How is Mid Fi defined?

Mid-fi is the neighbor's system.

Does your system have bass and treble 'tone' controls'?

Sorry, but it's mid fi.

I just watched a tv commercial where they were selling a new "high-def" paint...so, what is mid-fi paint then? but I digress...

Let me get...real simple like. This question...it's mid-fi. Har-har-har, just kidding!? No. Seriously.

For the OP and other lost travelers, I'll go ahead and make things most basic to understand. This hobby is about listening to music...for OUR enjoyment.

Hi-fi...mid-fi, these are only words.

Music...this is art.

for our intent and purpose, words are only useful for marketing and advertising...understanding that gem should put a stop to about 33.333% of all questions on ALL audio replay related forums.

furthermore, we need to consider the oh so not carefully hidden knowledge that ALL replay components are system/room/source material dependant...and well, that should end almost all other honest questions.

and btw, and obviously for everyone's benefit...sadly, we cannot let you in on what Art is useful for as we have better things to do...for instance, spend our time enjoying it!

Ok..now all them dirty hippy's should be satisfied and off to smoking their hemp sneakers...enough already with all the BS....that's right, lets get down to brass tacks as there is Major Money at stake here! easily everyone involved here (who is not in this game to make any sort of money) should understand that the crux of the apostrophy is this; listening to music at home is as simple as keeping up with the fremer's...or conversely, as complex as turning down the lights and hitting the "play" button on your cdp.

Or perhaps this will help to explain things better for the OP's engineering mind....."talking about music, is like dancing about architecture" That's courtesy of musician Frank Zappa.

So in conlusion and to answer directly the OP's original question, you might own a mid-fi system if...you spend any amount of your free time posting ass-backwards questions on online audio forums instead of on EnJoying listening to music on your stereo.

Also, everything is relative. Except hi-fi, which is absolute.

Oakleys

This forum is AUDIOgon, not MUSICgon or ARTgon so I think its OK to talk about audio.

How we value or appreciate audio vs. music is a well worn debate in other threads.

Since you mentioned money, I might add that yes, there is money at stake here, but usually only when people are willing to shamelessly market mid fi or low fi, as hi fi.

So mid fi is not an expression which is "useful for marketing purposes" it is a pejorative expression invented by audiophiles who know better and seek to educate others about our hobby.

This is yet another reason it is important to define and discuss "mid fi".

Were you able to buy it for 3 Kellogs Frosted Flakes box tops and $10?

Well…. Have no fear…. That’s not MID FI.

6 boxtops… and $50…. Now we’re onto something.

If you’ve paid enough for it to have bought a very nice new import vehicle instead… it’s not MID Fi…. Unless you’ve mismatched all the components badly.

MID FI looking back down from an Ultra Fi view point is another way to see things as well… a $30K retail system then could be thought of as mid to low fi… if only $$$ are the parameters.

As was said… MID FI is what other’s own… not us… regardless what it is or what it cost us, perhaps.

I don't care if it has tone controls, or the speaker wires are hard wired to the unit or the speakers themselves.... …

if you have to actually think for a good while about buying it… Discuss it with your spouse, Cash in on your 401K, Scheme up a way to rob an armored truck, or take out a loan or save for some decent amount of time… you sure ain’t going to think it’s MID FI no matter what!

...and if you have a 50 inch or larger plasma outfitted witha Bose soudn system... well... I guarantee those folks don't feel their rig is MID FI at all!

I know... most of my friends have exactly that!