Mid-Fi, Hi-Fi or.....?

here is another view: I have x dollars and I want to buy the best for that x.

At any given point I want to make the most out of that x. If it’s feet for my turntables, or cables or new speakers, whatever improves the sound the most, however I identify the weakest link is what matters. Does that x dollars make me consumer/mid-fi/hi-fi or my approach to find the key to improving the sound makes me whatever category?

To be honest, if I had a lot more money, I would have learned a lot less and probably would have had less fun as well.

I’m old enough to remember my mom or dad telling me to "turn off the Hi Fi and do your homework"...the device(s) was a Philco and later Magnavox console tv, phono,radio furniture piece. Amazing how folks need to mind puck simple things. The funny part is many who consider their systems Hi Fi not Mid-Fi or Lo-Fi are certainly a part of that era. The smugness. From my perspective the whole "tier" thing is really silly. I am blessed to still have older folks in my family that to this day refer to a sound producing unit as a Hi Fi are they wrong?

Looking at it from an economic standpoint.

A person who has invested $150K in his system will have a resale value of about $75K after 5 years.  Cost of ownership $15K per year.

A person who has invested $50K in his system will have a resale value of about $25K after 5 years.  Cost of ownership $5K per year.

A person who has invested $20K in his system will have a resale value of about $10K after 5 years.  Cost of ownership $2K per year.

A person who has invested $10K in his system will have a resale value of about $5K after 5 years.  Cost of ownership $1K per year.

You get the idea, pick your poison.

Does a music lover receive $13K more pleasure per year for the extra cost of their $150K system than the owner of a $20K system?   Each person decides this.

The constant in all of this, music is music.

It been said that there are no absolute truths. Just workable truths, and relatative truths. In this regard, there is no "absolute sound", just (very) subjective references to high fidelity and high(er) fidelity.

There is no absolute truth...Common place fact ...

But here once this is said you forgot acoustics when refering to high fidelity stereo system... Doing so instead of refering to controllable objective acoustics parameters and concepts and experience you refer as all marketing to the gear itself as the "source", the material design of a gear piece and his associated price tag...This is "not even wrong"... It is beside the point and put in our head by consumers marketing...

If someone want to know what is acoustics experience in stereo system , the owner manual of the best high end gear in the world is worthless..

Read an acoustician , the last genius to know what he spoke about is Edgar Choueiri .... Acoustics with an (s) is not mere room acoustic...

The gear does not determine the level of acoustic satisfaction , his rightful implementation in a House/room/ears-brain does it ...

Incredible the point to which publicity about the gear brainwashed us all ...

I will not give other example of brainwashing... I will be out of subject...

The only way to go through audiophile experience is learning how to do it not purchasing costlier materials and accusing me or others to be envious of high end ...😊 It is the opposite i pity those who buy high end very costlier product and use them in a non dedicated room bragging about gear...

Gear matter it is a common place fact ... But it is completely secondary compared to all acoustics and psychoacoustics paramaters and concepts...

Period.

Forget the gear and study acoustics a bit...

or call me envious of 100,000 bucks speakers as some just did ...😁 It is ludicrous... I am proud of my speakers low cost modifications and my acoustics controls at no cost yes...Audiophile experience for peanuts is possible sorry for those who dare to claim for the sake or their expanse that it is not possible ... It is...With vintage gear or basically well optimized low cost good gear...

Or perhaps even if i tuned my room i am deaf to high end ... 😋

balooo2

81 posts

01-23-2024 at 12:50am 

I am blessed to still have older folks in my family that to this day refer to a sound producing unit as a Hi Fi are they wrong?

Fair point. From a semantics standpoint, no, elders using Hifi in a colloquial sense are not wrong. Some decades back, many things were marketed as Hifi that probably weren’t being accurately described (even if conveniently summarized). Nowadays the bar has moved a bit and the other two categories are happy to cause further confusion, IMO 😆