The cheerful entry level are seeking for a better playback than mass market products. Products cater for this market hold a tight margin and compromises on sound quality. These compromises are inevitable because quality costs money. Thus, no boutique parts, no fancy circuit and average power supply. Products are mostly produced in China with local manufacturing facilities and design teams probably based elsewhere at best. Some are outright rebadging. Euphonic, warm and sweetness pretty sums up the sound goal, vocal is being their major music staple.
The ambitious mid fi wanted better sound playback from entry level. Even though some parts might be sourced from Far East, China, Taiwan and Malaysia included, the extra budget stretches their designs a little further, allowing some use of premium components at critical areas. In some cases, probably some trickled down technologies from the flagship models, don't we like that? Something the manufacturers give you a bit and hold back a bit. Truth is there are some untold stories behind them. Of course, there are some compromises. Cheap and value is two different things. Cheap is low price and low quality. Value is price commensurate to quality. I say value is a harmonious relationship between quality and price. The value reaches its apex of the evil law of diminishing returns here. I am psychologically comfortable in this camp until my financial strength propel me to the next level. Tweaking is a god send audio tidbits for the ambitious mid fi, stretching sound quality at relatively low cost. I am not a fool to believe that one can tweak oneself to high end sound, close it seems but not quite there. It just does not cut it. There are other contributing factors which I will talk about later. So, the sound goal is nevertheless polarized. There are fi who prefer the above mentioned characters blessed with increased resolution on one end and the shift to more neutrality on the other.
Now the mighty high end, aside from being the best sound the world has to offer, high end brings instant fame. It is an outright status symbol and attitude. There are a lot more high end systems than we know but they like to keep them private. This is understandable because gutsy comments from these daring fi simply do not do justice for their words that they have not been there. Well of course, it would be different case if you are a trained set up technician or respected audio guru. High end is my humble definition is audio gears with inventive proprietary technologies, a pride of ownership and a heavy price tag in one single package. The ultimate goal for high end is as neutral as can get but not to the blandness of studio gears. The quick acid test is if you are able to induce awe and admiration telling that you own such and such. Sometimes fi do not say what they mean, the body language does not lie. People looked up to high ender as audio guru or semi audio guru for obvious reason in most cases, of course backed the supposedly sound quality. I bet that many are shy to tell our mid fi gears to high ender, not worth mentioning.
Then, what if some gears fall into mid fi and high end. I say they are still mid fi, sorry.
If I would have to go audioing all over again, I will put room ahead of the rest and power being next. A golden ratio room that able to reproduce 20Hz will pay you dividend. Add clean power to it, a mid fi system could drop jaw. Any incremental quality of gear will reward exponential returns. Slow start, strong finishing.
The image above fits perfectly my sound description
Sadly, I have to live with my pathetic room. My heart sinked one day to discover that my wall swollen and cracked after moving my audio gears in. I was devastated. It is a nightmare engaging Indonesian contractors. I kept my mind off my room for a couple of days to find peace until I'm brave enough to re look and accept the problem. What will you do if there is a tumor in your body? You take that living thing out. It will haunt you if you don't. So, I complained to the contractor, he came over to redo my wall, unwillingly after many broken promises. They seems to inherit the same culture, the same habits, the same bullshit, never honour their words. He took down the old skim, re-skim some patches and had gone missing since then. I had to get my hand dirty, re sand and re paint the wall. The dust was all over, cleaning it takes weeks. Hence, I was quiet.
Apart taming the bass, I've identified that my room requires some diffusers to quiet down the midrange confusion. I took a calculated risk after using some cheapo diffusers. Sound had got better. My forwarding agent confirmed that I will be getting the diffusers in a week or two.
It is the matter of ignorance and laziness. Hooked on violin concertos, big time, I spent countless hours brushing up my music knowledge in the interim. I feel shallow with the more I read and learn and so with audio. Not from musical background, I opine that being a successful violinist is the coolest person on earth. Phrasing, vibrato, spiccato, staccato, glissando, bowing techniques when to put pressure and when to go light, rhythm, pause, artistic etc are a big magnet to me. The violin virtuoso always brings out the note and the drama in a composition. They all make it so easy. Much as the violin virtuosos study the composition, I do the same to understand what is the piece about. I started to collect popular violin repertoires of different virtuosos to seek a deeper understanding of individual interpretation. The popular violin repertoires, the biography of famed violinists, their prime, the violin used, CDs to die for etc enhance my listening pleasure. I do not claim myself expert in violin concertos, please don't poke me.
So, knowledge humbles me, I guess. So is audio.
