What is Hi-Fi, Mid-Fi, and Low-Fi ???

I have like many on this forum enjoyed a life of music and hi-fidelity stereo gear and am wondering how these terms came to be.
I have three systems now all of which sure sound like Hi-Fidelity to me. And I do consider them to be high end while not necessarily high priced. I guess I owe it to myself having learned what I know about audio but low, mid, high sounds vague at best.

Anyone care to comment?

Thanks!

Ron

 

I have never seen the term "mid-fi" used in this forum in any way other than pejoratively.

 

Hi-Fi: Steely Dan
Mid-Fi: Parliament-Funkadelic
Lo-Fi: Melvins

Oh, you meant equipment. Never mind.

 

They all Hi-Fi, but because some highs are higher than others highs in persons opinions, they started using these "creative" terms.

 

Let me take a stab:

• Lo-Fi = inferior source material being (e.g., 128kbps MP3) played through a docking station or boom box
• Mid-Fi = better source material (red book cds and non-audiophile vinyl) played through gear you can purchase at Best Buy or another box store or generally on online retailers like Amazon (with some exceptions, of course)
• Hi-Fi = best source material (SACDs and audiophile vinyl) played through gear you have to purchase at a high end store or speciality on-line store, which generally costs in the +$1000 per piece of hardware.

I realize that you can buy lots of older hi-fi gear on CL or Audiogon or DIY to get hi-fi on the cheap and that there is a lot of mid-fi gear out there that can be giant killers, but in general terms I stand by my explanation.

 

But I wonder lo-fi (different from Low-fi? I don't know) means rather high quality sound like the recording by Steve Albini?

 

Okay, look at it in a different way. The stereo consoles from back in the day were called "Hi-fi" systems, and if you take a look at the Fisher Console catalog as an example (http://www.fisherconsoles.com/), many of the far from high end models from the late 1950s sold for around $800. If you put that in today's dollars, you would need to spend at least $6,500 to get apples for apples. I would say, based on this line of reasoning, if you spend that much on new gear for speakers, amplifier, and turntable, then you are just in the hi-fi category. Again, this is just a rule of thumb.

 

Lo-Fi: The sound that you enjoyed as a kid, when you didn't give a rat's ass about sound quality and just liked the music.

Mid-Fi: What your brain tells you that your current system sounds like, regardless of the money you've spent or the time you've invested trying to make it better.

Hi-Fi: That really expensive system you see on YouTube videos, playing the blandest-sounding music you've ever heard. You know you'll never have a system this good, but at least you have better taste in music.

 

Lo fi:
The speakers which come built into your laptop.
$3.99 earbuds
landline telephones
1960's AM transistor radios
conversations in a crowded cocktail lounge
Muzak in any elevator

MidFi:
Most modern car stereos
good MP3 players
$89 earphones
$299 stand alone computer speakers
BOSE radios

HiFi
Nearly any stereo system assembled with separates.
Most audiophile systems
Cost as much as a used car

HiEnd
The rich 'nuf said.
(or insane audiophile.. who spends all his/her disposable income on equipment ... cost more than a new car)

 

What there are today is different shades of mid-fi. There is no low-fi or hi-fi, just a little worse or little better sounding than mid-fi. Different shades of grey mostly, I think.

 

I was hoping my Rega gear was better than mid-fi but it doesn't make your $ cut.

 

Mind you, I don't necessarily believe what I wrote, that it is based entirely on money consideration. But for the sake of argument one can without too much controversy say a Lexus is in the "luxury" car category, whereas a Toyota is not, though many may feel their Toyota is "better" than a Lexus. All my gear is mid-fi by my definition and I have no problem saying it, because I have heard a true hi-fi system and it went to an "11", if you catch my meaning.

 

There are totally different definitions for these terms depending upon what crowds you run with.

Going with the Classical definitions:

HiFi = Any system with a reasonably flat frequency response which extends from roughly 40Hz to 15kHz, with a S/N ratio greater than about 60dB, and relatively low distortion. LoFi = Any system which falls significantly short of the above parameters.
MidFi is completely undefined here.

Going with High-End definitions (as I have come to understand them):

High-End = Very high price components (Usually from "boutique" manufactures) which generally take a stab at advancing the state of the art in audio, as well as their second and as well as sometimes even third-tier level components from these same manufacturers which are marketed at price points which are really not intended to make them widely affordable. Some Examples of high-end manufacturers: Wilson Audio, Krell, Conrad Johnson, Audio Research.
Mid-Fi = Components which take a serious attempt at achieving high-end levels performance, but at significantly reduced prices. These components attempt to be "budget high-end", and cut some significant corners in terms of construction or parts quality, but may still attempt to employ some higher-end trends in their construction. These may be 3rd or 4rth or 5th tier products from high-end manufacturers, TOTL products from mass market manufactures (such as Sony), or the entire line from "Mid-Fi" manufacturers, such as Adcom, NAD, Rotel, or Oppo.
Lo-End or sometimes "LoFi" = Regular consumer-level, affordably priced audio/video equipment from common manufacturers such as Sony and Panasonic.
BPC = "Black Plastic Crap". Sits at the very bottom-level of consumer mass-produced equipment, and even typical consumers may see it as being relatively low quality audio/video gear.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The above terms generally get applied by high-end aficionados pretty-much regardless of measured performance for any of the above equipment, as both price and pedigree are requirements for being considered "High-End". And this does not in any way imply that everything which is considered to be high-end is necessarily "better" than everything which is considered to be "midfi".

 

I was thinking that Hi-Fi and high end audio would be one and the same. I've never considered there being another level past High Fidelity. Hi end could go on forever in cost figures. Strictly speaking Hi-Fi, not $100K.

 

I predict:

The term "class warfare" will appear 3 times in this thread before it's closed.

 

I don't think that will happen. It's an honest question and I'm sure there will be some good discussion on topic of course. Who knows, maybe no.

 

Stereophile has a whole issue devoted to it each year.

At the risk of hate posts here's my definition

Lo Fi: very lossy compression, boomboxes, unbalanced sound etc
Mid Fi: decent quality construction, consumer electronic market gear
HiFi: recessed midrange, good at the frequency extremes

 

Interesting you chose Lexus and Toyota as Lexus is just the premium Toyota store. The real difference is Lexus has nicer accessories. It is not really a better car. I have owned both.

As far as these equipment classifications are concerned it's all relative. My Rega stuff is way better than Bose but compared with Conrad Johnson it is light weight.

 

That's actually a pretty good overview.

 

The Sherwood RX-4109 is considered Hi-Fi when in the classical definition but in the high end classification, it is considered mid-fi, based on Tarnished Ears post as it is midline but includes some high end audio features.

 

Firstly I think it can only mean difference in sound quality, as this is the definition. This difference should be obvious to us if we know what we are listening to or not. Then it gets all of a sudden complicated, I think.

 

The minisystems of the 1980s-1990s are definitely lo-fi, IMO.

 

I agree, and much more difficult to communicate that complexity.

 

My 'fi' has nothing to do with money. Just the way it sounds.

There's no price barrier you have to break (or stay under) to render high-fidelity sound.