Where does "MidFi" differ from "HiFi" or "LOFI"?

@mceljo 

I think HiFi is an accomplishment. Not gear, not cables. not dollar amounts. It's the sound that takes you out of the moment.

@grislybutter  yes, Robinson's been following the evolution of the soundbar tech.  

Soundbars make a lot of sense for a lot of people, and the best ones perform very well indeed for the task at hand, as they are designed specifically for that task... with the bonus of playing music well enough for "most people" too.

Myself, I'm using my Marantz Ruby amp and Klipsch Heresy IV speakers for audio to my video, and it works nicely for that but really it's my music system and honestly I could imagine a properly designed soundbar might beat it for both dialogue clarity and height effects.  However, if my significant other moves in, then a soundbar would make the most sense because he wouldn't want to navigate my hi-fi gear, would rather have a "turn on the TV and watch some Netflix with the bonus of upgraded sound" situation, so I'd probably get something like a Sonos Arc.  It's unlikely he'd care about true surround sound, and I don't either, and the Arc will give excellent sound for the task at hand, arguably better in some important respects than my Ruby/Heresy.  The Arc has modes like dialogue enhance and night viewing, both of which I can imagine would be very useful, based on my experience with both full surround and with two-channel through my amp.  I'd guess at the very least, the Arc will have more clear dialogue than my current stereo setup, for movies and TV. 

The Arc is just one example, as soundbar tech based on psycho-acoustics is rapidly evolving, and Robinson is right there in the mix and reporting his findings.

Wow @waytoomuchstuff ,  that’s actually pretty good stuff.

@ml8764ag 

thank you.  It’s nice to be acknowledged.  Especially at my age.

many think it's $ that makes difference and hence lo-mid-hi maps to $, $$ and $$$ for example, but I heard in Cuba systems for $ that don't need $$$ so go figure.