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

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. 

Did anyone get the right answer yet?

I've always thought of it more as in brands rather than price..... I am going to date myself pretty quickly with the brands, but none the less, everyone will get it.  

Denon, NAD, Yamaha,  entry level audiophile.  and occasionally, each brand would step into midfi.  

Adcom, Sumo, maybe a Hafler bridged into midfi.... 

Conrad Johnson, Threshold, Audio Research started High End....

Of course none of this is absolute Today, Brands like Schiit, go entry level and tip toe into mid as do others, but in general brands do target this way.  

As product improves,  there are some entry level priced products that are very good. There is more blurring and a ton of opinion, but when is that not the case in this hobby.