“Mid-Fi”:
A musically satisfying component/system where the owner recognizes the existence of a strata of performance well above the current level and may, or may not, feel compelled to pursue it.
When are speakers considered Hi-Fi and not Mid-Fi???
What determines the status of "Hi-Fi?" I was recently considering a pair of Klipsch Heritage Cornwall speakers. They get rave reviews, have almost a cult-like following, no longer have harshness from the horns, and are very resolving. Other than not reaching down too low into the bass as some speakers do, why are they not considered Hi-Fi? They can clearly reproduce the full range of sound with an incredible image and are not missing any capability in person or on paper. Seems when we follow a thread on here about most any speaker at any price there is always a contingent that feels to need to post that the certain speakers under discussion are Mid-Fi not Hi-Fi. I only use the Klipsch Cornwalls as an example to start. Budget is not an issue, and cost should not dictate. I was also looking at the Magnepan 20.7 for another example, and they are $13k more than the Klipsch, but low and behold someone within seconds pops up and says these are Mid-Fi speakers. I kind of bet I could ask about a Sonus Faber Aida at $130k and within a few seconds someone will pop in and call them Mid-Fi as well. When do we reach "Hi-Fi" these days? Is it simply an endless and baseless dick-measuring contest? Seems like it. If we were talking cars we always have the guy who brags about the 0-60 times of certain cars, but it's clear that the 0-60 time alone does not qualify a car to be a "supercar" as there are so many other things the car must have and do to make it into that class, and like speakers there is not always 100% agreement on what the factors are. When do we reach Hi-Fi status for speakers???
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Trying to create a definitive line between Mid Fi and Hi Fi is a fools errand. At best I may consider the following... 1. The listeners intention, and 2. The type of equipment being assembled. Cost of equipment is not a determining factor in my opinion. As far as intension goes, if you are assembling a system for the purpose of listening to music and during this process you are making decisions to the components used to produce the most life like reproduction, then I would consider what you assembled to be a Hi Fi system. Now, and this is where I get to my second point, you are just purchasing an all in one component (say a BT speaker) this doesn't qualify as Hi Fi to me. I've had people over my house who have been amazed by my outdoor speaker pods playing on my deck with a subwoofer that looks like a rock in my yard. Then I bring them into my home to listen to my very modest Hi Fi system and they are just blown away. The same thing seems to happens to most people when I show them my Hi Fi system. They go from just casually hearing the music to actually listening to the music. Suddenly they are aware of the soundstage, the instrument placement in front of them, the ambient sounds in the recording like fingers sliding up guitar strings and the singer taking a breath while he's singing. When you assemble a system that produces that detail, it drags most people in. A Beats Pill isn't going to do that... |
@dekay must have been the stupidest thing I said last week! (Probably not) |
I consider my Cornwall IV’s hifi, although I considered them higher hifi before I changed my system around and upgraded to Magico A3’s. Some might say those are not hifi as they are at the bottom of Magico’s line. Both are wonderfully entertaining but for my ears the A3’s are ahead, maybe it’s because I paid 3x the price of the CW’s. What really tells me the Magico’s are hifi is the fact I have no desire to replace them. Let your own ears decide what hifi is, who really cares what others think anyways? |
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