I don’t agree with this argument because while they may mix with this equipment, they know what they’re doing and it doesn’t really matter what they use as long as the results are good. Any good system will reveal this. It’s not like the usage of inexpensive monitoring devices suddenly limits the possible fidelity of the output. That statement really has no relevance to the listener. The goal is to get the best quality and enjoyment out of the music, not recreate a studio environment.
Edit: it’s kinda like saying that since an artist uses a cheap paintbrush to create an excellent painting, the painting is no longer excellent and worth looking at or owning
Still, “mid-fi” is a made-up word and the value of headphones are mostly made-up prices. Will you hear five times more music going from 20$ to 100$ headphones? Yes. Will I ever buy headphones cheaper than 100$? No.
But, will you hear five times more music going from 100$ to 500$ headphones? No. It’s all about subtleties and detail retrieval. If you ever get this collection, will some of the headphones under 500$, or even under 250$, make you regret spending 1000$+ on other ones? Yes. Because detail retrieval vs sound preference vs price is basically random. Because “mid-fi” is a made-up word and when going higher than mid-fi, the value of headphones are mostly made-up prices.
After all It’s all plastic and metal and what they can do with it. Some people think they’re Steve Jobs and want a 500$ bonus by item, some want to sell hundreds with only a 50$ bonus.
More like… it’s as if most movies were recorded in 1080p then mastered on a 720p screen but some people still believe it looks better in 4K because the Samsara Blu-Ray looks glorious but all their other movies are a blurry mess.
SAMSARA was photographed entirely in 70mm film utilizing both standard frame rates and with a motion control time-lapse camera designed specifically for this project. (…) To get the film from 70mm to stunningly detailed 4k resolution for theaters, each frame of the negative was scanned at 8k resolution on FotoKem’s famous BigFoot scanner (shown below). The resulting digital data file was in excess of 20 terabytes! This large file was then compressed into 4k to create the final DCP.
1st off, have you heard of upscaling good sir? 2ndly that’s not really a fair comparison. The quality is being limited to 1080p for video, while lossless audio the quality isn’t usually limited (besides outside the 20hz-20khz range) and can scale with equipment.
Nope, but it’s verified with 200$ headphones/speakers, most of the time.
If everyone would be like you and would mix/master stuff with Focal Elegias, it would be different, obviously. But probably 99.9% of people who have headphones, don’t have 200$+ headphones…
…and most of the 0.1% who have 200$+ headphones, have Beats by Dre.
Look, I’m not trying to be elitist or gatekeep saying you need an expensive pair of headphones to truly enjoy music. But you can’t just say that there is no reason for high end audio to exist, and that there is no large benefit from them. While I can agree that the gains get more minimal as you go up the latter, most people can easily tell the difference between a real high end system, and a cheaper one.
With all this “mid-fi” versus “hi-fi” nonsense… Isn’t it the proof we actually need some kind of classification?
Instead of the “Hi-Res audio” stickers, I think we need something like yellow “Studio Audio” stickers for headphones/speakers who are more or less neutral/natural sounding. Oh, and “Studio Audio DSP” for those crappy “fake neutral” bluetooth gaming headphones.
Yes, this means Genelec speakers would have the same stickers as Astro/Turtle Beach headphones. But no, that’s just an idea.
all categories are totally subjective and nonsense, but most people need categories
if they see something that does not fit in a known categorie they fear it and kill it immediately or run away
of course there are raises in quality and “neutrality” but first: there is no such thing like neutrality
given different locations an opera takes place - all sound different
every live concert is different
so many recordings of the same songs sound different
the room for loudspeakers is always different -so is your ear and so is your taste and knowledge
the effort in R&D is something that is different
the materials and marketing cost will raise price but not always soundquality (except berillium drivers etc.)
where a product is put together makes a diff in price
how a product is sold - direct or lots distrubutors + dealers in the chain…
how often a new product is updated or falls in the old stuff category - like Fiio DAPs and Sony Cameras
“low-fi” is for the mid-fi owners to feel better haha
and mid-fi is for the capitalist in us to show us, we can grow and
low mid-fi < high mid-fi is even better for companies - we buy, listen a short time and raise our goal, sell with loosing an amount of money … hampster wheel
without that, capitalism would have no chance
the market has changed and shows us, that we don´t have to buy 60k sets for heavenly music experiance
in fact - less and less poeople bought into high-fidelity systems the last 20 or 30 years
so the companies have to find a younger but mostly healthier group - the mainstream can buy more for less
we only have to invest in this and that - will not be “perfect” (hahaa) it will never be - but ok that is not a lie
in audio there is nothing objective
one could say a 58x is better than a DT 1990
another one can arguee the build quality and soundstage are more important than laid back sound
or in cars - I prefer our old Volvo V70 over a newer Audi A4 for more comfort and the 5 valve 2.5 ltr engine instead of the 2.0
the V70 has more space but needs more parking space - what is better? we have two dogs
the V70 has more power but needs 14 ltr super - the A4 needs 9ltr for 100km
the V70 was “high mid fi” or high-fi as it was new - is it still? for some not - it is a dinosaur
a Sennheiser 580 was a high end can
a Koss Porta Pro was in my little cosmos as a teen a top headset
its all fluid and totally subjective
if someone cares for build a Hifimam Arya might turn him off - for others it is the deal of the century
in germany you can get a Beyerdynamic T1 Gen2 used for 350 Euro - is it hi-fi or mid-fi, or lo-fi because the Beyer-Sparkling is “killing” you?
Honestly that’s the only way I can think of grouping stuff like this without having to deal with subjectivity. And while that’s unfortunate, if you want to categorically define headphones into something like this, price is most reliable. Most people have a set budget, and the simplest way from them is to find something that fits in that budget. Unless you want to define stuff into categories like:
Cable length, driver type, majority build material type, type of pad size or material, etc, etc. Which would say nothing about the sound. This is difficult
other factors like transportable and easy to drive
Do you need a strong amp … like 6xx needs it but makes a huge jump if you invest in balanced and tubes… is that still mid-fi or hi-fi investment? some love the forward mids like nothing else and come back to it, even if they have “high end” cans
Ooo I completely ignored amps. Those are slightly easier to classify then headphones, but still difficult
Easy to drive can also be debatable, because then you have to consider what type of amp sounds good with it, even if most amps could get it loud enough
that is the point
one factor alone makes only theoretical sense
in which situation (LCD4 for a walk with the dog would be an extreme example)
with what kind of taste (laid back, forward mids or monitoring cans)
… and so on… I love our hobby
Noooo… And they do not need more stickers, they already say Genelec. It’s like a Ferrari. You know or you dont know, if you do not. It might not be for you even with the money.
Like peeps that crash them in silly situations… or any car.
They already have different category’s for different usage or product lines.
One product line is for avarage joe / normal consumer. Plug & Play and fiddle with few nubs.
This could include all headphones? Probably no need to fiddle anything like from factory,
Then are the Studio gear, they usually are not even available in normal "Hifi"stores. You need to know more to get more. If you do not… well that shows later on with people that know.
Might as well work with headphones. Consumer gear and Studio gear, last one not available in normal stores. You need to know what is out there and what are you getting and so on.
There are reasons to upgrade, there are audiophile recordings, etc.
And they do not need more stickers, they already say Genelec. It’s like a Ferrari. You know or you dont know, if you do not. It might not be for you even with the money.