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


 There are terms we in this hobby use to describe certain characteristics of the components or sound evoked...Without fail,the terms entry level,mid-fi & high end will show up in component reviews or conversations regarding equipment components...
 So exactly how do we define these terms in absolutes?I understand there are components that,in this day & age,outperform their asking price in orders of magnitude but even if they do,they will invariably be tagged as entry level,mid-fi or high end simply based on their asking price..
 Assuming entry level starts at say $500.00 per component,where does that end & mid-fi start,$2500.00 per component,$3500.00,$4500.00,$5000.00?
 How far does that pricing structure go until you consider a component to be "high end"?
What are YOUR PERSONAL thoughts on this subject?

freediver

I asked chatGPT. It provided a great analogy:

Think of it like cars:

  • Mid-fi is a Lexus ES or BMW 3-Series — refined, high quality, plenty fast, satisfies almost everyone.
  • Hi-fi is a Porsche 911 Turbo or McLaren — extreme engineering and performance, but with rapidly increasing cost for smaller gains.

It ranked my system: 

So, your system as a whole sits in a “bridge zone” between mid-fi and hi-fi. You’ve outgrown mid-fi in most areas, but to an audiophile purist, the R11s keep you from being “all the way high-end.”

Maybe a BMW M5. I can live with that. 

Like mechanics  basics has nothing to do with car pricing classification, a good sound system /room has nothing to do with pricing  of audio design pieces..

The fact that better design cost more is a common place fact  promoted to be the audiophile supreme goal  when our brain is wipe out by marketing instead of studying  basic acoustics understanding about system/room...

 I say that because i remember my own brain wash when i begun to dream about a good audio system and almost everybody as usual talked mainly about brand name purchase  pricier and more pricier till emptying our wallet..

 

 

The car comparison analogy is both useful and wrong. For hypercars there is a measurable difference between the 911 Turbo and the Lexus ES based on track performance, 0-60 mph, 0-100 kph, top speed, etc.

Many high-end audiophiles are averse to measurements of their gear in terms of SINAD, IMD, identification of actual value of cables, etc. They insist their "car" is performant because it costs a great deal and has a pretty case.

The truth in modern audio equipment is that measurements show that very cost-effective DACs and amps and speakers perform extremely well. This shows the flaws of the high-end car analogy. Until audiophiles start taking measurements seriously they will be victims of marketing in a way that no car aficionado would ever do!

High end system/room started  with the minimal acoustical threshold  satisfaction experience...

 For example i listened non stop since two days the integral of " I Musici " Vivaldi works  because i cannot stop listening because the sound quality is much better in my actual system than anything i ever enjoyed...

It is a system /room well done at peanuts costs...

I cannot stop hearing beautiful sound with no real negative  trade-off ...

Is my 1000 bucks system high end ?  Not at all by all means but it feel like it is...

Acoustics basics with electrical control basic , mechanical control basics with synergy between the pieces and coming back to the right dac (SPS French  Nos dac) did the job...

 Did i want a better and bigger system ?

Not at all because i dont need it  ( our needs vary in time as well as our budget ) and dont want to anyway,  i am too proud of my works with a basic system able to reach his  own optimal level workings...

I pity anyone  with a costlier system who do not know how to reach even minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold ... It is a work asking for months of thinking each time i had done it  (4 times in my case with 4 different systems in two different room with one  TOP  high end headphone system then three relatively  low end  speakers system) 

I agree with the people who stated that high end is not a matter of money. My definition of high end is the playback of recorded music which approaches a live performance.  I believe that my system does so:  Magnepan 3.7i, REL subwoofer, Conrad Johnson amp and pre-amp, Technics S1200 turntable and Marantz SACD player.