Hi fi is short for High Fidelity which basically is very subjective. Everybody means something else. Today even the cheapest system can give a reasonable amount of high fidelity. This according to the ears of certain people. Those who have other requirements for sound reproduction won't agree about calling the cheapest systems hifi.

I believe this terminology has more a very powerful impact to the pycho of people than it really is. It seems that people are very focused that what they bought is absolutely good and that they need a certain confermation about it. Therefore the value of hifi becomes immense or at least much more important than what it actually is.

The fact that the discussion is already getting hot, is a confirmation that the pride is taking over the hands of this thread.

The fact that someone says that hifi starts at 100k, shouldn't disturb anybody. It is a personal matter and doesn't affect the quality of anybody's system.