High-end audio is a class of consumer
home audio
Home audio systems are audio electronics intended for home entertainment use, such as shelf stereos, music centres and surround sound receivers. Home audio generally does not include standard equipment such as built-in television speakers, but ra ...
equipment marketed to
audiophile
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...
s on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies. The term can refer simply to the price, to the build quality of the components, or to the subjective or objective quality of sound reproduction.
Definition
The distinction between the terms ''high end'' and ''
high fidelity'' is not well defined. According to one industry commentator, high-end could be defined as, "Gear below which's price and performance one could not go without compromising the music and the sound."
[Szabady, Paul (January 2008)]
"The Rega P3-24 Turntable"
''Stereo Times''
Archived
from the original on 21 November 2013 Harry Pearson, founder of ''
The Absolute Sound
''The Absolute Sound'' (TAS) is an American audiophile magazine which reviews high-end audio equipment, along with recordings and comments on various music-related subjects.
History
''The Absolute Sound'' was founded in 1973 by Harry Pearson ...
'' magazine, is widely acknowledged to have coined the term ''high-end audio''.
Costs
High-end audio equipment can be extremely expensive. It is sometimes referred to as ''cost-no-object'' equipment.
Audiophile
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...
equipment can encompass the full range from budget to high-end in terms of price.
Fidelity assessment
The fidelity of sound reproduction may be assessed
aurally or using
audio system measurements
Audio system measurements are a means of quantifying system performance. These measurements are made for several purposes. Designers take measurements so that they can specify the performance of a piece of equipment. Maintenance engineers mak ...
.
The human sense of hearing is subjective and difficult to define.
Psychoacoustics
Psychoacoustics is the branch of psychophysics involving the scientific study of sound perception and audiology—how humans perceive various sounds. More specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological responses associated wi ...
is a division of acoustics that studies this field.
Measurements can be deceiving; high or low figures of certain technical characteristics do not necessarily offer a good representation of how the equipment sounds to each person. For example, some
valve amplifiers
A valve amplifier or tube amplifier is a type of electronic amplifier that uses vacuum tubes to increase the amplitude or power of a signal. Low to medium power valve amplifiers for frequencies below the microwaves were largely replaced by s ...
produce greater amounts of
total harmonic distortion
The total harmonic distortion (THD or THDi) is a measurement of the harmonic distortion present in a signal and is defined as the ratio of the sum of the powers of all harmonic components to the power of the fundamental frequency. Distortion fact ...
, but this type of distortion (2nd harmonic) is not as disturbing to the ear as the higher-order distortions produced by poorly designed transistor equipment.
The validity of certain products is often questioned. These include accessories such as
speaker wire
Speaker wire is used to make the electrical connection between loudspeakers and audio amplifiers. Modern speaker wire consists of two or more electrical conductors individually insulated by plastic (such as PVC, PE or Teflon) or, less commonly ...
s utilizing exotic materials (such as
oxygen-free copper
Oxygen-free copper (OFC) or oxygen-free high thermal conductivity (OFHC) copper is a group of wrought high-conductivity copper alloys that have been electrolytically refined to reduce the level of oxygen to 0.001% or below.
Specification
Ox ...
) and construction geometries, cable stands for lifting them off the floor (as a way to control mechanically induced vibrations), connectors, sprays and other tweaks.
Cables, Interconnects and Other Stuff – The Truth
Sound.westhost.com.
See also
* Audio noise measurement
Audio noise measurement is a process carried out to assess the quality of audio equipment, such as the kind used in recording studios, broadcast engineering, and in-home high fidelity.
In audio equipment noise is a low-level hiss or buzz that i ...
* Broadcast quality Broadcast quality is a term stemming from quad videotape to denote the quality achieved by professional video cameras and time base correctors (TBC) used for broadcast television, usually in standard definition. As the standards for commercial tele ...
* Professional audio
Professional audio, abbreviated as pro audio, refers to both an activity and a category of high quality, studio-grade audio equipment. Typically it encompasses sound recording, sound reinforcement system setup and audio mixing, and studio mu ...
* ''Stereophile
''Stereophile'' is a monthly American audiophile magazine which reviews high-end audio equipment, such as loudspeakers and amplifiers, and audio-related news.
History
Founded in 1962 by J. Gordon Holt. ''Stereophile'' is the highest-circulation ...
'', ''The Absolute Sound
''The Absolute Sound'' (TAS) is an American audiophile magazine which reviews high-end audio equipment, along with recordings and comments on various music-related subjects.
History
''The Absolute Sound'' was founded in 1973 by Harry Pearson ...
''; high-end home audio magazines
References
{{Audio players
Audio players
Consumer electronics