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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I consider my Cornwall IV’s hifi, although I considered them higher hifi before I changed my system around and upgraded to Magico A3’s. Some might say those are not hifi as they are at the bottom of Magico’s line. Both are wonderfully entertaining but for my ears the A3’s are ahead, maybe it’s because I paid 3x the price of the CW’s. What really tells me the Magico’s are hifi is the fact I have no desire to replace them. Let your own ears decide what hifi is, who really cares what others think anyways? 

I just watched a YT video on photography and one man's rational for buying a Leica M11 monochrome camera. He loves shooting in Black & White. His rational is to buy what really moves you and forget the rest. As he's gotten older, he's simplified his life, reducing it to just the essentials and avoiding the all encompassing. 

I've said something similar in my rational for keeping my present speakers and to just stop looking for something else in previous posts. I listened to some new music yesterday and simply loved the sound, again with not analyzing it but reveling in it. That's when it becomes hi-fi for me. I'm older, more settled in my ways, and not into bragging rights or audio envy. 

Now that the obsession is out of the way, there's only the music to attend to.

All the best,
Nonoise

LoFi < MidFi < HiFi < SciFi. Just as it's better to drive a slow car fast, it's better to listen to good music on a bad system, than bad music on a great system.

I'm just in this for the music.

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