Aiyima Visit T9 T5 A08 Pro

Click pics to enlarge. Top, the factory.

Letter from Shenzhen (22-14): Visit to Aiyima, Part I

Editor's Note 2/2/23: Readers may be interested in this newly published Video of the Making of Aiyima T9 Pro. It shows in detail how an Aiyima product is made.

Addendum 10/31/22: Aiyima A08 Pro Review published.

Revised 10/6/22: some more design process, including meters, added. Even if you have read it, you may want to re-read.

When I first came back to SZ (early 2021) my NYC friend Andy suggested I sought out some of the local manufacturers to highlight. Good idea, but then I had no impetus. As I had mentioned in my recent Aiyima T9 article, I was basically dormant until earlier this year, when I bought the T9, and it triggered my recent activities (detailed here).

The Aiyima website has a local SZ number, which I then called to ask some questions. The fellow, Ben, quickly added me to his Wechat. When I expressed my interest in the company, they quickly formed a Wechat group and the discussions took off from there.

For two months I just asked some technical questions, and they also informed me of some new projects, like the T5 which they have just rolled out. I kept track of the Stats on the blog, and it astonishes me how the T9 article has maintained its position ever since its publishing at the top (at one point I was shocked there were 600+ hits in a 7 day period). That’s not a credit to me, but it gives you an idea about the general interest in the product.

A week ago I finally felt comfortable enough to initiate a visit. It was about an hour from my home by public transportation and I was there by mid-morning. I was met by the Boss, Mr. Liu (center); Sales, Mr, Deng (right); and Engineer, Mr. Guo (left). The latter I had become familiar with on our Wechat group as he answers most of my questions. They are all much younger than I.

Now, I was quite surprised by how young this company is across the board. Where I visited was the headquarters, not the factory. The meeting room is not very large, where the 4 of us sat and drank some tea. Outside was a larger office, where there were a surprisingly large number of workers in Sales and Service (as they do worldwide), and they were moving around, not just sitting mannequin-like. See the photo for the Ping Pong and Soccer Tables! After I talked to them in the meeting room, we went for a short session in the smallish Listening Room, where testing takes place. It is also where photo shoots take place. When we entered, a photographer was doing his work but he yielded to us. It was getting close to lunch, and we didn’t spend that much time in the Listening Room (at my insistence). I didn’t need to spend that much time because what I heard was quite satisfying (see videos below) and I used my own music folders on the Chinese Netease (网易云) App streamed through Bluetooth.

I like this Company Culture! Staff is obviously relaxed. In case you don’t know, SZ is the foremost tech city in China (in terms of IT), and talents are grabbed up and well treated. Not at all the older model (like China of old and Japan), with endless overtime and almost no time off. Young people today just don’t take to that.

Now, to some of the stuff we talked about and tested.

How long has the Company been Around It shocks me that it has been around only since 2016, a very young company.

How was the Company Founded Founder Mr Liu loves music but is not at all an audiophile. He was in other businesses before as Yima, so when he decided to enter this business he just added Ai, love in Chinese, to the name. You can see that in the photos. But he obviously had found the right people to assist him.

Where is the Factory The factory (in Guangming, 光明) is operated by Mr Liu’s friend, about an hour away in SZ from the headquarter. Mr Liu forwarded a few pics of the factory, but I hope to visit it personally soon.

A Completely Different Business Model Why is the same product sold under many different names? Mr Liu’s friend’s factory OEM’s for a lot of people. Perhaps, and I’m not sure, some of them have small design changes, but...More importantly, from what I understand, these brands, Aiyima, Suca, Douk, Nobosound etc, compete as well as cooperate. Some would re-brand something without hesitation (same factory) and use their own sales base. This is pretty unthinkable in the West. Grant you, the products are similar (a testament to the very high level achieved with cheap digitals now) and, if you ask me, there is not much room for breakthrough.

How to Go Forth? Engineer Guo told me, if you design something successful, and license it to others, then you have to immediately start to design an improvement! Absolutely! One can possibly make more money with a new design (but not always), and profit margins are VERY thin. Aiyima has some new products on the horizon, and they are planning a slightly more upmarket line.

Optimizing the Sound Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of circuits know that the circuit does not define everything. Take the simplest of tube design, where the coupling capacitors (different values and brands) change the sound so significantly that one is sometimes shocked. A good sounding gear is not just a coincidence - the designer listens and tweaks constantly. It doesn't matter if it is a USD 100K Swiss amp or a USD 100 Chinese digital amp, some painstaking listening is behind the successful products. Early on, Mr Guo told me of the then evolving T5. A little later, I asked him how it was going. He said the bass was not quite to his satisfaction, so he was tuning it. Yes, these little digital things may look faceless in a crowded field, but there are human faces behind them.

That Delightful Meter Very early on I had told Mr. Guo on wechat that part of the appeal of the T9 comes from the pretty little meter - we are unrepenting suckers for surface beauty (you shall notice that both tube amps I bought have meters). This time he told me that meters, due to their analog nature, are very difficult to source now. They were mostly made by Taiwanese manufacturers, which had stopped making them. I was also told that it takes effort to calibrate the meters properly. A lot of work for non-sonic reasons! :-)

Hardship of Selling on Amazon, and logistical Nightmares Consumer protection is a good thing, but carried too far it is a very bad thing. Amazon is basically totally customer based and make harsh demands on sellers. Its 2 month return policy harms small manufacturers like Aiyima. I asked what’s the percentage of returns, and Mr Deng told me it could be as high as 10% - what makes it unpalatable is that most returns are not because of “problems” (like relay clicks) but simply “it doesn’t sound like I imagined” or “it’s not what I’m looking for”. I personally have long abhorred the US return policy. 1 week, good; 1 month, stretching it; 2 months, ridiculous. I have bought untold number of items on Amazon, but all after careful consideration and research - and I have never returned even one item. I’m proud of that, and I think that makes the planet greener. I can understand a return because of defect, but look down on casting a wide net, ordering a lot and returning a lot. These people are not thoughtful people, and the back and forth courier pollute the planet immensely. No wonder America is the world’s No. 1 Polluter, but it’s poor countries in Africa and, say, Pakistan, that suffer the direst consequences of Climate Change, despite producing negligible pollutants. Now, for a US company, returns can be sent back to the factory, and easily sold as Open Box perhaps. But small Chinese companies have no US division, so they have to improvise and find someone to accept returns. That someone would charge a re-stocking fee, and Aiyima still has not found a way to sell their returns. I suggested going the Open Box route, but that too has its logistical difficulties. And the fees that Amazon charge is increasingly difficult to bear, more than the profit margin actually.

Despite considerable difficulties, I hope all these Chinese companies soldier on. I shall no doubt re-visit and I hope to get to the factory soon. This visit to an audio company is My First, and I hope there are more to come despite my laziness.

The demonstrations below employ two Nobsound loudspeakers. The upper one with the horn loaded tweeter is the one seen on Aiyima's website. The one below is much larger and an astonishing bargain. At around USD 300, it's absurd that one gets a ribbon tweeter, and dome midrange! All listening through BT. I heard the new T5, also a prototype of the extensively re-designed "T9" (the front will sport not only the analog meter, but also an additional digital display; a new model number will be assigned; because of parts costs, there shall be a proportionally significant price increase; the original T9 will stay in production). Also, the A08 Pro, which has already temporarily sold out. I hope this blog will provide reviews of some of these items in the not so distant future.

T5 through BT. Phono not tested (will arrange later). Samara Joy.

T9. Van Morrison of course.

A08 Pro

More photos of the Factory

The Factory's Sound Room seems more completely furnished.