2. misc-audio
  3. 190397-89202

The joys of mid-fi

What I’m writing about here applies to classical music but might have parallels in other music too. I’ve brought this topiic up in different ways before.

Years ago when I was blissfully ensconced in mif-fi, I could easily compare different performances of the same classical work with the confidence that the sound quality would be essentially the same. There would be no issues of soundstaging, detail, et al that would make it hard for me to compare. It was easy to judge a performance on its own merits without complicating factors. Now, it’s almost impossible to assess a performance without placing SQ into the mix. A mediocre recording might be extremely attractive due the sound alone, Conversely, a very good performance might be shunted aside as “unlistenable.”

Oh, for the good old days of mid-fi! 😁

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xrvpiano
Post removed 
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,004 posts
 

Eve should have taken two bites of that apple.

Absolutely. Show those men who's boss.

rvpiano's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
rvpiano OP
2,670 posts
 

@viridian 

   I think it’s very clear that when Newbee said “you”  he was not referring to you personally. Substitute “one”.for “you.”

A little too sensitive?

Post removed 
stuartk
2,971 posts
 

@abnerjack

But oh my, when you couple excellent performance with a high quality recording, played on a nice system, you have it all. Maybe the payoff is worth the trouble.

Some "music lovers" will be critical of this view. Some seem to be able to appreciate the underlying music, regardless of the quality of the reproduction.

I identify as a music-lover. I would never downplay the potential for enjoyment when well-recorded music is played on a nice system. That would be absurd!  What I do not identify with is an inability to be engaged by music unless it’s presented in high-end sound. Of course, if the sound is so poor as to be garbled, that’s another story.

What I’ve noticed is, the better the sound, the more my attention is drawn to sonics/system. I don’t find I’m more engaged by the music. My capacity for enjoying  music began way before I heard better-than-mid-fi sound and I still utilize that same capacity to this day, whether I'm listening to the car radio, at home on my modest system or to a friend's high-end system. 

More to discover