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What is Lo-fi, Mid-fi and Hi-fi?


russ69

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My definitions:

LO-FI: A sound quality level that is unbelievable or seriously altered from real sounds (Can be a poorly tuned MID-FI system).

MID-FI: A sound quality that is close to HI-FI but is missing in scale or frequency response (Can be a poorly tuned HI-FI system).

HI-FI: The very best of the best (Can be a well tuned MID-FI system but it would be a very rare occurrence).

Thanx, Russ

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Lo-Fi: My system used as background music

Mid-Fi: My system turned up a little with some friends over and we are listening to music

Hi-Fi: My System turned up, I am alone with the lights out, chair reclined, with a tasty beverage and I am not only listening....I am sucked into the music!


Dennie

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  • 11 months later...

LO-FI..........you wana crank it loud enough to impress others but it distorts big time and dies .

MID-FI ....... it blows you and it blows the passersby without loudness and oomph , bass and shrillness,but its hardly accurate ,its got IM(what was that thing called internal modulation , perhaps )

HI FI ............ so accurate ,so life like , only you are the audience mostly and enjoying the true ESSENCE of musik glued to the sweet spot . [:D]

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LO- Fi: Most internal speakers and amps in TV sets, most computer speakers that come with the computer, cassette (although cassettes distributed by CCR or MoFi could be Mid Fi, or even Hi except for the noise or artifacts of Dolby processing.

Mid-Fi Music systems you find in most homes. Mid priced sattelite systems. Many of the systems and components recommended by Consumers Reports or listed by Audio Adviser.

Hi-Fi: good, but not astronomically priced, electronics and front ends connected to the more expensive JBL, Klipsch, or (some) Altec speakers, as well as some of the components recommended by publications like Stereophile, IF they can produce high dynamic range fairly cleanly, without producing the feeling that the dynamics have been compressed or limited (it would take anywhere between five hundred to several thousand watts to produce the peaks that some Klipsch, JBL, & Altec could dish out with 100 watts in). .

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would like to add Sci-FI: not real. an imaginary system. components consists of capacitor swaps, tube swaps, wire swaps, bi-amps, active crossovers, passive crossovers, time aligned, phase corrected, tuned rooms using pillows and card board tubes or framed foam sheets, speakers hung upside down but listened to right side up, the inside is bigger than the outside, you can't see it, but it is real, because I think it is so, and meters move to prove it, like ghosts and the ghost measuring instruments, etc

.

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Lo Fi:

clock radio/ laptop speakers; bookshelf systems..... Distortion presents itself readily at medium to high volume.

Mid Fi:

A system that can play loud and clean; but misses on accuracy and generally does not induce an emotional response.

Hi Fi:

A super clean and accurate system; with high dynamics. It generally produces an emotional response from those who like listening to music.

(Anything from someone's jaw dropping to the ground to inducing tears/ crying). This system makes others say "I want mine to sound like THAT".

Anything beyond this brings diminishing returns...... I would classify my system as right on the border b/t mid fi and hi fi.

There are many levels of audio bliss....... [H]

My .02

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I've been listening to some throw back music that was reminding me of my late teens and so I'm going to answer it as if I would have then, when I had a Soudesign receiver (matching big speakers that weighed in about 10 lbs.) and in the 69 SS Chevelle it was a combination of the original stereo 8 track with a Pyramid EQ, Jensen Speakers, some FM signal booster (the name escapes me).

Low Fi was when I had to listen to a transister radio.

Mid Fi was what I thought I had in my room.

Hi Fi was in the Chevelle or if we rolled up a big fat one and listened to the appliances hum.[:P]

Then I started making money, quit rolling big fat ones and wanted music to sound like the great concerts I went to and proceeded to spend 30+ on a bunch of Revox, Saba, Carver and various other equipment and here I am doing it all over again.

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Then I started making money, quit rolling big fat ones and wanted music to sound like the great concerts I went to and proceeded to spend 30+ on a bunch of Revox, Saba, Carver and various other equipment and here I am doing it all over again.

Moral of the story.................... don't quit rolling big fat ones ! [:o]

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Moral of the story.................... don't quit rolling big fat ones ! Surprise

I cost less and I hear that it has many wonderful medical benefits!Big Smile

Think of it as preventive glaucoma treatment, the bad part is they don't look at it like that at work or at the local PD. [:P]

Also it sometimes causes problems with other medications, you can forget to take them, but you will not forget to eat. [:S]

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Think of it as preventive glaucoma treatment, the bad part is they don't look at it like that at work or at the local PD. Stick out tongue

Also it sometimes causes problems with other medications, you can forget to take them, but you will not forget to eat. Tongue Tied

You're making me think about starting again......................I don't have glaucoma now, and I don't want to get it, I'm the boss at work, so that's not an issue, I use to get it from the local PD, do you think they're still in business? ROTFLMFAO and to top it off, most medications require that you don't take it on an empty stomach. I'm seeing nothing but positives here, in fact, I think it would make the state of the union address much more enjoyable tonight; at least I would be laughing instead of raising my BP and risking a heart attack. One more medical reason!

This forum is like going to the bar and hanging out with the boys, except we're not allowed because of the wife or the GF.

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