I have two solid prosumer systems at home with many different size speakers trying to cover the spectrum but the more i dig into the hobby the more i feel like I actually have no idea what im doing. I really notice a huge difference when i play through my computer using an audio enhancing equalizer (boom 3D). Definitely night and day difference from just raw dogging the receiver and speakers but im sure itll never actually qualify as hifi. I notice some places around the room sound incredible but moving around the sound changes and im very aware of the physics that make this happen. How else would true hifi feel different? I can play pretty loud music with no destination and my woofers handle the bass well feeling the notes not just a rumble like some other systems ive heard. Anything i try to play without the equalizer becomes super flat and i lose alot of the mids and highs is there gear that could replace this i could add to my receiver.
There are a few general criteria for what constitutes good sound reproduction. For example, one general principle most will agree upon is that the speaker setup (including all equipment between the source file/record/CD and what you hear out the speakers) should not vary from the recording to the point where it’s apples and oranges. Some will want to minimize any difference at all, and some will accept some difference because, to them, that makes for a more enjoyable, engaging, “musical” experience.
As far as I’m concerned, hi-fi is the use of dedicated equipment–passive or active–to create the above conditions. How “flat” (or accurate) you want the sound, or how colored–that comes down to your own preferences. It has little to do with what equipment costs. A $5,000 system can sound better than a $50,000 system.