Chinese Hi-Fi Influencer Takes Aim at Topping: Dispute Finally Settled, Quick Recap for the Curious

[Graham849]

the funny thing (if only from my own distorted perspective) is that I decided not to look up the original quote.
Amusingly (if not ironically), I actually minored in German in college... but my command of German has its limit. Or its limits.

A funny tale from several years ago. I was discussing philosophy and use of language with a former eastern european, and said I was unsure of how valid the translation from the German was. Well he exploded and said Wittengenstein wrote in Austrian. I realised later that under the communist regime they had actually been taught this.

 

[restorer-john]

It's funny that the Chinese poster ends up being told not to use the word

Especially as it appears they may refer to their home grown no-name brands as "Chi-Fi" in their own country.

If it comes from China, has a Chinese brand name on it, it's Chinese Hi-Fi. Simple. No one can be offended. And if they are, I just don't care.

 

[sam_adams]

oh, and speaking of Wittgenstein.

My favorite quote:

“I won’t say ‘See you tomorrow’ because that would be like predicting the future, and I’m pretty sure I can’t do that.”

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

 

[Induna]

My favorite quote:

“I won’t say ‘See you tomorrow’ because that would be like predicting the future, and I’m pretty sure I can’t do that.”

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

That's why where I live almost everyone throws in a "si Dios quiere" after any claim about the future. The more secular may use Ojalá instead. Rural philosophers all.

I have to admit that now when I hear North Americans or Europeans saying, "See you next year!" or the like it seems like they're asking for trouble .

 

[kemmler3D]

Especially as it appears they may refer to their home grown no-name brands as "Chi-Fi" in their own country.

If it comes from China, has a Chinese brand name on it, it's Chinese Hi-Fi. Simple. No one can be offended. And if they are, I just don't care.

How I see it: The problem comes in when people aren't using the term in that factual sense - hi-fi gear from China, and instead use it as a code word to dismiss the idea that Chinese people could make proper hi-fi gear. Basically your odd garden variety racist coming in under the cover of a factual descriptor and hijacking it. Not saying people here do that, but enough people have done it often enough to make the phrase more trouble than it's worth, and it doesn't befit a forum like this to accommodate that kind of low-tier uncritical thinking.

Plenty of slurs started out as factual, even scientific descriptors, like idiot, moron, and retard, but over time the misuse outweighed the proper use and they lost favor in polite conversation as factual descriptors for that reason.

I'm not trying to start any kind of argument here, my main thrust with this comment is to explain my understanding of why the rule is the way it is.

 

[EJ3]

Honestly, it's not something I have understood, but if that's the rules, that's the rules.

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”
― Ludwig Wittgenstein

My wife is Chinese, we own a residence there, our son is Chinese & lives in his own residence across the city from us there.
If, when I am there, I don't use that term when discussing HiFi from there, they consider it insulting, as I am not recognizing or abiding by their traditions. So, I go out of my way to use it to make sure that I do those things.
But, OK, we don't say it here. Strange.
But, I am here on this site and do the opposite, for the opposite reason.
And won't use it. Here.

 

[Palladium]

1. Lucky Director Cat used a microphone to control variables and test the rear stages of Topping la90d, Accuphase a75, and Fosi v3mono, finding that Topping's VU meter fluctuated significantly less than the other two amplifiers. Lucky Director Cat believed this was because Topping used a bunch of various negative feedbacks mods 负反馈元件 to boost specs, resulting in weak thrust (which is actually bullshit).

Wait, wasn't NFB = bad and transient intermodulation distortion in audio debunked by NwAvguy a more than decade ago?

 

[rank]

Shouldn't Wittgenstein's verb be plural?

ahem*

oh, and speaking of Wittgenstein.

sorry... sorry.


EDIT.
_____________________
* Hmmm... upon reflection, maybe the subject of the sentence is that whole phrase "limits of my language", which I guess could be a singular thing.

Ourk.

 

[Petrushka]

"Language is a virus from outer space"
William S. Burroughs

Limits is just a word, you know.

 

[SIY]

Wait, wasn't NFB = bad and transient intermodulation distortion in audio debunked by NwAvguy a more than decade ago?

Long before that. Cordell, more than 40 years ago. Self, ditto. Baxandall, likewise. And more recently, the definitive educational article by Bruno Putzeys.

 

[kemmler3D]

My wife is Chinese, we own a residence there, our son is Chinese & lives in his own residence across the city from us there.
If, when I am there, I don't use that term when discussing HiFi from there, they consider it insulting, as I am not recognizing or abiding by their traditions. So, I go out of my way to use it to make sure that I do those things.
But, OK, we don't say it here. Strange.
But, I am here on this site and do the opposite, for the opposite reason.
And won't use it. Here.

I could imagine a (near) future where the "slur" usage is greatly outweighed by the "badge of honor" usage, around the web. After all, they are putting out most of the best performance per dollar gear, for years now.

I've visited some Chinese audio factories, the people working in that industry are no-nonsense and know what they're doing, even if they're not pushing the hi-fi envelope. Those visits made it clear to me that if "chi-fi" had a bad reputation in the west, it was 100% because westerners (the sourcing people) were intentionally asking for garbage. It seems to me they can hit any performance target you ask for, and on a reasonable budget.

 

[Sal1950]

My wife is Chinese, we own a residence there, our son is Chinese & lives in his own residence across the city from us there.
If, when I am there, I don't use that term when discussing HiFi from there, they consider it insulting, as I am not recognizing or abiding by their traditions. So, I go out of my way to use it to make sure that I do those things.
But, OK, we don't say it here. Strange.
But, I am here on this site and do the opposite, for the opposite reason.
And won't use it. Here.

You know the current insanity of US politically correctness..
No matter what you say you get accused of offending someone somehow.
To frickin bad is my response.

 

[mhardy6647]

That's why where I live almost everyone throws in a "si Dios quiere" after any claim about the future. The more secular may use Ojalá instead. Rural philosophers all.

I have to admit that now when I hear North Americans or Europeans saying, "See you next year!" or the like it seems like they're asking for trouble .

Our daughter spent a chunk of time in Senegal when she was in college. She came back with the expression inshallah, which I took a bit of a fancy to.

As to language... communication is, of course, possible without it... but language does can come in awfully handy for communication.

 

[TonyJZX]

I use the term because it seems other places seem to use it just fine:

Melbourne Chi-fi Audio: Get Your Chi-fi Audio Products Locally

Melbourne Chi-fi Audio is committed to introduce good quality & best value Chi-fi audio products to Australia market with exceptional customer service. Why shop from overseas when you have a friendly neighborhood like us? Come & check out in store.

melbournechifiaudio.com

BUT I mean I respect this place that I wont use it here... rules of the road and all.

Also I think this on par with calling Japanese stuff JAP-FI - Americans and Australians seem to be ok with that given 1941 and Darwin all. We used to call all kinds of stuff 'JAP-crap' but hey I have a Lexus so I dunno about that.

JustJap Auto Imports

Justjap is one of Australia’s largest retailers of Japanese performance and tuning car parts with a catalogue of over 20,000 products available in store and online. Talk to our team of performance vehicle experts who can help you get the right parts to make your car run at its best.

justjap.com

We tend to normalise racism when we insult powers that a stronger than us.

Also there's this thing how we call people 'Septics' which is a bit odd to me but hey... it seems normal here.

 

[restorer-john]

Also there's this thing how we call people 'Septics' which is a bit odd to me but hey... it seems normal here.

Rhyming slang.

Septics, Seppos, Septic Tanks- Yanks.

It's a term nobody uses anymore, probably because most Australians don't even know what a septic tank is unless they are from 'out of town'.

 

[EJ3]

Our daughter spent a chunk of time in Senegal when she was in college. She came back with the expression inshallah, which I took a bit of a fancy to.

As to language... communication is, of course, possible without it... but language does can come in awfully handy for communication.


View attachment 384534

Yes, an interesting word!

 

[JSmith]

It's a term nobody uses anymore, probably because most Australians don't even know what a septic tank is unless they are from 'out of town'.

We had a septic tank, property wasn't sewered... wasn't out of town, well not as far as you mean anyway. We used to call the truck that came to empty it the stinker truck. Tank would often overflow before they arrived.


JSmith

 

[Sal1950]

As to language... communication is, of course, possible without it...

My favorite is hand/sign language, much of it is easily understood in any country in the world.

 

[somebodyelse]

My favorite is hand/sign language, much of it is easily understood in any country in the world.

And equally capable of causing unintended insult:
https://virtualspeech.com/blog/cultural-differences-in-body-language

 

[EJ3]

And equally capable of causing unintended insult:
https://virtualspeech.com/blog/cultural-differences-in-body-language

Therefore we should not try to communicate at all,
correct?
(I have been in about 1/3 of the worlds countries for about an 1/8 of my life without the benefit of looking things up on the internet & we managed to work things out, mostly by body languages [if someone sees that you are trying, they will also try to help you understand which ones not to do the way you are doing them]. I only know too languages, English & German).