Good HiFi from South America?

[charleski]

In case anyone thinks South America only produces party music, here's something nice from Domenico Zipoli, a Jesuit priest who worked in Argentina in the early 18th century:

There's actually quite an impressive body of Baroque music from South and Central America.

 

[Matias]

The only brand I know is PRV from Brazil but that's a driver manufacturer.

In car audio there is also Bravox and Selenium as very traditional driver manufacturers. More recent brands are Bomber in drivers, and car amplifiers there is Banda, Taramps, SounDigital. Car audio market is popular but usually low price and high SPL oriented.

 

[Matias]

This is one of my favorite albums from Argentina. Very emotional tango played by a dream team of musicians with an excellent recording.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgNcpBD08Z0BD1ynyxfQTUy3FAPIqQXoY

 

[DanielT]

This is one of my favorite albums from Argentina. Very emotional tango played by a dream team of musicians with an excellent recording.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgNcpBD08Z0BD1ynyxfQTUy3FAPIqQXoY

View attachment 238797

Very good! I will make a Spotify playlist of that.

Speaking of Argentina (and Uruguay). Music, culture and its creation of Tango. I didn't know this:

"Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combination of Rioplatense Candombe celebrations, Spanish-Cuban Habanera, and Argentine Milonga.[1] The tango was frequently practiced in the brothels and bars of ports, where business owners employed bands to entertain their patrons.[2] The tango then spread to the rest of the world.[3] Many variations of this dance currently exist around the world.

On August 31, 2009, UNESCO approved a joint proposal by Argentina and Uruguay to include the tango in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.[4][5]

Tango dancers in Montevideo":

Tango - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Matias]

That explains the sensual dancing involved.

 

[DanielT]

That explains the sensual dancing involved.

That sounds perfectly reasonable.

Since there were a lot of Piazzolla in your/that playlist, here he is. Interesting if I may say so:

 

[gnat_leader]

Brazilian music but ”””HiFi I don’t know really.

a famous one from the 1960's I think >>

 

[Thomas_A]

I have only seen this thread now. As a Brazilian born and raised the first thing that comes to mind is calling all countries here South American market is hugely over simplifying. It's like calling North American market and putting Mexico, Canada and the US in the same bag, same market, same level of manufacturers. No way. Brazilian market in vastly different from Chile and from Venezuela to cite a few examples. Just like saying US market is hugely different from Mexican market.

Anyways back to Brazil and its eternal struggles. Market is very closed to imports on purpose, high custom taxes, both for individuals and companies. Designing and building Hi-Fi over here is for the brave, as there are several challenges in getting quality parts and reliable suppliers. I know a few more recent like former Exaudi, and currently Sunrise Labs and Audiopax.

There was Gradiente, back in the 80s when the market was closed and local industry was the only way. But when the markets opened in the 90s and China became the factory of the world, Gradiente went broke.

Back to today, customers are few and most are interested in the big international brands we all know. Most of the AV and Hi-Fi products come grey market from Paraguay to save taxes. And since it is still expensive, there are relatively few brands available to choose from.

When I see the availability of Hi-Fi stores, brands and overall parts and suppliers in the US it is mind blowing to us. That is why you see some Brazilians going shopping in the US and bringing stuff back here. Heavy bags in the airplane back from the US are always inspected by customs at the airport and more taxes need to be paid, so no free lunch there too.

Of course there are several other brands for live PA audio and car audio, usually with low price and high SPL, but not much into sound quality.

Other countries like Chile have a much more open market for importing, but then the small population and lack of economies of scale makes things difficult in other ways.

As with the rest of the world, Chi-Fi IEMs and electronics from AliExpress are getting more and more popular here, since they are small and light and usually can be imported without paying taxes.

You see, when regular international post packages get taxed by 60% (sixty, not a typo), and courrier packages (FedEx, UPS, DHL) get taxed even higher at 95% (ninety five!), avoiding taxes is crucial. No Laffer curve for taxes here...

Well you have the software. I was recently at s concert in Uppsala Sweden listening to Joao Bosco.

 

[gnat_leader]

No, there were otheres in the 80ies.
Far L-65 for example was a JBL clone:

So, what can we determine from this about the culture of brazilians and history?
If there was a market for these speakers in the 80's but not now, why is that?
You said the culture favors live music outside the home.
Does this mean that the culture changed a lot since the 80's?

 

[gnat_leader]

There are still brands for people buying their regular stereos or Bluetooth speakers and such, but these are either big international names or local brands with OEM manufacturers from China.

Designing and building Hi-Fi is almost non existing.

Re: Brazil audio...
Yeah certain well known international brands, like JBL for example have a big presence in many small electronics retail stores selling headphones and mini-portable bluetooth speakers. I've always wondered how many of them are real JBL products or chi-fi clones. In any case their prices are higher than other less/unknown brands.
I think JBL also benefits from exposure via their Pro equipment - which as said is a big market in Brazil.

 

[fredoamigo]

So, what can we determine from this about the culture of brazilians and history?
If there was a market for these speakers in the 80's but not now, why is that?
You said the culture favors live music outside the home.
Does this mean that the culture changed a lot since the 80's?

In the 80's and 90's in the cd stores it was very difficult to find international rock/pop/jazz/classical music and then what did you find ? well there were mainly tons of MPB (Brazilian popular music) and the recordings (sound recording/mixing/mastering) are all Brazilian with for the most part a very good quality or at least equivalent to North America and Europe. https://mundodemusicas.com/estudios-de-gravacao/
Music in this country is an integral part of the culture and has a very important place. It is the country where I saw the most concerts, a lot of Brazilians know how to play an instrument in any case much more than in Europe and I was always very impressed by the vitality, diversity, creativity of the Brazilian music market and the recording studios are numerous.
It is then very surprising that the market of the sales of quality devices for the listening of the music is so little developed there for a country of 200 million people ...it is really a paradox.

 

[Bjorn]

So guys, how can I smuggle in some quality CBT speakers and large constant directivity horn speakers to the market in Brazil? Grins

 

[Matias]

So guys, how can I smuggle in some quality CBT speakers and large constant directivity horn speakers to the market in Brazil? Grins

Probably through the couple of Paraguay dealers.

 

[pseudoid]

So guys, how can I smuggle in some quality CBT speakers and large constant directivity horn speakers to the market in Brazil? Grins

Start an LLC to become a "salvage" importer of used audio gear, or get a small-business loan from the government by becoming an audio products assembler/builder.

TL&DR: Forget illegal crap and go legit!

 

[dasdoing]

here in Brazil you manly consume culture outside of your home. in my city for example there are dozens of live music options every single day

today in my street. sorry for very crappy videos, but you get the idea

 

[pseudoid]

today in my street. sorry for very crappy videos, but you get the idea

But most people (at least, in my life here in the USA) listen to music at HOME, when they are not in their cars or at work:
Second Time::Same Question:
How do Brazilians consume music at home, while not being able to afford "proper" gear?

Yes, I wish, we had live music every night down the street but I make do by keeping music ON, most all day and all around the house.

The lyrics of "Roller Skates" speak for me when they say "Life, life without music, I can't go on."

It's the international language, after all!

 

[dasdoing]

How do Brazilians consume music at home, while not being able to afford "proper" gear?

majority will use the crapy mono speaker of their phone lol.
or cheap chinese bluetooth speakers.
In living rooms people will use the smart TV speakers.
headphones I only see in gyms.

like in most other places, most don't really care about hifi. I put my old KRK monitors in the living room which the mother of my daughter uses most of the time. She just uses the crapy speakers of the TV. I also have a nice Anker Soundcor Motion+ bluetooth speaker which I messuered and EQed even which she could use in the kitchen. she will just use her phone instead lol

 

[DanielT]

majority will use the crapy mono speaker of their phone lol.
or cheap chinese bluetooth speakers.
In living rooms people will use the smart TV speakers.
headphones I only see in gyms.

like in most other places, most don't really care about hifi. I put my old KRK monitors in the living room which the mother of my daughter uses most of the time. She just uses the crapy speakers of the TV. I also have a nice Anker Soundcor Motion+ bluetooth speaker which I messuered and EQed even which she could use in the kitchen. she will just use her phone instead lol

Not unique to Brazil (or Brasil?). Roughly the same trend in Sweden, probably also in most places on earth. I can guess that.

The trend in many countries now when it comes to sound is this retro craze for record players. Not only those who were around at the time record players were the number one medium, but also young people seem to be interested in record players.

Other trends, I don't know how much you can generalize them to South America, is home cinema. In any case, it was very much a big trend, interest in home cinema a while ago. I don't know if that trend is strong yet because I'm not into home cinema/theater stuff.

IKEA has of course capitalized on the development, the trends that now exist. .For example these speakers , which by the way seem really good, considering its price. Wireless Sonus speakers to hang on the wall. To fit aesthetically in a "modern" home where perhaps HiFi and large speakers are not a priority:

Ikea SYMFONISK Picture Frame Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Ikea SYMFONISK picture frame speaker designed by Sonos. I purchased it a couple of days ago from Ikea store for US $199. Their website said they had 42 in stock so they are planning to sell a lot of them. That said, there was not a single...

audiosciencereview.com

And this record player. Ugly as beating if you ask me but the taste is divided:

IKEA OBEGRÄNSAD/UNLIMITED record player

Look out, here's IKEA's next record player, the previous was from 1973. https://about.ikea.com/en/behind-scenes/products-design/2022/06/09/how-the-record-player-by-ikea-and-swedish-house-mafia-came-to-be

audiosciencereview.com

Aesthetically, the record player looks, there are many more that look much better. Most of them in this thread do so:

Nice turntables. Attached picture is an absolute requirement.

Post a picture of a vinyl lathe that you think looks good.:D Performance information, optional. I am most interested in some nice pictures. How vinyl sounds is of secondary importance. For me anyway.:) Feel free to tell us about your youth's vinyl player. Take a trip down memory lane...

audiosciencereview.com

Turntable Market Share, Trend | Turntable Industry Statistics by 2028

The global turntable market size reached USD 361.6 Million in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 508.3 Million in 2028 registering a CAGR of 4.4%. Turntables industry report classifies global market by share, trend, growth and on the basis of type, cartridges, application, and region.

www.emergenresearch.com

Portable Bluetooth Speakers Market Share, Industry Analysis, Growth, Challenges & Forecast 2029

Portable Bluetooth Speakers Market to grow at a CAGR of 12.4% by forecast 2029. It is analyzed by charging technology, usage type, price range, application and sales channel.

www.databridgemarketresearch.com

 

[Matias]

Brazil (or Brasil?)

In English Brazil, in Portuguese Brasil.

A curiosity that even few Brazilians know. One of the theories of the origin of the name is that when the Portuguese arrived in 1500 they found a tree with a very distinct red wood, and brought back to their homeland. The red was like ember, or "brasa" in Portuguese, and they called the tree Pau Brasil ("ember's wood"). Later the country was called variations of Brasil too. It's like our country is on fire! (but this can have a bad interpretation of the fires in the rain forest areas too...)

 

[gnat_leader]

Btw, for anyone who likes brazilian bossa-nova/jazz style music like the above Getz-Gilberto Girl From Impanema,
you will probably like Marcio Faraco. He is my favorite Brazilian musician/music.