A recent post to Gizmodo, the Gadget Blog articulated part of what we're striving for with Hi-Fi 2.0. In "Why We Need Audiophiles" associate editor John Mahoney chronicles his visit to equipment and music reviewer Michael Fremer. Mahoney writes about what it's like to truly hear your music. The post's language gets a little earthy at times, but it's clear that both Mahoney and Fremer are passionate about the subject of good audio.

Mahoney listened to one of his favorite songs on Fremer's top-of-the-line system, and then the same song on his MP3 player. As he writes in the post, Mahoney found the MP3 version "completely lifeless, flat in every way" compared to what he heard on Fremer's system. Auditioning the same music on two different systems helped him understand more fully the emotional impact of high-fidelity sound.

But as Mahoney explains, you don't have to spend a fortune to have that experience.

"Fremer himself is the first to admit that it would only take $3,000 to $5,000 to build a system that will be deeply satisfying to most music fans. On a scale of 1 to 100 completely of my own devising, let's put this system at around 85. Our little scale, unfortunately, is logarithmic, in that going from zero to 85 doesn't take a lot of effort or money, but going from 98.6 to 99.1 by swapping out a $2,600 AC power cable for a $4,000 one becomes a justifiable end."

While many of us won't go all the way up Mahoney's hypothetical scale, it's pretty simple to get most of the way there (and for some, that may be enough – it all depends on your ears). Even if you don't go far, it's a journey worth making. Because the better your music sounds, the more deeply it affects you. And that's where Crutchfield's Hi-Fi 2.0 initiative comes in. We want to help people understand the rewards of high fidelity sound, and how easy it is to achieve.

So whether it's just using less compression for your MP3s, or bi-wiring your speakers, or even swapping out your old gear for higher quality source components, it's all good. While few of us will reach Michael Fremer's level, even a simple upgrade can yield big rewards and help you more deeply connect with your music. And that's really what it's all about.