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In your opinion, what is Hi, Medium and Low end?

Hey All,

I am new to this arena and for all the reading and homework it seems like there is a lot of circumstance out there. It seems that the comment that I see the most is, “…see how it works with your system.” And while this is true about a great many things in life it seems that we are all trying to find a sense for balance for our budget. The other thing that I learned is the spending a lot will not always yield the desired result.

So…regardless of price, here is my question. In your opinion, if your were to put together a system (say something to do it all, as I don’t know about everyone else but I couldn’t afford one for music and one for movies and other activities) in the following three categories: as high medium and low; what would it look like?

Say maybe with the following categories:

1) Processor, Preamp & Amp OR Receiver
2) Sources (CD, Phono or whatever)
3) Cables (Speak, Interconnect and whatever)
4) Power and related products
5) Other tweaks

Did I miss anything? Please feel free to add. :D

There are no motives hear but to learn, I have just bought a bunch of stuff that make me happy and I am just curious or maybe trying to prove that I am not on crack. ;-)

Cheers,

Blu
blu_audio
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Isn't it fun when you can do that for someone Albert? It's a similar thrill introducing someone to your system who you know appreciates live music.

Yes, I agree. I must admit there was bit of selfish motive in putting this together. I wanted to "prove" to him that the limited budget he had could put him in high-fi heaven. The little tube amp I choose to drive the Vandersteen 3A is marginal for this speaker, but since it clips so gracefully I'm the only one who notices it's being pressed a bit too much.

It actually sounds very good. The losses it introduces makes for pleasant and emotional listening. Reminds me of my entry level system when I began this crazy hobby.

I think one of the biggest problems in high end audio is our failure to draw in the kids. We set the goal for high end and fun so high, that young people are turned off and just listen to their Logitech computer speakers.

I always try to support forum thread that advocate experimentation, it's a way to get people involved and thinking about what they can do to be part of the music.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Here, here Albert! The young folks represent any hope of continuing this hobby (and pretty much anything else) with some kind of integrity, and in turn creating higher expectations from the industry (hifi and recording). I ran into a friend recently at the supermarket which I'd done the same thing for, albeit at a very slightly higher budget. He still has the same system and still loves it over seven years later. No problems at all, and a very modest system. I'm pretty sure at the time that he only spent a bit more than $2K all told. I'm sure I could have done it cheaper but that was his budget. It's definitely a whole lot of fun to help folks in that way. There are so many really excellent products out there and the pricepoint keeps getting lower. By far, the majority of folks have no idea what kind of performance is available to them. As you pointed out, Albert, go to BestBuy any weekend to see how many folks are investing relatively large coin into some definitively lo-fi gear.
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Albert and Jax2, if you go roll around in Head-Fi you'll see a giant community of dedicated, mostly young people, really into high quality sound. A young man in his 20s tweaked my AKG K701s by adding dual-entry Cardas cabling and a Neutrik plug. They're into tubes, high end DACs, vinyl, the whole shebang.

Head-fi is definitely the most active audio forum I've found on the web. Start a thread there and it'll be two pages down in thirty-minutes.

Anyway, when we're dead and gone I think that music appreciation will still be alive and well, just ever-changing.

Dave
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chazro
635 posts
 
Interesting thread, allow me to muddy up the waters a little more!;) My system consists of:
Arcam Cd23
Audio Research LS15
Audio Research PH3
Linn/Lingo/Ittok
Ortofon Blaupunkt
Music Reference RM9
Spendor S100

+ Video equipment, racks, cables, recorders, etc. Here's the thing, I've never been able to decide whether my system is upper mid-fi or lower hi-fi!!!! Not something I've lost too much sleep over;) but I like to think that I can have "moments" with my system just like Mr. Porter can on his (lovely post btw).
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Dcstep - I've referred over to HeadFi on occasion, but, as you know, discussion there is of all things headphone. Though I appreciate headphones, and related amplification, for what it can offer, I am not a fan of listening that way unless I have to. For me headphones have never rendered an as emotional and as visceral an experience as the illusion a good system creates within a room. So the conversation there tends to not interest me as much, though definitely the membership is younger there than here. I found, in my limited experience there (I think I even have a user ID), that my musical tastes were not as close as the stereotype you might find here (and that may have to do with age?). Bottom line is that I find I have more common ground to participate here. Not age-related, but I have a similar aversion to AudioAsylum, where I find the discussion is so gear-intensive (aside from "music asylum") that it doesn't interest me to participate as much. I think this is a nice balance here.
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