Question one could ask is why would anyone care what someone else labels a system? Personally, if I hear a piece of equipment that brings me closer to what I hear live and in an unamplified setting, I don’t really care what the label is that someone else attaches to that piece. If that label happens to be ‘mid Fi’, or happens to be entry level ‘big box’ gear and that same piece brings me closer to the sound I am looking for, then to me, that is a very desirable piece of gear…regardless of the price. Unfortunately, I have not had that experience too often, but it has happened occasionally, and I have immediately bought the piece in question.
( usually for what I consider a great price).I suspect we have all had that fortuitous circumstance. Next question, would it not be also accurate to state that a nomiker like ‘mid Fi’ or another detrimental description, is used most times to describe a piece that does not perform up to the listener’s expectations, again regardless of price?YMMV
When are speakers considered Hi-Fi and not Mid-Fi???
What determines the status of "Hi-Fi?" I was recently considering a pair of Klipsch Heritage Cornwall speakers. They get rave reviews, have almost a cult-like following, no longer have harshness from the horns, and are very resolving. Other than not reaching down too low into the bass as some speakers do, why are they not considered Hi-Fi? They can clearly reproduce the full range of sound with an incredible image and are not missing any capability in person or on paper. Seems when we follow a thread on here about most any speaker at any price there is always a contingent that feels to need to post that the certain speakers under discussion are Mid-Fi not Hi-Fi. I only use the Klipsch Cornwalls as an example to start. Budget is not an issue, and cost should not dictate. I was also looking at the Magnepan 20.7 for another example, and they are $13k more than the Klipsch, but low and behold someone within seconds pops up and says these are Mid-Fi speakers. I kind of bet I could ask about a Sonus Faber Aida at $130k and within a few seconds someone will pop in and call them Mid-Fi as well. When do we reach "Hi-Fi" these days? Is it simply an endless and baseless dick-measuring contest? Seems like it. If we were talking cars we always have the guy who brags about the 0-60 times of certain cars, but it's clear that the 0-60 time alone does not qualify a car to be a "supercar" as there are so many other things the car must have and do to make it into that class, and like speakers there is not always 100% agreement on what the factors are. When do we reach Hi-Fi status for speakers???