What is HiFi ?

As most will know, fidelity comes from the latin, fidelis, for faithful. In the context of High Fidelity this has come to mean faithfulness to the original performance (some prefer to use the word 'source', but that can lead IMO to endless pointless discussions about tech. specs. of recording & transfer eqpt.)

To my mind, if you consider it as coming as close as possible to one's emotional response to the original performance, then it has meaning for any system. I believe that it is fair to say that one's emotional response (involvement?) to (with) the music does vary according to one's system ~ the price of the system may have little relevance.

Of course, how does one know what one's emotional response to the original performance was, if you've never heard the piece live or weren't in the studio? I look at it like this; I know just how emotionally I get involved at a great concert ~ the closer I can get to that response at home then the more faithful my system is.
 
ok, so if there is a limit on where hi-fi starts - is there such a term as lo-fi?
 
Good question ...obviously in some peoples minds there is

personally to suggest to someone who has bought the best they can due to there financial situation ..that what they have is a pile of rubbish, is at best insensitive.

Therefore if the best you can afford is a bose clock radio or mp3 player why should they be belittled as to there lack of financial clout ? Almost no one with pretensions to hi fi can afford even £5k let alone the £25k on there whole system let alone speakers .....
 
LinearMan said:
As most will know, fidelity comes from the latin, fidelis, for faithful. In the context of High Fidelity this has come to mean faithfulness to the original performance (some prefer to use the word 'source', but that can lead IMO to endless pointless discussions about tech. specs. of recording & transfer eqpt.)

To my mind, if you consider it as coming as close as possible to one's emotional response to the original performance, then it has meaning for any system. I believe that it is fair to say that one's emotional response (involvement?) to (with) the music does vary according to one's system ~ the price of the system may have little relevance.

Of course, how does one know what one's emotional response to the original performance was, if you've never heard the piece live or weren't in the studio? I look at it like this; I know just how emotionally I get involved at a great concert ~ the closer I can get to that response at home then the more faithful my system is.
Click to expand...

this is the best answer imo //lamb
 
zanash said:
Good question ...obviously in some peoples minds there is

personally to suggest to someone who has bought the best they can due to there financial situation ..that what they have is a pile of rubbish, is at best insensitive.

Therefore if the best you can afford is a bose clock radio or mp3 player why should they be belittled as to there lack of financial clout ? Almost no one with pretensions to hi fi can afford even £5k let alone the £25k on there whole system let alone speakers .....
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You think Bose clock radio is cheap?
 
i don't know

imo theres a lot of crap in this thread anyway

afiik hifi is whatevevr it means to you.

imo anyway.


:)
 
Anyone who likes to think loudspeaker distortion figures are a measure of fidelity can have an enlightening time on the Klippel website.Here you will find that peoples sensitivity to various distortions are as different as their earshapes;-)
Seeing your results as proof of goldeneardom or just in my case merely above average goes someway to get you to STFU talking in absolutes.
 
cool, i got down to -39..only two from the limit....

TONES.... take this test, please...
 
Paul Ranson said:
ISTM that persistence and/or luck will take you to the end of that test.

Paul
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Not if you're honest it wont.
Just try it FFS.
Klippel are extremely highly regarded company-there's an array of different distortion tests to try (if you can be arsed that is -or you could just sit there afraid of your test results).I got-30 dB tonight, -36 last night-head cold coming on.
Also even a brief look at the distribution of results indicate people aren't cheating.
-
 
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I'm one of the 12 dB people, haha. I pressed the wrong button expecting to hear something, and got a telling off along the lines of "this is easy dumkopft!". I'm pleased to see I wasn't alone.
 
Sorry but its a poor test, both are highly distorted. Beyond about -20dB the added distortion sinks in to the noise floor. Also the voice takes a about 5 seconds start and that is the place most people will be able to hear distortion best, yet our accurate audio memory is only about that long! So I find myself thinking 'hmmm, that doesn't sound very good'... then 5 seconds later 'oh, this one doesn't sound good either!'.
 
Just try it FFS.
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I did. And it's buggy. It played me the same undistorted for A and B at what were previously very obvious distortion levels. So I have no confidence that at the level I made the error I was actually getting different samples.

For an alternative approach try PCABX. You can download a range of samples of distortions or make your own.

Paul
 
Tenson said:
Sorry but its a poor test, both are highly distorted. Beyond about -20dB the added distortion sinks in to the noise floor. Also the voice takes a about 5 seconds start and that is the place most people will be able to hear distortion best, yet our accurate audio memory is only about that long! So I find myself thinking 'hmmm, that doesn't sound very good'... then 5 seconds later 'oh, this one doesn't sound good either!'.
Click to expand...

Well, it is over the web but are you suggesting the noise floor of these samples is -20dB?It certainly isn't on my machine.mmmmm:confused:Moreover it shouldn't matter as these tests cover a variety of LS distortions-one signal contains it-the other doesn't, finally how the hell do we choose equipment with such a dodgy acoustic memory?-just kidding:)
 

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