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

As a 24 year old I may be a little late coming to this hobby

I started in this hobby right around that age too...it's certainly not late. Now I'm twice your age and have over 24 years into it. I've definitely settled into certain preferences and have held onto the components that fulfill them for almost a decade of that time, though I continue to tinker and try alternatives now and then. You've gotten some really good advice in this thread and I've enjoyed reading many of the responses to your queries here. Thank you for contributing. I'd definitely agree with those who advocate the more 'relaxed' approach to listening and enjoying this hobby. You will find out what matters to you and what doesn't with time and experience. No need to rush things as it's all good if it's about the music. If the gear or the hobby takes you away from the music, I'd say it's time to reevaluate your participation in the hobby (unless, of course you enjoy that aspect of it). There are certainly those who take great pleasure in tweaking and obsessing over the gear itself, and the performance of the gear for gear's sake. There's nothing wrong with that if its what you enjoy, go for it. I've always been in it for the enjoyment of music and just as soon have the gear disappear (metaphorically and physically, though the latter is a bit of a challenge). It's nice to see younger people interested in this hobby, enough to participate in a thread like this. There are a few others here too so you're not alone. Wow, an analog junkie too. Nothing wrong with that, but keep an open mind as digital has come a long way over a short period of time and continues to advance (meaning better performance available at more affordable prices). By all means, pursue the analog though if you have the desire and patience you will be greatly rewarded. You should try to attend one of the larger audio shows like RMAF in CO (October) to see and hear the range of some of what is available...take your BF and your dad! Though the hotel rooms and short setup period are not the best place to judge a system, the vendors do a pretty good job, considering that handicap. I don't go often, but it's certainly fun once in a while. There are other shows as well - CES/The Show probably the biggest of them but you'd have an awful lot to filter out there. As far as trusting dealers; just like people there are good ones and not so good ones. Pointing at an agenda ($) is an obvious detractor to seeking advice there, though that is certainly not always the case. Real-world advice, as in what you might get here in the forums, could also come with its own agendas and detractors to some degree, but in most cases they are not driven by commerce (although they certainly can be). If you participate in the forums long enough, and get involved in building your own system at the same time, you'll get to know various folks here and get a sense of where they're coming from. Have fun!

So guys,if you had the dollars to put into a higher end system,would you.And would you then say its all good ??
Honest answers only.Please set the ego's aside.

I'd probably improve a few things here and there, but I don't think I'd be inclined to invest huge amounts of money into my system. I like it pretty well as it is. I don't know where it would fall on the spectrum of what is being discussed here, but I'd say it is quite modest in comparison. I'd be most inclined to put significant money into improving my listening room or building a new one.

Albert has been in and around the industry his entire life and I'd venture to guess worked his butt off to build the system he has. I don't think he paid retail for it..but I think he traded his first born for the turntable. He still has the one son left though so don't feel bad. Keep in mind that represents the evolution of a lifetime's passion...and Albert, as we all know is a very tired old man with only one kidney (he traded the other for those speakers) :-)

So,I think by Jax2 and Mapmans reply that it takes a very large investment to achieve high end performance and some either just cant afford the cost or are not into the music that much.

Did I say that? I'm not even sure where you got that inference from my response?! I think there is a threshold where your investment in "improvement" can skyrocket in terms of $ spent VS improvements gained. If I had the money I don't think my priorities would be to spend huge amounts on small improvements. I like my system as it is. I have heard plenty of all-out systems that have impressed me, but the degree of improvement does not occur to me, personally, as worth the investment. This is all speculation, mind you. I don't have that kind of money, and I have no idea what that experience may be like or how it might change me. For me, right now, the greatest improvements I could think of for my system would be in tweaks to my speakers and in changing my room to a dedicated custom designed room for listening. The later would probably render the largest improvement in my case. That is definitely something I'd be willing to invest in if I had lots of money.

Why do some still say they have high end systems if you need something better to make it truly high end.Or is this like having a faster car gets confused with having a better car ?

I said I considered mine to be a modest system. I don't try to improve it for the sake of bringing it to someone's arbitrary definition of what is "better". I improve it because the investments usually bring me closer to the music, and thus bring me enjoyment. I've reached my own threshold where the investments required to make things significantly better are not worth it to me, short of perhaps the room (which actually would be a very significant investment).

The car thing doesn't connect. I hate cars. I ride a motorcycle, and avoid 4 wheeled vehicles like so many piles of dog poop on the sidewalk. I drive one only if I have no choice. Even taking your statement about cars and applying it to bikes I don't connect. "Faster" makes absolutely no difference to me. I'm much more interested in how well the bike fits my riding style and my preferences of terrain. Fast has very little to do with it. I've ridden the same model bike for 12 years now (two versions of it) simply because it fits me and my riding style best. There are a great abundance of much faster and sportier alternatives to what I ride, yet I have absolutely no desire to go there...not even a curiosity. Been there, done that, it doesn't fit me. If I had money up the wazzoo, I am quite sure I'd still ride the same bike and would still avoid driving a car. There's a thread somewhere on here about what kind of cars we all drive if you want to bore yourself to tears, in case you aren't already.

This all may occur to you as defensive, but I have to say your response just doesn't fit me at all. If I implied what you seemed to take from my post, I didn't mean to. Perhaps it was my poking fun at my buddy, Albert, but that was all tongue-in-cheek. I do respect his passion, and the man is a gentlemen in every respect. Hope that clarifies my perspective a bit.

This is not the place to be posting that kind of fluff. Go to the thread: "Hair Dryers. What does the Typical Audiophile Use?" where your contributions will be given the attention and respect they deserve.

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.

By your first paragraph, I'd say you're paying attention and certainly grasp what's going on here. I am not quite sure what, exactly, you are asking though. Is this an audio hierarchy question? Or are you asking what low-mid-high means to others? In the case of a latter, I'd imagine that was a sliding scale according to what you can afford, and to some extent what you've been exposed to, personal tastes, predispositions, yadda yadda yadda.

Albert's response is spot-on, as usual, and his last statement speaks volumes:

Sorry if this sounds like a cop out, but audio is like cooking. Better ingredients can make a great recipe better but is no guarantee a bad cook will serve a perfect meal.

If you take anything from this thread, that is a pearl, and it is anything but a cop-out. Well put, Albert.

If you can discriminate from those speaking from experience and those blowing smoke out their arse you can certainly learn a lot here...definitely keep asking questions. Most of your 'learning', though, will be done by doing (ain't that always the way), and not necessarily following anyone else's formulas or suggestions. Take the most sage advice as a point of departure and create your own 'perfect meal'. Look for folks who might share similar tastes in music, and or have experience with components you may be interested in, or those you already have and want to build upon. No better way to test the waters than to jump in, as you have. The chlorine's not too bad...just watch out for those warm spots.

I had no idea that there are so many audio people with knowledge that will take the time to help a novice.I thank you all again

You will dizzy yourself with the vast number of opinions here. Ask what may occur as a very simple question and you can get a plethora of diverse answers and individual tomes as to why each is the correct one. OK, I exaggerate, but not by much. Take heed of the advice you are getting that implies that there are no "right" answers - just have fun with it and enjoy the music along the way. That's what matters. It can be a whole lot of fun as it really can enhance the enjoyment of the music you love.

Your description of how you came up with your identity saddened me, but OTOH I am inspired as well to see how you persevered in spite of the discouraging words. There is a poetic irony in this, I'm sure you realize. Anyway, I hope your dad is proud to have inspired you to participate and share in his passion. It would certainly be very odd if he found your interest to be an embarrassment. Your questions here are intelligent and show obvious interest in participating and learning. How could he not be proud?

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.