??? Where Does "High End" Start ???

Luckily for me, I am old enough to remember when "high-end" was not even a thing. I think those words might have become a concept in the 80’s? 90’s? I started buying equipment in the seventies at University Stereo in L.A. I think I spent $500 on an entire system and it sounded good to me. Then I worked at a box store that sold stereo. The guys who worked there talked me into Dynaco book shelf speakers. Well, they sounded very good for maybe $300 for the pair. If I’d heard the word "high-end," I would have thought those Dynacos must have been right up there.

I won’t bore you with all the steps I went through: ARC phono preamp, McCormack amp, Apogee Slant 8 speakers. What in the world could have sounded better? As I made more money, I upgraded, and in my mind every upgrade sounded fantastic, so it was high-end to me. 

I have purchased new and used equipment and even inherited some equipment. I would say the retail value of my system is now around $70K, but again some I purchased used and I have a twenty-year-old amp (Hovland Radia--I love it!) which I inherited. Maybe I’ve spent more than $70K over very many years, selling things I wanted to upgrade. I have no idea, to tell you the truth. It’s just as high-end to me as the $500 system I bought from University Stereo in 1970.

Why is it all high-end to me? I love music! I have to have it around me. So anything that produces music and fits my budget  has always been high-end. Still, look at me now in my old age having spent so much money on stereo equipment. It’s not the equipment I love, it’s the music it produces. And after all the changes I’ve made, I have discovered a house sound. Not too analytical, but not too sloppy. 

Enjoy the music. Don’t fret if you don’t have the cash for bigger speakers or more watts per channel. Trust me, if you love music, it’s all high-end.

While I agree with AudioTroy, that only defines our true hobby’s goals in one dimension.
The truth is an answer that is personal to each of us. 
 Achieving the high end for me, as a 65 year hobbyist, was the first time I was truly thrilled by the realism of the sound quality of my system.  I’ve gone through countless speakers, amplifiers, cables, etc with only fair results.  Sometimes with great and expensive equipment.  Only when I combined excellent set up with fine equipment did I really achieve high end.  From then all the additional spending was additive.  I could have enjoyed high end much earlier had I understood how to create more than just a nice wall of sound. So that threshold for all of us is that combination of quality equipment and setup knowledge applied in our space.  Every time I turn my rig on I’m absolutely amazed and thrilled by its realism.  That’s high end for me.

I am an old fart at 70 years old and i don't know what you would call my system. Some would say mine is low end but i don't care, its sounds good to me. Im a tube guy (surprise) and I do my own work on them.

Rebuilt HK Citation II

Rebuilt HK Citation I

Rebuilt Thorens TD124

PH 16 Phono preamp

Fixed my 16X16 room. Probably the best thing i did to improve the sound

Rebuilt 4 NLA Advents stacked. I was a friend of an engineer at Advent and he told me what is best to get them to another level. I like the sound a lot and i had many people listen to it and they cant believe how good it sounds. Sounds good to me and I don't have near the money of some higher priced system that dont come close to mine. One of these days I will upgrade the speakers but I'm not paying 10,00 + for a smidgen of improvement.

All old stuff like me (lol)

When the music involvement becomes such that the system reproducing it dissolves.  You’ve arrived.

"Absolute? The point at which your significant other gets really p*ssed at your most recent purchase."

Hold on here. You're supposed to tell them????“

I don’t have anything to add on the definitions of HEA, mid-fi, etc, but today, the wife and I were discussing my most recent purchase (Backert Labs Rhumba Extreme).  She was objecting to how much I spent, and recognizing how she would react, I was initially hesitant to tell her about the purchase. “Don’t you think I’d notice a new piece of audio equipment?”, she says. Me: “Well, I’ve had it now for several months.” Crickets . . .

Later, while sitting in our family room with my audio gear, she said “Okay, which one is it?”  I pointed to it saying “Three silver knobs.”  She didn’t ask what it was or what it does.