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

It's purely a matter of personal opinion. One man's ceiling is another man's floor. Those terms have been under development for the last 100 years. Example: My 1929 Majestic. "Low Fi" by modern standards, but most certainly "Hi Fi" compared to a Victrola. My current monitoring system is certainly very good, but it would be "low fi" to someone who had just spent $10,000 on their system. So I don't think there are defined plateaus or levels when it comes to high fidelity.... there are just 2,000 shades of gray, and which shade applies to you is known only to yourself..

 

High-Five

Mid-Five

Low-Five

 

Thinking alike Missed yours while I was posting.

 

But of course we have to buy something so there will be some sort of price. But I agree, if you what you are doing the price is not really a factor.

 

DIY-fi trumps them all! Homebrew preamps n such...

 

The "All these 'high end' reviews make me depressed!" thread is not closed yet.

 

By dollar amout:
LoFi: from 'found it on a street corner' to $300 for the whole shebang
MidFi: $301 to $3,999. but no component can cost more than $1000
HiFi each component is from $1,000 to $5,000
High End: each component costs more than $5,000 But speakers are $10K or more

Thus I am only 'HiFi' and not High End.

 

The challenge is that we aren't calibrated ("on the same page") in terms of the sound of low-fi versus hi-end, etc.

Low-fi: worse than Denon/Polk
Mid-fi: Denon/Polk
Hi-fi: better than Denon/Polk

Hi-end: way, way better than Denon/Polk

Reference hi-end: cost no object

And by "better", I'm refering to the relative capability of the system to resolve musical details, etc.

One could also use "hi-end" to refer to the mission of the manufacturer.

 

One, two and three steps up from "No-Fi"

 

There is no actual definition anymore.

The terms are mostly used today on online forums to degrade other people's equipment

There is plenty of stuff at all price levels that has very good sound quality, and reasonably good fidelity, but it is looked down on, by some that feel that only higher cost stuff can reproduce sound well.

It has very little to do with actual sound quality.

"Mid Fi" is basically an insult by those that own something higher priced.

I take it with a grain of salt.

 

I'll have mine with a glass of bitters!

 

I was with you totally on your first post, not this one.

Money does not determine fidelity directly.

I have seen stuff over the years that costs more and sounds worse.

If it was that easy, no one would even have to read reviews or audition anything...just look at the price tag, and you know what you got!....just saying!

Yes maybe overall better stuff usually tends to cost more, but there are many things that break the rules.

 

Hi-Fi: An abbreviation for the term "High Fidelity"

Mid-Fi, Low-Fi: Terms coined by people who take pride in their audio systems to denigrate equipment they subjectively believe to not be as good that the equipment they own.

 

Bingo

 

Hi-Fi is the ad copy, mid-fi is the actual product bought new, low-fi is the same equipment found 20 years later at a yard sale for next to nothing.

 

I'm getting it guys. I saw these terms thrown around a lot lately and kept thinking back to the original and only real term "High Fidelity" we all know so well.

I won't put a dollar amount on it just to be fair. Good gear is good gear. Great gear is great gear and really great gear is really great. High end gear we all own to some degree.

 

You can throw all the money you like at this hobby and still be aggravated. The real reward is getting excellent gear at a low price. Everyone loves an amazing sounding bargain.

 

I get huge satisfaction hearing bargain priced stuff that sounds very good. I think to some, the value part of the equation equates partially with how happy one is.

 

Logical fallacies everywhere, but nonetheless which expensive hi-end gear have you heard recently that was manufactured in the last decade in order to arrive at such a conclusion?

 

RCA, Magnavox, GE, Motorola, Zenith, and many others sold consoles, or "Brown Goods" for near or over four figure prices and even then you could buy a good power amp, preamp, speakers and a turntable for anywhere from half to four fifths as much, that would be much better than you got in the console. Separate "components" <sic> were a far better buy but Middle Americans wanted their furniture, even if it was laminated and sometimes gaudy.

 

And don't forget really heavy.

 

Hi-fi refers to high fidelity which references the quality of the playback system. Flat response, low noise, low distortion.

At this point, today's cheap stuff is often better than what was referred to as hi-fi in the 50s when the term started to be used.

I reject any other definition, I don't like re-defining stuff.