Talk:High fidelity

Cleanup!
The lead 'graph says that in the 50s and 60s HF was defined by a standard not defined until the 70s. Absurdities, and even apparent absurdities, require attention. --Jerzy•t 02:52, 8 April 2008 (UTC)


 * The para is trying to say that "High Fidelity" once had a fixed, objective meaning, and gradually came to mean any mid-level stereo system. And that audiophiles invented another term "high end audio" once the original term became diluted. The para is still overly restrictive, tho?


 * 1) My grandfather had high end audio equipment in the 50s and 60s. I doubt he knew or cared about the DIN standard. Probably the salesperson didn't either. So maintaining that the phrase "high fidelity" ever meant (in common usage) DIN is probably incorrect.


 * 2) This phrase appears as part of the explanation of the evolution of the word "high fidelity": "in subsequent decades, the term was applied more loosely to any mid-level stereo system". That's a little too limited, in that high fidelity was applied to other consumer equipment besides stereos, and finally came to mean practically nothing at all in terms of sound quality.


 * Alpha Ralpha Boulevard (talk) 16:56, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Merge or delete High End Audio, redirect here
High-end audio should be redirected to High fidelity. The first sentence says it all:

"High fidelity or hi-fi reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts (audiophiles) to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images that are very faithful to the original performance."

Maybe some might be afraid that expensive-speaker-cable-loving-folks will end up here (oops, I am one), but considering how meagre the high-end article is, it doesn't look that way. As an audiophile, if I put "high end audio" in the search box, and was directed to an article titled "High fidelity," I'd say, yep, I'm in the right place.--Nyctc7 (talk) 06:14, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Hi Fi / Hi End
High Fidelity means "high fidelity to the original source music". High End means expensive. Gucci makes high end shoes. A "high end" stereo is a description of price. The two terms have some small overlap, but refer to totally different things. Here is the dictionary on fidelity:

"Faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief". Similar: faithfulness, constancy, devotedness, devotion, adherence, true-heartedness, trustworthiness, trustiness, honesty, dependability, reliability

2nd meaning: the degree of exactness with which something is copied or reproduced. "the 1949 recording provides reasonable fidelity" Billyshiverstick (talk) 04:28, 1 April 2023 (UTC)

Name similarity to popular "Hi(gh)-Five" term for hand gesture/greeting
Maybe it should be shortly mentioned that the similarity of the term Hi-Fi to the "high-five" term contributed over time to its popularity and easier adoption. 38.15.87.15 (talk) 04:45, 13 March 2024 (UTC)