Editing High-end audio

{{short description|Class of consumer home audio equipment}}
{{distinguish|text = [[High-fidelity audio]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2020}}

[[File:Avantgarde_Acoustic_Trio_and_Basshorn_speakers_(3557197670).jpg|thumb|Avantgarde Acoustic Trio and Basshorn speakers]]
'''High-end audio''' is a class of consumer [[home audio]] equipment marketed to [[audiophile]]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.<ref name=Branch1>{{Cite book
| edition = 1
| publisher = JAI Press
| isbn = 978-0-7623-1446-1
| pages = 79–99
|editor1= Russell Belk |editor2=Russell Belk Jr. |editor3=John Sherry
| last = Branch
| first = John D.
| title = Consumer Culture Theory, Volume 11 (Research in Consumer Behavior)
| chapter = Postmodern Consumption and the High-Fidelity Audio Microculture
| date = 23 May 2007
}}</ref><ref name=perlman1>{{Cite journal
| doi = 10.1177/0306312704047613
| volume = 34
| issue = 5
| page = 783
| last = Perlman
| first = M.
| title = Golden ears and meter readers: The contest for epistemic authority in Audiophilia
| journal = Social Studies of Science
| year = 2004
| s2cid = 146545243
}}</ref>

== Definition ==
The distinction between the terms ''high end'' and ''[[high fidelity]]'' is not well defined.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.students.tut.fi/~jmikkola/hifiopas/highend.html#terminologiaa | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010902064129/http://www.students.tut.fi/~jmikkola/hifiopas/highend.html#terminologiaa | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2 September 2001 | title = Finnish hi-fi and high-end guide: terminology | language = fi }}</ref> 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."<ref name=200801stereotimes>Szabady, Paul (January 2008). [http://www.stereotimes.com/acc010708.shtml "The Rega P3-24 Turntable"]. ''Stereo Times''. [https://archive.today/20131125074438/http://www.stereotimes.com/acc010708.shtml Archived] from the original on 21 November 2013</ref> [[Harry Pearson (audio critic)|Harry Pearson]], founder of ''[[The Absolute Sound]]'' magazine, is widely acknowledged to have coined the term ''high-end audio''.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Steve |last1=Guttenberg |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/who-invented-high-end-audio/|title=Who invented high-end audio? |date=10 October 2009 |website=CNET|access-date=20 August 2020}}</ref>

== Costs ==
High-end audio equipment can be extremely expensive. It is sometimes referred to as ''cost-no-object'' equipment.{{cn|date=October 2022}} [[Audiophile]] equipment can encompass the full range from budget to high-end in terms of price.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/30/arts/sound-how-about-a-pair-of-loudspeakers-priced-at-65000.html SOUND; How About a Pair of Loudspeakers Priced at $65,000?], New York Times, 1987</ref>

== Fidelity assessment ==
The fidelity of sound reproduction may be assessed [[hearing (sense)|aurally]] or using [[audio system measurements]].

The human sense of hearing is subjective and difficult to define. [[Psychoacoustics]] 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 [[tube amplifier|valve (vacuum tube) amplifiers]] produce greater amounts of [[total harmonic distortion]], 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1082awsi/ |title=The truth about high end |first=J. Gordon |last=Holt |date=9 June 2007 |work=Stereophile |access-date=29 August 2020}}</ref>

The validity of certain products is often questioned. These include accessories such as [[speaker wire]]s utilizing exotic materials (such as [[Oxygen-free copper#Use in home audio|oxygen-free copper]])<ref>{{cite web|author1=A. Colin Flood|title=Oxygen Free Copper Wire Worthy of the hype?|url=http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0714/oxygen_free_copper_wire_hype.htm|website=Enjoy the Music.com|access-date=15 January 2016|date=July 2014}}</ref> and construction geometries, cable stands for lifting them off the floor (as a way to control mechanically induced vibrations), connectors, sprays and other tweaks.<ref>[http://sound.whsites.net/cables.htm Cables, Interconnects and Other Stuff – The Truth]. Sound.westhost.com.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Audio noise measurement]]
* [[Broadcast quality]]
* [[Professional audio]]
* ''[[Stereophile]]'', ''[[The Absolute Sound]]''; [[hi-fi+]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=hi-fi+ |url=https://hifiplus.com/publications/}} hifiplus.com </ref> high-end home audio magazines

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Audio players}}

[[Category:Audio players]]
[[Category:Consumer electronics]]