What Happened to HiFi?

HiFi (High Fidelity) started out with the humble goal of presenting music in the home in a more life-like way and preserving the essence and emotion of musical performances. Back then, pure Hifi consisted of a single “mono” channel that included one music source, one amplifier and one loudspeaker. Some of the early recordings show us just what could be achieved in terms of clarity, space and depth around an artist using a single microphone! There are many good examples of mono from the 50s and early 60s. Until 1968, each Elvis album was given a unique mono mix, as well as a new stereo mix, but Elvis always regarded the mono mix as primary. Over time pure mono “Hifi” gave way to the newer two channel “Stereo” systems.  

Interestingly, today most consumers are back to listening to their music on small portable “mono” systems. Unfortunately, these systems often lack the fidelity and dynamics needed to deliver the emotional content in the music. 

It seems that modern, high fidelity audio systems have become the domain of “Audiophiles”. The industry has become singularly focused around the equipment and the technology...And what happened to the music? Has the audio industry lost touch with mainstream music fans? 

I was first a music fan, then a musician and studio engineer. Now I listen to most of my music at home! There are some great audio products out there, from small companies you may have never heard of. Companies that still care about being true to the artist and the music. 

My mission is to find these companies and introduce them to you. 

Check us out at m42homeaudio.ca

See you soon! -Peter