Perhaps we should stick with midfi...

it does not matter how much any gear costs, or how it measures..what matters is how you and you alone respond to the experience of listening to music through the gear.

only quality time spent listening to music you are familiar with, through various configurations of gear will help at all determining what low0fi, midfi, or highfi qualifies for an individual.

there are no rules.

good luck, and enjoy!

It's all part of the process Troll...errrr fellow audiophile. Gotsta pay the dues!
Pay some restocking fees and take some dat monies and I'll see you at the RMAF, where you will see/hear many full fledged cases of audio synergy at work.
My first system, when I got back into the hobby after a twenty five year hiatus, consisted of an ARC CD-7, Cary SLP-05 preamp, NuForce Ref 9SE mono amps, and Von Schweikert VR4-SR's with all Nordost Valhalla cabling. There are not a few audiophiles cringing right now, and a couple of jealous newbies muttering "Wow! Cool system!".
Synergy trumps cost in every instance. This system was a disaster, and could have been averted if I wasn't inclined to trust my instincts. There is a difference between trusting your ears and trusting your instincts. I don't say you shouldn't trust your ears; but if you ain't heard it TOGETHER, you ain't heard it. Period.

Azaud:

Your comments underscores one of my criticisms of the way that many audiophiles approach equipment purchases. Expressions like "synergy" and "trust your ears" are so mushy and ill-defined, that it makes the whole thing seem like systems come together by magic. In my view, if the system is that poorly matched, then there should be some objective data that would suggest that outcome: either the output impedance of one device is incompatible with the input impedance of a downstream device; or the output level of one device is insufficient relative to the input sensitivity of a downstream device, and so forth. To that extent, there should be someone who can offer some insight as to why some of these device might not work together very well: I mean, something more precise than just "synergy" and "trust your ears". Granted there are some fine points that you can't represent in objective data, but if a system is a "total disaster" (as opposed to being optimal) then there should be some objective evidence of the disaster. I approach this stuff as being partially visceral, but also partially analytical - I tend to not believe in magic.

Paperw8 - I agree with you quite a bit. Unless there is really something mismatched, I can't see any hi fi system really sounding "bad." It's far more likely that it just doesn't have the sound the purchaser was trying to get. If a person visits a store and listens to a particular system and only purchases a portion of the equipment, it's very likely to sound much different at home given the change in equipment and environment.

I have experienced a significant change in enjoyment on one of the systems at my local hi fi store. Every time I heard the Focal Utopia Diablo's, especially with a JL Audio subwoofer I was drooling over the wonderful sound. The store sold their Krell amplifiers and are now running Asthetix amplifiers and I have not been blown away since. Does it still sound great, yes, but for my ears it's a train wreck in comparison.

Please understand that I'm not knocking Asthetix products, I'm sure they could sound great with a different system or to a different person.

If I had the money, I would have quickly purchased the Krell version of the system without question, but I've been dissapointed every time I've listened since their departure.

I think it helps to have a sound you're trying to recreate in your head. You may be unaware that you are sensitive to missing high end information in a perfectly acceptable sound system until you hear it and it bothers you to the point that you'd rather not listen to music at all as long as the offending sound continues. I was like that when I finally switched speakers after 17 years. The new outrageously well reviewed pair I bought had excellent defined bass, good dynamics, very nice incisive midrange--BUT the highs were closed in like a slightly padded object was covering the tweeter and no matter the position of the speaker, messing with the considerable adjustments one could make on the outboard crossover, I could not get rid of the slightly to markedly closed in highs. I didn't know this even bothered me until I heard it. Others may be bothered in various other ways--lifeless dynamics, not enough or tubby bass, dynamics constricted, etc. You may not even know that it bothers you until you hear it. Man, I'm glad I took a chance on one more set of speakers after that disappointing venture on what I thought would be my last pair from reviews I'd read. Same thing happened with speaker cables. When it's right, it's enjoyable and you can quit anal/oh, analyzing your system and just enjoy the music. After reading another OOH BABY review of some outrageously good cables, I bought a used pair and inserted them in my system. The joy was gone, even after running the system for 2 straight weeks non-stop. Put the other cables (cheap, but also well reviewed) back in and the smile returned to my face. Same thing happened in my basement built dedicated room. I had stuffed the ceiling with 6" fiberglass batting that was a good sound absorber. The sound inside that room was incredibly the moment you walked in the door, clear with zero recognizable defects to my ear, anyway. My brother, in the trades, told me to get glacier ceiling tiles for that room and it will sound even better. I put in a slightly angled drop ceiling where behind the speakers was a little lower and sloped slightly upward to behind my seat. I laid all the glacier tiles in the grids and turned the music on. All the live illusion of music diasppeared and I was left with dull, flat, uninvolving music like a cheap table radio. I couldn't believe what those tiles did to the sound. I replaced most of the glacier tiles with Armstrong's highest articulation tiles that you can only get if you know someone it the trades and 98% of the magic returned like before I put in the ceiling tiles. It's a woefully long post and I'm sorry this lasted so long, but my main point is you'll know when something really bothers you. Try to fix the problem and also, when your system sounds great to you in all areas, QUIT reading about new stuff and just enjoy your system and the fact that you have been fortunate enough to take many different electrical devices connected together so that a very pleasing approximation of live music is coming out and you get to enjoy it most any time you choose. Reading the high fi rags just gives you the itch, the desire to acquire. Then you stay on the neverending treadmill of upgrades and ultimate dissatisfaction that goes with it. Music truly soothes and stirs the soul, wanting something more only stirs the wallet and your degree of unrest. Right now I thank God that I've been one of the lucky ones in this hobby to assembly a reasonably affordable system with outstanding sound. I intend to be very content for years to come and maybe help others reach their lucky point, also.