Chinese Stereo Equipment Depresses Me

[lordhumungous]

I have to say Ive been an audiophile since my teen years when my brother and I were making speakers to blast out our bedroom for huge pool parties. Quite a few
times we played music so loud we blew out woofers in particular.

Over the years I have bought a lot of gear,mostly American and European stuff. Some the stuff ive bought are items like the Naim Uniti Atom and
Schiit Yggdrasil.

Over the last 6-8 years , i started buying a bunch of cheap stuff like the Topping PA5 ,E50 ,SMSL ,etc.

Here's where i get depressed . The much cheaper Chinese gear ,while maybe not as reliable , simply sounds better.

The Topping E50 sounds better than the Yggdrasil. It's not close either. Yikes, look at the price difference! My PA5 and LA90 sound better than the Naim Uniti Atom.,Rega amps,etc

I guess I have wasted alot of damn money.

Amir gets a huge amount of credit for accurately measuring the performance of a lot of products and putting the truth out there . He is putting out the truth
even if some don't want to hear it.

 

[Purité Audio]

Well engineered equipment will sound good, doesn’t matter where it comes from.
Keith

 

[lordhumungous]

Well engineered equipment will sound good, doesn’t matter where it comes from.
Keoth

I agree . I have 2 RME dacs that get a lot of use .

Most of the best measured stuff does seem to come out of China though.

 

[amirm]

Amir gets a huge amount of credit for accurately measuring the performance of a lot of products and putting the truth out there . He is putting out the truth
even if some don't want to hear it.

I thought you were going somewhere else with this thread. The feeling is a bit mutual by the way having replaced my multi-thousand dollar Mark Levinson DAC with Topping D90SE. I do miss the "big boy" enclosure of the ML DAC. But nothing else.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I would never have considered Topping or SMSL DACs if not for Amir's measurements. He doesn't get enough credit for that and other things he has uncovered for us. It also gives incentive for newer companies to make great measuring stuff now that there is one place where it will get it's due recognition.

 

[Timcognito]

I think having lurked and then joining this site after a few years, with the possible exception of speakers, DSP, HT reproduction and few other things, I am concluding that "HiFi" gear is becoming a commodity. As a commodity the low cost producer will reign king in its manufacture. The suprising thing is the dispite the low prices youth is not jumping into the hobby and maybe because music itself seems to moving towards a commodity with the event of the internet and streaming. The biggest suprise is the fasination with LPs and TTs by younger listeners given the ubiquity of digital music and electronic gear.

 

[unpluggged]

Most of the best measured stuff does seem to come out of China though.

That's because this is what they focus on. They release a new product almost every week and don't care to support older products. ASR made a great marketing case for such manufacturers: take some top-of-the-line well-documented components (DAC chips, USB interface controllers, amp modules, etc.) focus on achieving top measurements, implement some nice, but simple to add features (like volume control, an off-the-shelf BT module, remote control), and you are done. No need to invest as much in R&D, testing, and customer support, no need to write proprietary firmware and drivers.

We see tons of consumer audio electronics from these companies, but not a single competitive pro audio product that requires something more complex than a standard XMOS driver.

That's why I have even more appreciation during this time for smaller teams that deliver value beyond raw measurements, especially when they earn a reputation for great engineering and customer support with long product lifecycles, such as RME or Qudelix.

 

[Chester]

That's because this is what they focus on. They release a new product almost every week and don't care to support older products. ASR made a great marketing case for such manufacturers: take some top-of-the-line well-documented components (DAC chips, USB interface controllers, amp modules, etc.) focus on achieving top measurements, implement some nice, but simple to add features (like volume control, an off-the-shelf BT module, remote control), and you are done. No need to invest as much in R&D, testing, and customer support, no need to write proprietary firmware and drivers.

We see tons of consumer audio electronics from these companies, but not a single competitive pro audio product that requires something more complex than a standard XMOS driver.

That's why I have even more appreciation during this time for smaller teams that deliver value beyond raw measurements, especially when they earn a reputation for great engineering and customer support with long product lifecycles, such as RME or Qudelix.

I was trying to articulate my thoughts but you have said it better than I could.

 

[sarumbear]

I have to say Ive been an audiophile since my teen years when my brother and I were making speakers to blast out our bedroom for huge pool parties. Quite a few
times we played music so loud we blew out woofers in particular.

Over the years I have bought a lot of gear,mostly American and European stuff. Some the stuff ive bought are items like the Naim Uniti Atom and
Schiit Yggdrasil.

Over the last 6-8 years , i started buying a bunch of cheap stuff like the Topping PA5 ,E50 ,SMSL ,etc.

Here's where i get depressed . The much cheaper Chinese gear ,while maybe not as reliable , simply sounds better.

The Topping E50 sounds better than the Yggdrasil. It's not close either. Yikes, look at the price difference! My PA5 and LA90 sound better than the Naim Uniti Atom.,Rega amps,etc

I guess I have wasted alot of damn money.

Amir gets a huge amount of credit for accurately measuring the performance of a lot of products and putting the truth out there . He is putting out the truth
even if some don't want to hear it.

That is progress forced by the market economy.

 

[DMill]

China Is manufacturing SOTA across the board. Certainly we have to give them credit for that. So from me, thank you. That said I see no great innovation beyond DACs. Hypex and NCore are not Chinese. Nor is Genelec, McIntosh and many others (and I could name a lot more). I personally have no issue with Chinese manufactured/designed gear. But Im still not convinced that an all reference equals all Chinese