Hifi

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Phonograph \Pho"no*graph\, n. [Phono- + -graph.]
     1. A character or symbol used to represent a sound, esp. one
        used in phonography. [archaic]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Physics) An instrument for the mechanical registration


        and reproduction of audible sounds, as articulate speech,
        etc. An early simple version consisted of a rotating
        cylinder or disk covered with some material easily
        indented, as tinfoil, wax, paraffin, etc., above which is
        a thin plate carrying a stylus. As the plate vibrates
        under the influence of a sound, the stylus makes minute
        indentations or undulations in the soft material, and
        these, when the cylinder or disk is again turned, set the
        plate in vibration, and reproduce the sound. Modern
        versions use electronic circuitry and various more stable
        recording media to record sound more accurately.
        [1913 Webster + PJC]
  
     3. An instrument for reproducing sounds, especially music,
        previously recorded on a plastic cylinder or disk as a
        pattern of bumps or wiggles in a groove. A needle (stylus)
        held in the groove is made to vibrate by motion (rotation)
        of the recording, and the vibrations caused by the bumps
        and wiggles are transmitted directly to a membrane, or
        first transduced into electrical impulses and sent to an
        electronic amplifier circuit, thereby reproducing with
        greater or less fidelity the original sounds. A phonograph
        which is equipped with electronics enabling the playback
        of sound with high fidelity to the original is often
        called a {hi-fi}.
  
     Note: In the 1990's such devices are beginning to be replaced
           in many homes by compact disk players; the production
           of plastic recordings of music for playback on a
           phonograph has almost ceased for entertainment
           purposes.
           [PJC]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  hifi \hifi\, hi-fi \hi-fi\[shortening of high fidelity.] n.
     An electronic device that plays phonograph records,
     reproducing the original sound with a high degree of
     fidelity. It superseded the older phonographs, and itself is
     being displaced in popularity by CD players.
  
     Syn: hi-fi, high fidelity sound system.
          [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hi-fi
       adj : characterized by minimal distortion in sound reproduction;
             "a high-fidelity recording"; "a hi-fi system" [syn: {high-fidelity}]
       n 1: equipment for the reproduction of sound with high fidelity
            [syn: {high fidelity sound system}]
       2: the reproduction of sound with little or no distortion [syn:
           {high fidelity}]

From Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (Version 1.9, June 2002) [vera]:

  HIFI
       Hypertext Interface For Information (ESPRIT)