Perhaps we should stick with midfi...

So what is the definition of low fi, mid fi and hi fi? Where do they fall in the wallet?

Paperw8 - I agree with you quite a bit. Unless there is really something mismatched, I can't see any hi fi system really sounding "bad." It's far more likely that it just doesn't have the sound the purchaser was trying to get. If a person visits a store and listens to a particular system and only purchases a portion of the equipment, it's very likely to sound much different at home given the change in equipment and environment.

I have experienced a significant change in enjoyment on one of the systems at my local hi fi store. Every time I heard the Focal Utopia Diablo's, especially with a JL Audio subwoofer I was drooling over the wonderful sound. The store sold their Krell amplifiers and are now running Asthetix amplifiers and I have not been blown away since. Does it still sound great, yes, but for my ears it's a train wreck in comparison.

Please understand that I'm not knocking Asthetix products, I'm sure they could sound great with a different system or to a different person.

If I had the money, I would have quickly purchased the Krell version of the system without question, but I've been dissapointed every time I've listened since their departure.

Douglas - I like you suggest to mix and match with the OPs other system. I'd probably take one of the new components and hook it up in the old system and see if the sound improves. The next step might be to take one component from the old system and hook it up in the new and see if the offending component could be identified. If it turns out that changing a single component makes a nice difference, it could give some direction for a higher end replacement unit.

I took a different route in playing detective and tried to figure out the value of the bike in the pictures found on the link so see if the OP could afford the systems described. I wasn't able to figure out exactly what model it was as the name on the forks seems to be assessory type stuff and not a bike model. Maybe the bike is a fake as well?

Note: I'm not intending to discount the OP's story, just joining in the recent detective work since it appeared to be fun.