News Chi-Fi: The Harbinger of Doom, or Bringing High-End Sound to the Masses?

[daveh75]

Even when differences can be measured, there is still the question of whether the differences are meaningful, and how variably they can be interpreted and experienced.

Of course, measurable difference's may not be audible... just to muddy things!

 

[nopiano]

Of course, measurable difference's may not be audible... just to muddy things!

Spot on! When measurements are presented they often involve signals way outside the audio range, or at lengths/distances that aren’t relevant.

However, all cables we attach to kit, whether they carry mains, analogue or digital signals do have the potential to act as aerials, or transmitters of unwanted noise (e.g. along the screen if not terminated in a fashion appropriate for the usage). This is why I have found any benefits tend to be specific to the location. In this context, location might be a road near an industrial unit which causes noisy mains, or adjacent to a neighbour with dodgy appliance.

Have I ever heard unwanted clicks and thumps from amplifiers, yes. Have I ever heard radio or taxi transmissions picked up by Hifi, yes. Have I owned a coffee machine that made my amplifier buzz, yes many years ago (caused by a cheap choke apparently, to reduce power when making a half-flask!). Have I had an amplifier that made more noise than all our other electrical appliances, yes. Have I known folks whose gear was upset by Dect and wallwart chargers, yes!

I’m sure there are other examples. But if modest cables work that’s great, and it leaves more money to spend on music!

 

[DiggyGun]

I think all UK mains cords must come with a moulded plug, by law. The days of screwing yourappliance into a fuse are long gone. Power cords were very cheap years ago, but you need to pay about £7 for a decent one now. It's all you need to pay. The power cords costing hundreds are an absolute waste of money. I don't see the point in ordering a power cord from abroad and risking it. It must cost as much for the shipping.

UK plugs (Type G) can be either moulded or re-wireable, as long as they conform to BS1363, tested by a Notified Body, i.e. BSI, ASTA and marked as such.

DG…

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Lawks! An uncharacteristically civil cable debate! Is is (alas) off topic though.

 

[Friesiansam]

Lawks! An uncharacteristically civil cable debate!

Be afraid, be very afraid, something is very wrong here…

 

[podknocker]

Eversolo is Chinese, from what their website suggests and I think they will be much bigger in the streaming sector very soon. Class D streaming amps with great displays and a huge range of features are the future. I have looked at the Korean HIFI Rose RS520 as a possible upgrade, but I'm waiting to see if Eversolo will release something better and cheaper in the next 2 years or so.

 

[podknocker]

My Audiolab Omnia is made by the IAG giant and after some initial teething issues, it's performing well. I couldn't get PlayFi to work on Windows 10 or 11 and it just became a pain in the arse. The DTS Phorus support bloke did confirm the Windows platform wasn't going to be funded or improved, so it's Android or Apple now. I had to use bluetooth to avoid the drops in streaming and although the connection was rock solid and never dropped, it was lower quality. I've been streaming with PlayFi on my phone and choosing tunes from many devices, including the PC I'm on now. It's amazing really and made in China seems to work. I'm annoyed with IAG because they didn't supply a DTS PlayFi licence key and I had to obtain one via Phorus support, only to be told later to not bother as Windows wasn't the best platform to use. If the execution of the design works and is fully tested and Chinese build quality is high, then 'Made in China' or 'Chi Fi' shouldn't be something to worry about. My QA 3030i are also made n China and they sound better than ever.

 

[manicm]

Like mid to high end equipment from South Korea such as HifiRose, I'm sure more serious equipment will arise from China if not already.

And I wouldn't call it Chi Fi. I'd call these things Cheap Fi. WiiM is an American company, and by a dealer review I watched on YouTube today, the new WiiM Ultra seems still somewhat restricted in soundstage width and imaging despite the new dac chip.

So I rather refer to these things as Cheap Fi. Ultimately you get what you pay for, maybe a little more to add value. On evidence it's the same regardless of the country of origin.

 

[My2Cents]

Is this thread about Chinese/Asian manufacturing of Hi-Fi, cords and cables or just cords and cables made in Asia/China? Either way, are you feeling lucky?

 

[podknocker]

I dutifully steered the thread back to Chinese kit and I think we need another forum section just for leads etc.

 

[Friesiansam]

I dutifully steered the thread back to Chinese kit and I think we need another forum section just for leads etc.

'Cable Discussions, Enter at Your Peril.'

 

[idc]

A story about quality control. My first headphone amp was the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2. After a few years, I was tempted by the prospect of having it modified by a chap who called himself Pink Floyd and lives in the north of Scotland. I sent him the amp and he then sent me photos of the internals, which were not as they should have been, with substandard and older components from earlier MF products.

I forwarded the photos to MF and a few days later I got a phone call from the owner Antony Michaelson. It turns out, after MF checked some other X-Cans, that the Taiwanese company who had taken over manufacturing, were using old stock and basically ripping off MF. As a thank you he sent me the X-Can V8P that I still use to this day.

With so many companies like MF operating on an international basis, with design and manufacturing taking place in different countries, it must be hard to keep control of what is going on.

 

[davidf]

Like mid to high end equipment from South Korea such as HifiRose, I'm sure more serious equipment will arise from China if not already.

And I wouldn't call it Chi Fi. I'd call these things Cheap Fi. WiiM is an American company, and by a dealer review I watched on YouTube today, the new WiiM Ultra seems still somewhat restricted in soundstage width and imaging despite the new dac chip.

So I rather refer to these things as Cheap Fi. Ultimately you get what you pay for, maybe a little more to add value. On evidence it's the same regardless of the country of origin.

Lumin have been producing high quality (and high end) music streamers for years. Silent Angel are a newer brand, but both produce high quality, stable streamers.

 

[manicm]

Lumin have been producing high quality (and high end) music streamers for years. Silent Angel are a newer brand, but both produce high quality, stable streamers.

Yes, that's my point. Well I didn't know Lumin was Chinese.

 

[davidf]

Yes, that's my point. Well I didn't know Lumin was Chinese.

Not OEM Chinese though.

 

[A-Line]

Like mid to high end equipment from South Korea such as HifiRose, I'm sure more serious equipment will arise from China if not already.

And I wouldn't call it Chi Fi. I'd call these things Cheap Fi. WiiM is an American company, and by a dealer review I watched on YouTube today, the new WiiM Ultra seems still somewhat restricted in soundstage width and imaging despite the new dac chip.

So I rather refer to these things as Cheap Fi. Ultimately you get what you pay for, maybe a little more to add value. On evidence it's the same regardless of the country of origin.

Allnic is South Korean and it's very excellent too.
(Politics deleted by moderation.)

 

[Dom]

If their Hi-Fi is as good as their food, then everything might be excellent.

 

[A-Line]

For those interested in Chi-Fi here's a website that sells clones of high-end components from FM Acoustics, DarTZeel, Soulution, Pass Labs, ect., at about 1/40th or more of the price of the original.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805538511586.html?spm=a2g0n.detail.1000013.5.577f12e9OiPPGr&gps-id=storeRecommendH5&scm=1007.18500.300835.0&scm_id=1007.18500.300835.0&scm-url=1007.18500.300835.0&pvid=5b910912-c57d-4b4d-b692-668f6bf50d84&_t=gps-id%3AstoreRecommendH5%2Cscm-url%3A1007.18500.300835.0%2Cpvid%3A5b910912-c57d-4b4d-b692-668f6bf50d84%2Ctpp_buckets%3A668%232846%238116%232002&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%21278.59%21181.08%21%21%212017.28%211311.23%21%402103243417214872054528512e7f6d%2112000035345541990%21rec%21US%21%21AB&_gl=1*zop03o*_gcl_au*MTEwNDg1OTQwMy4xNzIxNDg3MjAx*_ga*OTA2NTkxMzQyMTk0MjI5LjE3MjE0ODcxOTM2Mzc.*_ga_VED1YSGNC7*MTcyMTQ4NzIwMS4xLjAuMTcyMTQ4NzIwMS42MC4wLjA.&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

 

[manicm]

Not OEM Chinese though.

Well I meant OEM. Even cheap Naim is made in China.

 

[tsaoandy]

I knew this topic will pop up sooner or later. I think it’s as simple as Chinese are looking to compete in the hifi market in the world. I’m Taiwanese and in the UK I come across some people who say they remember things were made in Taiwan etc. The complicated political relation between China and Taiwan(official name is Republic of China) which was push out of united nation, and the rest of the world don’t recognise Taiwan as a country, that has made Taiwan trying hard in terms of trading. I’m a violinist, this guy who started Chi-Mei company he passed away few years ago, he’s one of the biggest (if not the biggest) flatscreen OEM in the world. He sells them all over the world, and then Sony, Panasonic put brands on it, this guy has the biggest collection of Stradivarius violin, because he loves the violin so much but he came from a poor background, he was hoping his collection would benefit talented up and coming Taiwanese violinist competing in violin competitions etc. He’s not the only one, not the first one in Taiwan doing OEM, neotech makes high quality copper cables I once bought some speaker cable the guy told me just get neotech they sell them in bulk to transparent cable companies in US. So when we look into our hifi equipment, the transistors, capacitors, chips etc etc, guess who has the upper hand when getting those parts in good price? I am using Topping D90SE DAC now, and it’s made me really confused about what to do in terms upgrade, it’s not perfect but to better it I have to spend ridiculous amount of money, for 15% better?

 

[nopiano]

Yes, that's my point. Well I didn't know Lumin was Chinese.

I think they are Hong Kong based from what I’ve read recently. I love the brand name, as it sounds like Hollywood!

Pixel Magic

Innovators in digital video and audio. Founded in 2003, Pixel Magic Systems Ltd is a privately-held electronics equipment manufacturer with dealer/distributor networks for its Magic TV and LUMIN ranges in over 25 countries.

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