When are speakers considered Hi-Fi and not Mid-Fi???

Mid-fi is what I can afford.  Hi-fi is what I can't afford.  

When classifying mid fi vs hi end you need to look at the system as a whole. I might be in the minority but loudspeakers are where one can cut cost. Why? Speakers are the most flawed component and most room dependent. Two of my favorite speakers at different price points Magico A5 $27k and Acoustic Energy AE520 at $5.5K. Can you build a true HEA system around an AE 520? My answer is yes but one cannot cut corners on electronics/source and cables. If a Magico A5 is properly set up it can rival many $50k loudspeakers in an appropriate sized room.

"Too many blame it on the room. A really good speaker will show itself despite the room. Fine tune things after if that’s your thing."

Couldn't disagree with you more.  That is a very short-sighted statement.  EVERY speaker is affected by the room it is in, and can greatly, adversely, make a fantastic pair of speakers sound - meh.  How many of us have attended a major show and come out of certain rooms thinking, "That should have sounded much better", and I'm not just describing the setups in the small hotel rooms.

Couldn’t disagree with you more either. I’ve been in this hobby for about 40 years and have heard many great systems in untreated rooms. I’ve had the same living room for 30 years and have heard great, good and bad speakers having no room treatment.

I’ve had a recording engineer over to my place who pronounced my room perfectly fine, as is. Same with a high end dealer. Both have been over more than a few times.

Too many makers of "high end" gear blame the rooms on the bad sound they get yet there are other makes in the very same type of rooms getting great sound. What’s the single underlying factor in all of this? It’s the gear and not the room.

Granted, some rooms are nightmares, but I know of no one who lives/listens in a perfectly square room or a rectangle where the width and length are perfectly divisible by the same number. A great sounding speaker will still sound good in a bad room, letting you know of its potential. Not that hard to figure out.

As for going into a show of unknown quality expecting it to sound good, well you just laid bare your expectations of it supposing to sound good when it doesn’t. Sounding bad is more a matter of associated gear and cabling and people just fooling themselves.

Just try moving around some in a "bad" hotel room and you’ll hear the differences. That, or you’re tone deaf.

I’ve been to shows where a dealers set up sounded sublime and at the next show, literally sucked. Yes, the room was different but much more importantly, the surrounding gear was all different. System synergy plays a really big role in maintaining great sound. It's not plug 'n play.

All the best,
Nonoise

I am amused that people didn’t mention the inconvenience of Hi-Fi compared to Mid-Fi. 
 

Picture this: you go to a big box store and immediately walk out with a pair of Polk speakers and a Denon or Marantz integrated amp with a DAC/Phono Stage/Streamer. Everything is under warranty and immediately available for the same price everywhere. 
 

OR 

You can go to a dealer. The service is terrible. The prices are marked up. The unit isn’t technically new. Or you have to wait months for your amp and speakers to get built out of exotic materials. When the item is shipped it gets damaged or there are huge defects. You have to wait some more and deal with more people. 
 

I mean there’s something inherently convenient with mass produced equipment with factory specs. Hand made stuff is very inconsistent and overrated.