When is a stereo true HiFi
Discussion
Some reading here:
https://testhifi.com/2019/01/11/hifi-what-exactly-...
There was also a voluntary 'real hifi' standard a long while back, early 90s i think.
https://testhifi.com/2019/01/11/hifi-what-exactly-...
There was also a voluntary 'real hifi' standard a long while back, early 90s i think.
I expect the point that you cannot reproduce what goes on in a studio, capture kit (mic types etc.) through mixing process, biases on a desk and so on all the way through to a stamping machine or digital rendering, anything you do in the home is what seems good to you unless you can get a calibrated system that matches what that studio has done (yeah I know, mixing is not a linear process as such, say a recording of a live concert then).
The bit that gets me is if all amps were equal, there wouldn't be so many variations on sound and all reviews would just be "sounds like the others, no changes to report". Same for speakers cables and whatever you use as a source.
I would like more expensive kit but to be honest, I think I get a pretty good sound out of this one. I expect a different room will make mine sound different as will changingg the amp or speakers, thing is will I like it is what counts.
Within reason though, I wouldn't expect some dirt cheap stuff to be so good and unobtainium cable spacers to make sod all difference etc.
The bit that gets me is if all amps were equal, there wouldn't be so many variations on sound and all reviews would just be "sounds like the others, no changes to report". Same for speakers cables and whatever you use as a source.
I would like more expensive kit but to be honest, I think I get a pretty good sound out of this one. I expect a different room will make mine sound different as will changingg the amp or speakers, thing is will I like it is what counts.
Within reason though, I wouldn't expect some dirt cheap stuff to be so good and unobtainium cable spacers to make sod all difference etc.
Very few speakers are capable of getting close to the goal of true high fidelity i.e. accurately producing a convincing recreation of a musical event.
There have been very few designers / manufacturers who have been confident to expose their products to live vs recorded scrutiny. Sadly, the three designers, I can think of, who have been bold enough to try the Live vs recorded game are dead now. Brian Cheney from VMPS Audio, John Dunlavy from Duntech / Dunlavy Audio Laboratories and Siegfried Linkwitz ( Audio Artistry / LinkwitzLab )
Each of these designers speaker's polar power response 'right'. Speakers that do not get the polar / power response wrong ( i.e the vast majority of speakers ) just sound like speakers. The few speakers that get the power response right and propagate sound energy in a similar, omnipolar, way to real instruments don't really sound like speakers at all......….they don't sound like anything.
http://pointillistic.com/vmps-audio/news.htm
The room, the speakers' position the room and the listeners position in the room are all extremely important too. Most amps and sources are genuinely high fidelity...…….even the cheap ones.
There have been very few designers / manufacturers who have been confident to expose their products to live vs recorded scrutiny. Sadly, the three designers, I can think of, who have been bold enough to try the Live vs recorded game are dead now. Brian Cheney from VMPS Audio, John Dunlavy from Duntech / Dunlavy Audio Laboratories and Siegfried Linkwitz ( Audio Artistry / LinkwitzLab )
Each of these designers speaker's polar power response 'right'. Speakers that do not get the polar / power response wrong ( i.e the vast majority of speakers ) just sound like speakers. The few speakers that get the power response right and propagate sound energy in a similar, omnipolar, way to real instruments don't really sound like speakers at all......….they don't sound like anything.
http://pointillistic.com/vmps-audio/news.htm
The room, the speakers' position the room and the listeners position in the room are all extremely important too. Most amps and sources are genuinely high fidelity...…….even the cheap ones.
Edited by Crackie on Friday 13th March 12:45
Olas said:
Fidelity is subjective.
You want reference gear, not stereo gear.
Reference gear?? Not quite sure what you mean? The better stereo gear is reference gear. You want reference gear, not stereo gear.
Dunlavy / Duntech stereo speakers are reference speakers still used by many studios.
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/mastering-forum/11...
https://www.mixonline.com/technology/high-end-stud...
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/neumann-kh420
Edited by Crackie on Wednesday 11th March 22:19
It's just a subjective thing, so I wouldn't get too excited about an exact definition of hifi.
If you enjoy it, leave it there. As mentioned above, the speaker/room interaction is all-important. An amp that can drive the speakers to 'energise' the room is next, then the source of your choice, and that's achievable at a low price now.
Just as the great impressionist paintings are, technically, nothing like the original scene, so a 'hifi' doesn't have to sound exactly like anything in particular. If the music grabs you and draws you in, that's good enough.
If you enjoy it, leave it there. As mentioned above, the speaker/room interaction is all-important. An amp that can drive the speakers to 'energise' the room is next, then the source of your choice, and that's achievable at a low price now.
Just as the great impressionist paintings are, technically, nothing like the original scene, so a 'hifi' doesn't have to sound exactly like anything in particular. If the music grabs you and draws you in, that's good enough.
Tony1963 said:
It's just a subjective thing, so I wouldn't get too excited about an exact definition of hifi.
If you enjoy it, leave it there. As mentioned above, the speaker/room interaction is all-important. An amp that can drive the speakers to 'energise' the room is next, then the source of your choice, and that's achievable at a low price now.
Just as the great impressionist paintings are, technically, nothing like the original scene, so a 'hifi' doesn't have to sound exactly like anything in particular. If the music grabs you and draws you in, that's good enough.
It does rather depend upon how literally we are going to interpret the term HiFi. High fidelity, in the context of sound, means high faithfullness to the original. If you enjoy it, leave it there. As mentioned above, the speaker/room interaction is all-important. An amp that can drive the speakers to 'energise' the room is next, then the source of your choice, and that's achievable at a low price now.
Just as the great impressionist paintings are, technically, nothing like the original scene, so a 'hifi' doesn't have to sound exactly like anything in particular. If the music grabs you and draws you in, that's good enough.
I have 2 pairs of speakers at home which I use as references. There is a pair of Duntech Marquis which are arguably amongst the most accurate speakers ever made i.e. they are high fidelity. I also have a pair of Impulse H2 horns ( which even use the same bass and midrange drivers at the Duntechs ), the H2s measure like a dogs dinner compared to the Duntechs but, with a couple of exceptions, everyone who has listened to both prefers the H2's. Their midrange drivers are open at the back and horn loaded at the front; they produce a spotlit "they're in the room" effect that most speakers don't get close to. It isn't accurate high fidelity though.
I agree, and we mustn’t believe that only the most scientifically accurate reproduction of what’s in the source material is acceptable. If that were so, only a handful of components would be hifi.
Good enough is good enough.
Although my old Amstrad tower from 1979 definitely wasn’t good enough
Good enough is good enough.
Although my old Amstrad tower from 1979 definitely wasn’t good enough
1602Mark said:
I've often wondered if my ears were the worst thing about my hifi set-up? I like 70's and 80's stuff for the aesthetic as much as for the sound but some of the high end stuff just seems way past my hearing capability.
Over the years I have had some pretty intensive hearing tests, drops a tad every year. Not sure I can hear 12k today but leaving school it was 21k (un calibrated oscillator).Tony1963 said:
I agree, and we mustn’t believe that only the most scientifically accurate reproduction of what’s in the source material is acceptable. If that were so, only a handful of components would be hifi.
Good enough is good enough.
Although my old Amstrad tower from 1979 definitely wasn’t good enough
Agreed, with a caveat........most competent amps and sources would qualify as hifi. Speakers, relatively few.Good enough is good enough.
Although my old Amstrad tower from 1979 definitely wasn’t good enough
A Denon DM41 driving great speakers will still sound very special to most listeners............ however driving the speakers from a 1979 era tower system with an EMM Labs DV2 and some Dartzeel 458 power amps is still going to sound poor. imho of course.
Getting back to the point raised by the OP, I think the easiest and cheapest route to true hi-fi is to go for active speakers and a well integrated sub from one of the established experts. https://www.musictech.net/reviews/adam-audio-t7v-r...
I could just about live with one of the white finish version of Yamaha's new active range at home https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/proaudio/speaker...
DSP FIR phase correction, room EQ and parametric EQ all for relatively little money.............140dB max SPLs too
Edited by Crackie on Sunday 15th March 01:03
Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff