I will do that my friend

The REAL tragedy is when a man in his mid 40's tells me he's been an "audiophile" for 30 some years, and hasn't learned anything. Maybe either he doesn't want to know what else is out there, or he simply doesn't care.

Thats the sad part

I'm still laughing at Pauls "high end authorities at Consumer Reports" comment..hahahaha

I have a neighbor that bases his life around those mags. He only knows the mass market names for everything. I can't imagine going thru life like this.

Hey, it's Friday! Everyone go watch a movie! Have a great weekend!


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Play it LoUd!!

Just wanted to add my $.02 to this mix -

IMO, most people cannot hear the difference between a decent system and an excellent one (which is why the majority of self-professed music-lovers end up buying mass-marketed audio systems), either because of their physiology (their ears-brain just do not have the frequency response that yours and mine do) or due to lack of education (they have never been taught, or learned on their own, how to recognize these subtle auditory distinctions that become obvious only after you have learned to hear them).

None of what I've written explains the all the misinformation, myths, and plain old-fashioned stupidity that some people hold onto as Knowledge of Audio; nor does it excuse some individuals' arrogance in believing that they Know It All, when in actuality they Know But Little, or purvey Innaccuracies as Truths.

- KBeartx



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Audio Wiz-Kid of Advanced Years
Macintosh Troubleshooting Demigod
Writer / Editor of Remarkable Skill
One of the More Humorous Humans on this, or any other Planet

My website: www.kbear.biz

"IMO, most people cannot hear the difference between a decent system and an excellent one...": kbeartx

This is true.

But people can learn if they keep their ears and minds open. When I was in the navy, being shipped from one duty assignment to another, I left my stereo at my parents home. In order to keep it out of the hands of siblings, my father suggested that I store it in his bedroom. I said why don't I hook it up so you can use it. He said OK. After using it for a while (over a period of many, many months, he said that he could hear a big difference between my stereo and the stereo console thing in the living room. Although he did not become an audiophile, he at least came to the realization that audio systems sound different from one another. When he skoffed at some of the prices of audio gear, even my relatively modest purchases, I just reminded him how much his Harley motorcycles cost (or just one chromed accessory) and he concedes the point.

So I suspect that most people just have not been exposed to a high quality audio system long enough to appreciate the sonic benefits of one.

Paul

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the 1derful1

Paul, I believe you are right on the money. The same exact thing happened to my wife when we were first married. She couldn't believe all the "hi-fi stuff" I was moving in and how much I had spent on it over the years. But after a few months of listening to this system she began to make comments about other systems like "its pitch is not right, it's missing something, I can't stand to listen to that ...". She might now roll her eyes when I upgrade but she always notices an improvement as do I. It's amazing, but you must be exposed to "better" for a while in order to appreciate it, I think the ears and brain need this time.

To quote myself:

There's no accounting for bad taste.

Aside from sheer bull-headedness, I agree with previous posters that one of the issues is that most people have never compared good quality audio equipment to learn what the audible differences are. They hear something -- anything -- it pleases their ear and they think it's good. This is the phenomenon that has IMHO made the success of that "B" company.

However, I just helped a friend replace his "B" speakers with a Boston Acoustic system and Denon electronics. Just a solid quality mainstream system. (He didn't want to buy online, so no Outlaw stuff.)

He can't get over the improvement in sound and keeps saying so in astonished tones. Just the other day, he set up his "B" system upstairs and, after hearing it, told me, "I can't believe I thought this sounded good."

Sometimes there are happy endings.

[This message has been edited by boblinds (edited November 30, 2003).]

receivers arent as good as separates? who knew.... :-)

On the other hand, I think this might sometimes be backlash against the just as common 'if it costs more it sounds better' attitude found in a lot of shops and forums.

I think a lot of the so called 'high-end' companies are poisoning the well when they go so far as to turn folks off to the possibility that someone might be able to make 'it' better. Outlaw Audio is a fine example, IMHO, of a good high end company, as are a few others like most of the Harmon brands and Rotel.

Some places I'd be afraid to call these guys high end, but here I think we're a bit more rational.

Are there criteria people use to determine hi-fi and mid-fi? If so, what are they? Being somewhat new to audio community, I’m open to feedbacks.

Although I do not rely too much on audio store salesman’s comment, recently he labeled Outlaw Audio as mid-fi. Is he close?

hi-fi means stereo.... or at least it used to. :-). why are you concerned with the price of the equipment that you buy, you should be more concerned with the quality of what you buy. quality is not directly related to cost. if you are buying audio equipment just based on name recognition, then that is fine, but you dont need to come to a forum for that; just go into a store and say give me the best that you have.

I tend to think it works this way in concerns to the "fi"-ness of audio equipment.
Low-fi is considered what you find in every big box store that's price usually falls under about $500.
Mid-fi can sometimes be found in big box stores but is usually found in specialized audio shops and its price range is usually from about $500 to around $5000.
Hi-fi is only found in really, really freaking expensive audio stores and the price range, well, makes your jaw drop.
Of course, these price examples refer to processor/amplifier prices and not such things as headphones, speakers and the like. Also, internet only retailers can blow this classification completely out of the water. Finally, this is just my feelings about the terms and not really based on any particular technical info.

Of course, if you like the way it sounds and you can afford it, screw the classification and just buy it!! It all comes down to wether your ears like it and how much joy the equipment provides for you.