What is good hi fi for you

[alwaysbeblue1]

Everyone says it is personal as some like more/less bass
But there must be some universal things that make some hi fI stand out from the rest

Also, what do you look out for in a good sounding hi fi, something that makes you think you have to have that sound

 

[Al ears]

Everyone says it is personal as some like more/less bass But there must be some universal things that make some hi fI stand out from the rest

Also, what do you look out for in a good sounding hi fi, something that makes you think you have to have that sound

Neutrality and uncloured for me, and I wouldn't be afraid to use valves to obtain this.

Any good hifi is going to depend on the source material in use at the time. Get this right hand you are half way there, whatever the format.

 

[seemorebtts]

Timeing and something fast.i hate it when I'm listening to music and I hear a stereo get confused with What it is playing. really gets to me

 

[davedotco]

"The closest approach to the original sound".

Errr, thats it.

 

[tino]

Good hifi doesn't sound like the sound is emanating from a box, even though it actually is. As others have said, the sound has to remain faithful to the original source and not be (too) exaggerated in any way e.g. overblown bass. For my part, "good hifi" doesn't have to be of the über expensive / hair shirt variety where everything is about the sound to the detriment of aesthetics, logical functionality and the living space where it might reside.

 

[abacus]

Faithful to the original recording, and visually harmonious to the room it is in. (Unless you can hide everything away, which in that case just faithful to the original)

Bill

 

[insider9]

For me first it's outright musicality. Then, how the emotion is conveyed. I'd put it down to mix of (in no particular order) soundstaging, dynamics and detail. Neutrality is not as important to me (yet) compared to others on here but I'm definitely going in that direction.

I definitely look for other things than I used to even a few months ago so it's a learning curve.

 

[steve_1979]

... what do you look out for in a good sounding hi fi

Lots of things. First and formost is the enjoyment factor. If it doesn't sound 'right' then I won't enjoy the music as much.

More precisely the most important part is the clarity and lack of destortion (specifically phase destortion in the mid-range frequencies irritates me the most). Also a smooth treble, big reserves of power for when it's needed, bass depth with good control and a sharp well defined stereo image are all important factors too.

 

[Electro]

My whole reason for spending so much on HiFi is my love of music and to get a sound at home that is as close as possible to the sound of real people playing real music in a real space.

I want the venue added to the end of my room so it appears as if the wall behind the speakers is in fact the stage and I am sitting in the audience in a comfy chair listening to a personal performance.

I regularly go to live music gigs at venues that have good acoustics and mostly top class musicians controled by very good sound engineers, I use these places and the sound as a reference when choosing equipment.

If a system can't do believable dynamics then the music will never sound life like .( imo) *smile*

To be honest I am pretty dam close to having just what I want and I feel very lucky indeed.*biggrin*

 

[nopiano]

A system that sounds like real music playing....when you are in another room!

There are a few articles that expand on this, but it's actually a great test. When you go to concert hall or club with a live band, as you approach you never think it sounds like a record playing!

I've answered this way to provoke a bit of thought. The neat answer is as davedotco said; just ironic for me that Quad never did that, aside from their speakers.

 

[insider9]

A system that sounds like real music playing....when you are in another room!  

There are a few articles that expand on this, but it's actually a great test.  When you go to concert hall or club with a live band, as you approach you never think it sounds like a record playing!  

I've answered this way to provoke a bit of thought.  The neat answer is as davedotco said; just ironic for me that Quad never did that, aside from their speakers.  

That's actually a great test! I've yet to hear a system that can sound like a live drum kit. I won't even mention other instruments.

Nothing I've heard so far comes even close but granted my mileage isn't that high.

 

[bigfish786]

To me, is the experience of listening to my music in my space on my hifi sounding the best it can. After spending a lot of time getting it to sound the way it does

i also enjoy the look of my setup I don't want to hide it I'm quite proud of it so I want it on display

 

[Gazzip]

To me, is the experience of listening to my music in my space on my hifi sounding the best it can. After spending a lot of time getting it to sound the way it does

i also enjoy the look of my setup I don't want to hide it I'm quite proud of it so I want it on display

Hmmm... yes, but I seem to remember you have a "Carlsberg" other half.

As in: "If Carlsberg did girlfriends...".

Not a five pinter in case you misconstrued my comments...

 

[bigfish786]

That did make me chuckle.

Yeah, she's really good when it comes to the hifi and tv setup.

And definitely not a five Pinter either.

 

[avole]

"The closest approach to the original sound".

Errr, thats it.

Not just to you, but to others who follow this discredited philosophy: bollocks. How can you possibly know.

 

[steve_1979]

That's actually a great test! I've yet to hear a system that can sound like a live drum kit. I won't even mention other instruments.

Would you really want a live drum kit in your living room though? I assume that your listening space is much smaller than most typical music clubs/pubs. Also you probably sit much closer to your speakers than you would to a live drum kit so it's not really a fair comparison (for most people in most domestic situations). It can be done though but generally it requires large speakers and lots of power whilst also retaining good sound quality. Think big pro-audio actives.

Personally I've never tried turning my hifi up loud enough to reproduce the raw power of a live drum kit whilst listening to music but considering how well it performs during the loud bombastic sections in action movies I guess that it would do a pretty good job at recreating the sound of a real drum kit in my room.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

What makes a good hifi for me

Instruments that sound real as the real thing..... natural

Vocals that put goose bumps on the back of your neck .... the wow factor that sounds good

finally a hifi that your happy with and a joy to listen to every time you put it on a hifi that you do not need to sit there and find fault with just enjoying every moment of the experience.

i believe that's true hifi heaven and one I've found but has taken me years and lots of box swapping to get here but hay it's been a good ride .

 

[Gazzip]

If I had known in the beginning exactly what does it for me I would have saved myself many thousands. Whatever it is I know it when I hear it. It is in no particular order: Vocal clarity with absolutely no bloom in the mids; Dynamics! Dynamics! Dynamics!; A very clean and undistorted bass which goes very, very low.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Everyone says it is personal as some like more/less bass But there must be some universal things that make some hi fI stand out from the rest

Also, what do you look out for in a good sounding hi fi, something that makes you think you have to have that sound

I haven't read the thread.

There are hard and fast rules for accurate sound reproduction, but what we actually enjoy as individuals IS a personal thing. You're the one who has to live with the system day in, day out, from a visual point of view as well as a sound point of view, but some will prefer a system that sounds a particular way.

There are some aspects that help sound quality though, namely a low noise floor and low distortion. One of the biggest things though is getting the right system that works in your room.

 

[knaithrover]

Depth real depth, clarity and a wide wiiide soundstage where the music shimmers out of thin air and not the speakers.

 

[Gaz37]

Whilst I sort of agree with the "live performance" idea I do think it a bit unrealistic in a domestic environment.

Acoustically speaking one of the best live performances I have heard is Pink Floyd and I don't accept that any home system could get within 50% of the sound. Bass that actually resonates inside your chest and volume that verges on uncomfortable with total clarity just can't be replicated in your living room, unless you're lucky enough to live several miles from your nearest neighbour and have a listening room 400m x 400m x 50m.

 

[davedotco]

Whilst I sort of agree with the "live performance" idea I do think it a bit unrealistic in a domestic environment.

Acoustically speaking one of the best live performances I have heard is Pink Floyd and I don't accept that any home system could get within 50% of the sound. Bass that actually resonates inside your chest and volume that verges on uncomfortable with total clarity just can't be replicated in your living room, unless you're lucky enough to live several miles from your nearest neighbour and have a listening room 400m x 400m x 50m.

Is all about scale, particularly if you are talking about bands like Pink Floyd. Small bands are a different matter, I have a local pub that, from time to time, allows people to play and sing. Sometimes this is just a sing-a-long but sometimes it is actually a performance, last time a singer and guitarist, playing completely unamplified, something you can actually relate to with respect to your own home.

I have lived (shared) with a number of musicians, so I am quite used to instruments played in a home situation and when I had my shop, our main dem room was around 40 x 30ft and hosted live music on many occasions, everything from a string quartet to one of hi-fi's favourite bands, SFX.

Getting used to the scale and shear volume of musical instruments can be a struggle for many, particularly when you are listening 'up close', something few enthusiasts actually want to reproduce at home, even if they could.

 

[steve_1979]

Something that I can listen to for ten hours straight and I still want to play another album.

 

[chebby]

A nice tone please.

Music takes a bit of a back seat here to all forms of 'spoken word' content for me, so my system needs to disappear whilst I am enjoying Coleridge's " ... willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith."

In other words it just lets me get right into the drama (or the comedy, or the book, or the discussion) without drawing attention to it being a broadcast or a recording.

 

[Samd]

...with an auto close down for owt by Alfie Boe or Susan Boyle.