hi-fiadj.n.

1935 Short Wave Craft June 89/3 With some receivers having a primary input circuit which is not grounded, the regular hi-fi receiver coupler, provided with all Lynch hi-fi kits, may sometimes be used.

1952 Time 22 Dec. 62/2 Until last week, most ‘hi-fi’ sets, which reproduce music in the home with the clarity and realism of the concert hall, were custom-made from standard parts by small radio and phonograph shops at a cost of from $150 to $2,000.

1959 ‘E. Fenwick’ Long Way Down x. 93 They had spent the evening working on their hi-fi system: three speakers, at different points, and miles of wiring.

1963 Which? Jan. 3/2 People may also want to consider hi-fi equipment.

2005 D. Nicholls Understudy 44 The slow, discreet boom-tsch of generic chill-out music pulsed from huge hi-fi speakers perched high on metal stands.

1947 Sat. Rev. Lit. (U.S.) 17 May 32/1 Nice, clear harpsichord recording, though over-loud in spots; not as hi-fi as her plastic Gramophone Shop job but perhaps more musical in sound.

1958 Gramophone June 35/1 The latest hi-fi developments.

1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iii. 69 The full hi-fi treatment (in the sense, that is, of extended frequency response).

1971 Which? June 187/1 Look for discounts in tape and hi-fi magazines.

1982 Listener 16 Dec. 34/1 Women enjoy the benefits of hi-fi sound and video time-shifting every bit as much as men.

1999 T. Riley Hard Rain (rev. ed.) 301 In an era when many of the most interesting bands embraced the lo-fi conceit.., Dylan went hi-fi. His recordings had sounded like crap long before it was cool.

2006 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 28 Dec. c9/2 The tinny sound quality and signal drop-outs will disappoint hi-fi fans.

1938 Radio News Mar. 576/2 ‘Hi-fi’. In the February issue we presented a constructional article on ​a receiver which was titled ‘Hi-Fi “9”’. This name was selected without knowledge that the Standard Transformer Company of Chicago holds a copyright on the name ‘Hi-Fi’ and we regret any possible confusion that might result.

1950 Audio Engin. Aug. 24 (title) Hi-fi at seven-and-a-half.

1959 Spectator 20 Nov. 708/1 As recordings, they may not command the velvety tone, sumptuous presence and richly defined detail of the best of modern hi-fi.

1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio iv. 76 Hi-fi (a term which covers any sound equipment from medium quality upwards).

1971 Daily Tel. 27 Aug. 17/6 The study thinks there is a continuing swing to quality but the lack of standards of what constitutes Hi-Fi is felt to be a disadvantage.

2008 R. S. Burwen in R. A. Pease Analog Circuits ix. 204 Almost anything you can design in analog circuits has some bearing on hi-fi.

1955 N. Mailer Let. 19 Mar. in Sel. Lett. (2014) 191 The hi-fi is on, and I'm listening to it with just a little bit of pleasure.

1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 26 I put a disc on to his hi-fi.

1964 V. Duncan Interview in J. Kerouac Empty Phantoms (2005) 255 On impulse, he suddenly snaps off the blasting hi-fi. The ensuing silence is deafening.

1978 J. Galway Autobiogr. (1979) xiv. 172 When I found them using my hi-fi to play their own scratchy records, I accepted it philosophically.

2010 Guardian 13 Aug. (Film & Music section) 3/4 There are many places in the world where hi-fis are not the norm, and mobile phones are people's portable jukeboxes.