HiFi vs MidFi


I’m a relative noob to the audiophile scene, having just invested in an integrated amp and upscale (for me) speakers.  From time to time, I hear the term “MidFi” for some components.  Is there an objective or just largely accepted definition for this term?  I’d be curious to hear feedback on what constitutes HiFi vs. MidFi across various components.  
128x128bigtex22

Showing 1 response by andrei_nz

Hi bigtex

late to respond but ok.

Hi-fi High Fidelity ... we are living in a golden age of High Fidelity.  The "mid-fi' stuff is just fine.  It is more than just fine.  
The thing is this:  There is some music and what is the meaning of that music?  This is important despite the fact that I cannot tell you what it is.  Why?  Because music is music, it is not words.  So can have excellent verbal descriptions of paintings or music but music has musical meaning.  

How do we get that musical meaning?  Well by listening with open minds (and maybe some training and experience but that is not all that important).  Does the equipment impact on this?  Well actually no.  No!  If you break down a concerto into its components; the melody remains the same whatever the gear is.  The key does not differ either.  The harmony is not different.  Pretty all the music is the the same.  You want good hi fi gear : well you will get better timbral accuracy (ie a violin will sound closer to a real violin).  This is good and yeah I go for it.  But if you have mid-fi gear will you enjoy music less? No.  
But back to my point about a 'golden age'.  My giddy aunt!  Marantz, Onkyo, and Yamaha and others will give you a truly superlative amplifier for peanuts.  Goodness knows how many great budget speakers are out there.  And when I say budget ... let me add my personal experience: I have $20K speakers but my earlier 1K speakers delivered the music.

And don't get me started on sources.  

Dude:  Welcome to the world of Hi-Fi.  It is really great.  There will be tons of people who are zealots and pronounce "it is the music man ..."  I say they are kinda right  ... actually they have to be right by definition but you have come onto a hi-fi forum and the way I see it is that the gear is fine tuning.