Okay Alex. You have solved this mystery, once and for all. I bow to your knowledge.
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???
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High fidelity to what in relation to which source? The recorded analog or digital source or the real musician playing which anyway did not exist in an absolute sense acoustically because each location of the listener will give rise to different timbre experience and in relation which very different room or hall... High fidelity is a marketing term...Not a scientific one...To justify and qualify speakers, amplifiers and dac and recording device as microphones design or reel magnetophone design etc... Before the gear components and even before the recording engineers trade-off, there is the real violin or piano or chorus playing in a small chuch or in a very small hall or in very big one with each one displaying his own acoustic properties... Recording that is an ART with all different trade-off possibilities for the recording engineer who will decide to pick one set of these and recording that choice on vinyl or cd is not so much "high-fidelity", it is an optimal fidelity, which we will listen to in some room/speakers relation optimally or not... High fidelity is a concept in marketing gear electronical design not in acoustic, except to speak about the necessary listener impression... No recording sound the same in one room /system and in another one... Acoustic basic knowledge is the ground for optimal experience, not the price tag of products who exhibit yes a dinminushing returns relatively low treshold... |
Stupid argument. Who cares what anyone says. I think it is fair to day what is garbage though. You know it when you see it. Crosley anyone? The Best Buy haters should differentiate between ones that have a Magnolia department and ones that lump whatever stereo equipment they happen to have with the regular stuff. The Best Buys I've been to have Magnolias, and always have at least one guy who knows about 2 channel audio and a very nicely designed demo room. Maybe not turntable experts since they don't sell many of them, but they do carry them. I wouldn't want them to set one up though. They carry McIntosh, KEF, Rega, Rotel, B&W and maybe some other manufacturers that are financially strong companies that can afford to give Best Buy a deal on outfitting these Magnolia stores with demo equipment. Interestingly enough, you can usually get a better deal at a mom and pop (usually Pop) stereo store that typically has worse return policies. Except when there is a close out at Best Buy when I expect them to blow out their demo equipment. |
I fully agree with @2psyop it’s all relative and a matter of your personal perspective. And keep in mind that much of what is dismissed as “mid-fi” on this and other forums produces better stereo sound than what 99% of the population has ever heard. |
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