Shenzhen Audio Show I

Click Pics to enlarge. Top, Analog Sound, Foshan division of Line Magnetic. Text below.

Letter from Shenzhen (23-4): SIAV Audio Show, Part I

Part II and Part III have been published. Roll up or click link.

In terms of audio, Shenzhen is in an awkward position. Being one of the world’s tech cities, SZ has long been an IT and manufacturing base (and heavily influenced by HK; but due to cost constraints, manufacturing bases have moved inland, and north, steadily). But, as an echt immigrant city and erstwhile sleepy town, SZ has lacked cultural identity, though the local government has done a lot to promote it in this aspect over the years. But there is no denying that the power centers in audio in China remain in nearby Guangzhou and faraway Shanghai and Beijing, all cities with stronger cultural heritage. The density of audiophiles in SZ is far behind Guangzhou and HK.

I reckon this is one of the few SZ audio shows, and the first organized by the Shanghai group SIAV. It is an ambitious organization that hosts shows in several cities, one after another - Shenzhen is just one stop. The hotel is a a large one, but not the largest. There were 3 floors of audio stuff, and one floor of dismissible AV stuff, which I did not cover.

It is free. And imho (in a way) better than the HK shows I’ve previously attended, for the simple reason that there were not so many attendees, and I could wallow in the sound if I like. I have previously reported on annual HK shows, and they were basically hit and run. So crowded, and I hate that! HK shows charge you a small admission, but you get a CD/SACD in return. Confession: since shows are imho great for exposure but not so good for us demanding audiophiles in terms of sound, I’m not a devotee. So, I have never attended a US show (very expensive too, unless you are VIP)! One reason is that, after I have been in HK and elsewhere, the US offerings seem rather limited and, sorry to say, mostly not interesting (MAGA notwithstanding).

Chinese readers can scan the UR code at the lower left of the poster for more info. For those who can read Chinese, here are Part I and Part II of the Report of Chinese Magazine New Audiophile. They have a lot more pics than I do, so perhaps you may just want to browse the pics even if you can't read it. So why read my report? Well, I'm critical, and they are not - that's elementary, my dear Watson!

A lot of audio companies are from nearby Guangzhou. And several HK distributors are there, as they handle China too. I was impressed by the average level of the sound, better than in HK (can the power be cleaner?) I was impressed too by the professionalism (and eagerness) of the sales forces. As there were not many people (by show standards) I could discuss certain aspects of the sound (or trade) with ease, and have them honor specific requests, be it a choice cut or moving to another loudspeaker. Good! I enjoyed the show. I went around noon on Friday, not many people. The next day I went back to meet my friend Humphrey from HK (he was featured in Virtual Home Visits before).

One thing you need to know when reading this report: CD is VERY MUCH ALIVE in China. Most exhibitors use CDPs, not files nor streamers (though some are present). Analog too is everywhere of course. There are almost ten rooms selling second-hand LPs and CDs (a high proportion for this relatively small show)! And they are priced quite high because of import difficulties.

Coverage of the show follows no particular logic. As before, I’m going to grade the sound. Best is simply Bold Black, in a category by themselves. Others are shaded: Very good is Green; Good is Yellow; and Average is Red. Believe me, I'm very lenient! More so towards others than myself!

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Analog Source 安歌 (Line Magnetic Foshan Division) See Top Pic. This is going to be confusing for many people. Most have heard of LM. For whatever reason, Line Magnetic has split into two, The Zhuhai Division (covered below) is what most of you think of as LM. On the other hand, now named Analog Source, products of the Foshan Division look very different, as you can see from the top pic. Vintage Hammertone looks, almost military, and quasi-Western Electric. Products are a bit more daring, and priced a little higher. On both days I heard the system and it was great. The 2A3 Preamp (top of rack) has many tubes. The CDP (bottom of rack) is also tubed. The 212 amp is the black one (2x power, for about 25 watts; 2x for full-wave rectification.) Yes, we only heard the Chinese 212, as the WE D or E versions are just astronomically priced, much pricier than the amp itself. On Saturday, when I went again to meet Humphrey and friends, we listened for quite a while! The sound was really very good, smooth and analog, with tube sheen. IMHO, much credit must be granted to the Ensemble Reference, one of the greatest "bookshelves" of all time! Ah Fung (Choice, HK) was the host, and we were treated to single-plated RCA 2A3; sure, the sound improved further. Incidentally, in this blog you have met one of this company's previous amps before (here). For top to bottom coherence, on the whole, this room had the best sound of the show. 

Line Magnetic 丽磁 (Zhuhai Division) Above Pic This is what most of the readers will know as LM and it has retained the logo. It still has the aluminum dominated looks. It still makes many amps with various tubes. Readers know the 845 amps that HR and others reviewed in Stereophile. But my heart belongs to the first LM amp that I have heard, the mammoth (and spine-breaking) LM-219IA, which has a new PLUS edition. The tube complement: 12AX7, 310A, 300B driving 845. But what I heard was the Cary-like 805 amp. Sound was quite good with Eggleston (not among my favorites).  But it lacks the magic that its Foshan sibling is producing with the great Ensemble reference.

Somehow, I forgot to take a photo of the Hanowa. Above is from New Audiophile/

Hanowa Eizz 艺致 The expensive German Hanowa Mercury 4-piece System (said to be dipole) comprise AMT and Ribbon arrays on Panels and separate double 12” woofer modules (in the back). As with most of this kind of thing, the bass just seemed a bit discordant, though the highs and mid’s were quite smooth and listenable as driven by Greek Pilium electronics. More interesting was the SZ local Eizz Analog rig. The designer was there, and I spoke with him. Definitely a dedicated guy, he was a likeable fellow and totally unassuming (not a given designer trait). This TT, with its Pneumatic equipped stands, sells for the princely sum of RMB 190k, and the double chassis (with meters) phonoamp, which employs 6x ECC802S, sells for RMB 250K. The Gary Karr album playing was not the best, but then I don’t like Karr (I don’t even think they were the best recorded)! No musicality. Then, I went through the pile and asked to play the Jennifer Warnes Blue Raincoat and it was very good! The phonoamp was silent as a lamb. I consider it a good job! It’s too bad I didn’t even notice the hot Moon II supertweeter was on silent display!

Pocket King 薄小强 This is an amazing product. My 淫媒 source icefox had long alerted me of it. Indeed, it was eye- (or ear-) opening. The sales asked me first to experience it as “earphone”. So, I sat down on the comfortable chair and was, no kidding, mesmerized by the sound-field created by the pair that flanked me - No shit, on top of, and right behind, my head there were so much info it was thoroughly entrancing. Who needs open back earphones? Of course, I ain’t no headphone fan, but it merits a place if you consider open back (or closed, for that matter), in terms of ultimate comfort. What's more comfortable than not having to wear anything on your head? Then, they were shifted to in front of me, and sound was good too. I’d like to test it out more, if I can. Simply put, this is much better than wearing cans!

XinShi 新时 From Guangzhou, sifu Xin 辛 is now the premier WE replica artisan of China. He has long employed WE-derived transformer metal cores to re-wind trannies. His products are much hyped by a HK magazine. Models include the 106, 141 and 129 Preamps, the 86, 91, 124, 212 amps as well as many others (including Leak 12.1). At the show, a Studer A730 was employed. Loudspeaker was mostly the "WE 22", using vintage drivers. In front are his "WE LS3/5A" using "WE" replica trannies. I heard only the horns and they were very good, but not perfect. Also, it was better to sit at the right, where the sound was more balanced than at the left, near the door. I asked Sifu Xin whether he prefers 300B in SE or PP mode, and he says the PP, which I agree with (in my auditions, 86 is better than 91). Notice the passive "597" horn tweeters on top of the horn loudspeaker cabinets. Sifu Xin and his wife demonstrated for me - they were well choreographed, removing them instantly dulled the sound a little. I have known about this gadget from my friends, and I capitulated and got a pair. Report to follow.

Totaldac So far, despite my friend having the 4-block version, I’ve totally failed in my effort to appreciate Totaldac (Yes, TotalFail). For R2R I’d rather have old Philips TDA chips. Sound with Nuprime transport and Audiovector loudspeaker was just average. I was surprised that the amp used was Korean heavyweight Allnic (T-1800 Mk II, EL34x4). Looks like a Chinese amp. Colorless. 

Liangge 靓歌 Not good, even bad, with audible distortion, driving the ATC100.