 

What defines mid-fi versus high-end?

It's somebody's idea of a distinction that essentially comes down to a difference in price. 

For those of you who equate higher prices with high fidelity have you ever seen the youtube channel where Danny Ritchie from GR Research compares some hi-fi, high cost speakers to more budget friendly and shows his viewers what they get for the money? Quite an eye opener. More money shelled out does not alway lead to better sound.

 

For those of you who equate higher prices with high fidelity have you ever seen the youtube channel where Danny Ritchie from GR Research compares some hi-fi, high cost speakers to more budget friendly and shows his viewers what they get for the money? Quite an eye opener. More money shelled out does not alway lead to better sound.

 

 

Thanks for the channel recommendation! It seems very interesting...

I know first hand that price tag means not so much that what most people think , and even the superiority of some speakers design over an other, to shine means an optimal room acoustic control...

My Mission Cyrus 781 so good they are, were inferior to The Tannoy Dual gold 12 inches legendarey design i owned for 40 years... But they never were, like in most audiophile rooms, never rightfully embedded, then they never touch the sound quality i feel with the inferior Cyrus, in a room completey controlled acoustically for them...

The Tannoy was too big for my listening conditions at the times, not knowing anything 12 years ago i begin my journey modifying 8 pairs of headphones, with success, but longing for better all along the way... I decided to go back to speakers again. i made the mistake to sell the two Tannoy pairs which needed refoam to finance my new audio journey...That gives me 2000 bucks...These Tannoys were mythical stuff...I sold them on the spot without bargaining...

I tried many speakers smaller one, because in my actual conditions, even if i own a dedicated audio room, it is a small room 13 feet square with everything on the desk beside the computer screen...

Not ideal... One speakers is even in a corner few inches from the wall...😁Nother location was possible...

But with acoustical, electrical and mechanical controls enbeddings experiments, i succeed in a few years to embed the Mission Cyrus so well than they beat anything i ever listen to...

Read me right, i dont brag here about my branded name speakers but about the improvement coming from the three embeddings working dimensions controls i put in place... Especially acoustic one...

Then i regretted to have sold the too big Tannoys, but now i dont lament it at all...

Acoustic is Queen...

But watch the electrical noise floor of the house, and vibrations uncontrolled, they will kill S.Q. if uncontrolled...But only acoustic will make everything shine in 3-D colors ...

Upgrading is no longer appealing, i am even afraid to upgrade, because i may in spite of a small  improvement in details, regret the 12,000 bucks necessary to upgrade my three components...

I paid my system  500 bucks used : the speakers Mission Cyrus  and the Sansui AU 7700, and peanuts for the sublime Christophe Mariac SPS design  dac new in a bid...

I am lucky... But i worked my luck hard with these electrical, mechanical and acoustical controls... It was fun , more fun that the ephemeral pleasure of an upgrade piece , because the S.Q. i know now come from my hand and beat most upgrade i would have made without them ...

My best to all and to you for this youtube audio site....