Mid Fi vs Hi Fi - How can you tell?

RuSsMaN
RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
edited August 2006 in 2 Channel Audio
That age old question. Actually, it's been discussed a lot recently. I have the answer, in plain and simple fashion. How can you determine what's midfi, and what constitutes hifi?






















Midfi comes in a carboard box, Hifi comes in a f$%king wood crate.








Had Uncle Charlie's memorial service today, and one thing became very clear - don't wait, and quit worrying. You can't take your money with you when you go anyway.

I made a purchase in his honor, his favorite solid state amp manufacturer. His words were something to the effect 'Son, if this stuff doesn't make you **** your flat hat, not much will.....'. I couldn't agree more.

Cheers,
Russ
Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
Post edited by RuSsMaN on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
«13

Comments

  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited August 2006
    That's the kind of gear that separates the men from the boys. I would like to rub my nether region on the heat sinks.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited August 2006
    Hats off.

    Those are some pretty, simple faceplates. They look great.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited August 2006
    Inf'ingcredible! While Doro may want to rub up against them, I'm getting a woody just look'in at the pictures :D Definetely high-end, even if they didn't come in the wood crates!
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited August 2006
    Yep, all this business is on the back end - rack handles, outputs, inverted and non inverted single ended inputs, adjustable input impendance....etc etc....
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dragon1952
    dragon1952 Posts: 4,899
    edited August 2006
    F*#K me!:eek: Very nice ;)
    2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Audioquest Diamond USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited August 2006
    RuSsMaN wrote:
    Yep, all this business is on the back end - rack handles, outputs, inverted and non inverted single ended inputs, adjustable input impendance....etc etc....
    Wow, those things have got some features! Adjustable input impedance?! Gosh...
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • okiepolkie
    okiepolkie Posts: 2,258
    edited August 2006
    Those are monsters Russ. What are you going to mate with them?
    Tschüss
    Zach
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited August 2006
    He told me he was mating WITH them, not the other way around.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited August 2006
    Very nice Russ. Always interesting to see what new gear passes through your living room. (because it's always something crazy)

    Cool dog too ;)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • joeparaski
    joeparaski Posts: 1,865
    edited August 2006
    Russ...curious, what do they each weigh?
    Amplifiers: 1-SAE Mark IV, 4-SAE 2400, 1-SAE 2500, 2-SAE 2600, 1-Buttkicker BKA 1000N w/2-tactile transducers. Sources: Sony BDP CX7000es, Sony CX300/CX400/CX450/CX455, SAE 8000 tuner, Akai 4000D R2R, Technics 1100A TT, Epson 8500UB with Carada 100". Speakers:Polk SDA SRS, 3.1TL, FXi5, FXi3, 2-SVS 20-29, Yamaha, SVS center sub. Power:2-Monster HTS3500, Furman M-8D & RR16 Plus. 2-SAE 4000 X-overs, SAE 5000a noise reduction, MSB Link DAC III, MSB Powerbase, Behringer 2496, Monarchy DIP 24/96.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • okiepolkie
    okiepolkie Posts: 2,258
    edited August 2006
    I guess if you mate those mosters with Russ, then you get something awful, but that would just be my guess. I'll come up with a sketch later.
    Tschüss
    Zach
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited August 2006
    okiepolkie wrote:
    Those are monsters Russ. What are you going to mate with them?
    NHT 2.1's.

    The top of one crate says 70lbs.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • okiepolkie
    okiepolkie Posts: 2,258
    edited August 2006
    joeparaski wrote:
    Russ...curious, what do they each weigh?

    The top of the crate says 70 pounds.
    Tschüss
    Zach
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited August 2006
    I can only imagine the cuss words flyin' after a stubbed toe in the middle of the dark. Nice chunks of gear, Russ, Charlie would be proud.............
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • univera
    univera Posts: 848
    edited August 2006
    With death there is life.....
    UNIVERA
    Historic Charleston SC

    2 Channel:
    SDA-SRS's RDO tweets
    Biamped Anthem 2 SE's w/1970's NOS Siemens CCA's
    Anthem Pre 2L w/E.harmonix platinum matched 6H23's
    CDP- NAD C 542


    HT setup:
    AVR: NAD T 773
    Rears: Polk LC80i
    DVD: Toshiba 3109 dual tray
    Subs: Velodyne and M&K
    T.V.: Sony KDL-52XBR4 w/Vans Evers Clean Line Jr.
    Conditioner: Panamax M5100EX

    Master Bedroom Sony 40KDL-XBR3

    "I love it when a plan comes together." Hannibal Smith, The A-Team
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited August 2006
    $4800 amps driving $1400 speakers, a slight mismatch, for now... ;)

    Hell yes, adjustable input imedance - mate with ANY preamp, tube, sand, passive - just dial it in. Oh, and the little ****'s name is Jenny. 16 yrs old. Grim death HAS to be knocking.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited August 2006
    No ****...Nice.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited August 2006
    Congrats and enjoy!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited August 2006
    RuSsMaN wrote:
    $4800 amps driving $1400 speakers, a slight mismatch, for now... ;)

    Hell yes, adjustable input imedance - mate with ANY preamp, tube, sand, passive - just dial it in. Oh, and the little ****'s name is Jenny. 16 yrs old. Grim death HAS to be knocking.

    Cheers,
    Russ

    I'm sure you can fix that little problem. They sound like killer amps Bro, Nice and good luck with them. I agree with you can't take it with yeah, I just got to convince my wife of that.

    Dan
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    edited August 2006
    Good taste Russ,You always have nice gear hangin' around.Now,normally when something new comes in the door,something is going out the door,
    whats on the way out my man??:)
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited August 2006
    You just graduated to the next level.........very 'effing nice. I am jealous as hell, in a good way :D . Enjoy! I'm betting these won't be going anywhere soon or perhaps ever. I get a tickle in groin evertime I go back and look at those puppies.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited August 2006
    Nice! You are correct, you can't take it with you so enjoy it while you can. I'm sure he would be happy to see you with your new boys...
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • speakergeek
    speakergeek Posts: 555
    edited August 2006
    Awesome! Plain awesome.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited August 2006
    When it comes to heatsinks, all you really need is straight pipes. The JR monoblocks echo this idea. Some manufacturers, Sumo and Krell ring a bell, have some interesting aesthetic heatsink designs on some of their amps, but it's all aesthetics, zero additional function...but it certainly looks good :)

    I prefer a simple look to high end as I don't like foo foo gear. The Burmester, Musical Fidelity kW gear and the JR 201 for example, throw a wrench in that idea. I have always had a hatred for silver until recently when some Rotel pieces came through the house and I noticed how it could be done nicely. I usually don't like my gear to stand out and would prefer it to look lean, mean and basically nondescript. When you add chrome, shiny rivets, tube windows, LED's under the tubes, neon, etc...and it was ALL OVER CES, it cheapens the gear for me visually.

    Heavy, thick faceplates and brutal construction is what I look for in an amp, typically the rest follows, and it does so in spades for these two pieces.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    edited August 2006
    Daang... JR's nice schtuff.
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    edited August 2006
    Joey_V wrote:
    Daang... JR's nice schtuff.
    JR + ML = :eek:

    Dern nice Russ. So, what's the next addition?
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SKsolutions
    SKsolutions Posts: 1,820
    edited August 2006
    Big set chrome ones.
    -Ignorance is strength -
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited August 2006
    B&W 80something? Triangle?

    Not sure, right now I'm just swimming in the sound (and getting stuff together to sell to pay for the damn things).
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dave shepard
    dave shepard Posts: 1,334
    edited August 2006
    Holly crap Russ nice pieces, congrats.

    Dave
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,552
    edited August 2006
    Halo wrote:
    JR + ML = :eek:

    Dern nice Russ. So, what's the next addition?

    Actually...

    JR + ML = Homeless Beggar :(
    Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter