Guangzhou Show IV Headphones Accesories Cayin Aavik Borresen Raidho Engstrom Synaestec Tannoy JBL

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Guangzhou Hi End Show (AV Fair), Part IV (of V)

Editor: 1) As the show was big, this shall be a multi-part effort; 2) If you first come to this page, I'd urge you to first read Part I for Basic Info.

Note: Since this is going to have many parts, I have given it a new tag, Show report - Guangzhou 2023. Click to view Parts I, II and III, and V (this last one is a very personal Overview, Summary and Postscript).

Some of the equipment have featured in the Shenzhen Audio Show that I reported on. This is relevant here: Although I did not do the China Hotel segment of this GZ show and missed some big rooms, many of the brands can be found in my coverage of the SZ show (e.g., Raido, CH Precision, Analog Source, Line Magnetic, Hanowa, Eizz, Pilium, Simaudio, Scansonic, rossofiorentino, Hegel, Gold Note, Franco Serblin, Prima Luna, Audes, Audio Analogue, Quested, Mymei, Ologe, Triangle, and more).

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!

Cancan! Earphones, Amps and DAPs Galore These photos do not do justice to the HUGE amount of space allotted to headphones, headphone amps and DAPs of all kinds and makes. Unlike in HK, here you could really sit down in relative comfort and audition hundreds of them! And many young people are doing just that. Although I don't use personal audio much I still applaud the dedication. As one who has used desktop in the past (I used Audioengine. Micromega etc, among many others) I still have an interest, even if I don't now have a proper desktop. Boy, that pair of Genelec are real cute! The last pic shows the crazily over-built Cayin 300B headphone amp (using 4x obscure 22V filament half-wave rectifiers, 2 for the 6SN7s and 2 for the 300Bs) next to a stack of their own Streamer and DAC. I think the can was HiFi Man. This is the only setup I sat down and listened to briefly, because it's my friend Andy's brainchild. Sound was good but I was in hit and run mode.

German Physiks In this larger room, the pair used was actually smaller than the pair in the SZ show. Sound was less big and more controlled with the full GP electronics.

Wilson Benesch Hyperion OK, but I think WB can sound better (even if it's not my fav).

Unison Research Acoustic Signature Unison Research always delivers warm musical sound, but I'm not so sure about their own "horn" loudspeaker that looks like a glorified garbage can. German Acoustic Signature makes nice looking (and sounding) but very expensive TTs, though I tend to confuse the name with somewhat "cheaper" compatriot Acoustic Solid (also fine sounding). I heard the TT, mercifully, as I detest Accustic Arts products (CDP in this case), to me epitome of why German Fi can often be so bad. This blog chronicled an instance where my iPod and Wadia iTransport just killed an expensive AA Transport (yes, owner sold the set). Too bad the mini Olympus was not in play.

Burmester Tidal Well, Burmester is another of my pet peeves. A very pretentious company. I hate that owner, guitar musician thing. Oh ya? Artifical sound and ridiculous price. Top pic shows Burmester within its own toxic ecosystem (with artificial Siltech cables). Lower pic in another room, better sound with Tidal (and Inakustik cables) though I ain't crazy about that brand either.

KR Playback Design ATC These are on stage in the (not so) mini-theater. The KR preamp is the same one in the SZ show (last row, using 2x 45 tubes). The Kronzilla was just on display. Large ATC speakers were used. Given the environment, sound was credible.

D'Agostino Raidho Transrotor Major polluters! I just wish companies would not just carve a huge piece of aluminum for "beauty"!

Borresen Aavik The Danish Duo always in tandem (previously also when Borresen was with Raidho). Note the "cross" on top of Aavik is like a rotated monochrome Norwegian flag, no? I talked to the Aavik Norwegian fellow. We both approve of the large LED, visible from pretty far away. I took a pic of the track playing, pop stuff that I kinda like. Try it! 

Lansche Engstrom Synaestec This was a huge room. Gigantic Lansche was bi-amped with Swedish Engstrom tube monsters and German Synaestec (the 2 black cubes). Upgraded from yellow due to effort.

Cabinet Manufacturer DIY your own Vivid or whatever!

Soundtraps Not entirely sure what it was. Some kind of engineering to eliminate unwanted sound and interference. I wanted to ask questions but just could not get the chance. Many interested people!

Tannoy Esoteric Finally, after so many years of waiting for Dah Cheong to come up with some more competent sound than the misery they delivered year after year in HK shows (where they often used mediocre Chario instead), the Tannoy Canterbury was not bad at all! Important to note that they represent Esoteric now rather than Accuphase, and that made all the difference (yes, I shall take the former over the latter any day). Mind you, if you search Google, my Canterbury entries in this blog would come up as often as others. They have finally done Tannoy justice. Upgraded from green. What a surprise!

Alcons I'd have loved to seriously audition these. Many Chinese equivalents at the show.

JBL Harman Mark Levinson As usual, as in HK, they delivered atrocious sound. I've no confidence at all in current Harman controlled Mark Levinson. I know the Everest 6x000 very well, and it could sound very good. Not here. Trash electronics. The smaller room was better but affected by adjacent home cinema.

This is ending the Report on a Sour Note! Next, in Part V, a Postscript of sort, I shall give you my thoughts on state of the audio in China and the World, from my perspective. Stay on!

Shenzhen Audio Show III

Letter from Shenzhen (23-6): Shenzhen Audio Show, Part III

Roll down or click links for Part I and Part II.

Note: Coverage of the show follows no particular logic: Very good is Green; Good is Yellow; and Average is Red. Believe me, I'm very lenient! More so towards others than myself!

***

Raidho CH Precision HK distributor Roksan (no relationship with the UK brand) showcased a large Danish Raidho with Swiss CH Precision. Smooth and balanced sound that I recognize as CH. What’s better than their showing previously in HK is that Raidho blended in completely whereas before a bit of disjoint could always be detected (common problem of ribboned loudspeakers).

 

Simaudio Scansonic Also Roksan offerings. The Danish Scansonic were driven by Canadian Simaudio. While the sound was good, it was not quite as smooth as the Raidho room. A trace of grain was evident. What’s with these Danes’ obsession with ribbons? Don’t forget, there is Borrensen too (formerly with Raidho).

Showfeel 宿优 This is a bigger soundbar, and the sound was surprisingly enticing. There is a down-firing woofer, and the sound was coherent. Like the popular Tivoli, there is also a model that is a stereo pair. Much cheaper than Western rivals, like B&W and Meridian, it deserves to be better known.

rossofiorentino Hegel Gold Note HK distributor Changye showcased the striking rosso looking rossofiorentino with Hegel (which has a reputation of easily matching most gear). Sound was quite balanced and easy to like. If you look at the pic, the Gold Note CDP (or transport) shows total time, so it was not playing. Sound then had to have come from the Hegel Streamer that displays Roon (yellow paper star) as I don’t see a Hegel CDP. Not sure if GN DAC was used. At the other end of the room, on silent display were French Atoll electroniques and Finnish Penaudio loudspeakers.

German Physiks In HK this brand has a small presence, and at shows we usually see a small room and a smaller model, so I was pretty happy to have encountered this pair of much larger ones (not even close to flagship I was told). Due to the size, it was understandably placed along the long wall in this room of limited width. Driven by its own massive electronics (and Esoteric CDP) sound was quite good, but with piano recordings the bass was not the most focused. Given the short distance of listener to setup, I still rate it a good effort. As a good friend had a pair, I know the sound quite well (and quite like it), and so I chatted with the 2 salespeople, who were ultra friendly and perhaps happy to talk to people (this was not one of the more popular rooms). Of course, we talked about its omni-directional rival MBL. I told them how much I disliked the MBL electronics, and they laughed and told me an anecdote about how MBL self-destructed its tweeters at a show. Funny guys!

Xuyingge Audio 许英谔 Named after the designer, who is quite old now and a veteran of electronic designs. They make everything in this room, from Digital front ends to amps to loudspeakers. All with reasonable price tags. IMHO just too many loudspeaker models, and the finish were not very good. A larger floorstander (last row, second from right, with a black sign placed on top) was playing. Sound was not bad, good bass but a kind of grainy on top.

Jolida Neat I was surprised to see Jolida here in China. It had had a long presence in the West, well known for their budget offerings, but not much seen in HK. From 2017, it had morphed into Black Ice (pricier). In this room I was disappointed that no Black Ice (or Glass) could be found. Sound with the small Neat bookshelf was decent, but I wished I had heard the iconic IOTA on silent display.

Soundaware 享声Amphion Soundaware is from Nanjing. Outside of my radar but likely fairly well known in the west and in Singapore (where the “US” website is based). In the small room the streaming and amplification gear did a good job with the Finnish Amphion loudspeakers.

Franco Serblin Prima Luna Although Franco Serblin had long passed, his company (as well as his former one) is still going on, but the smaller products on silent display are getting even weirder in looks. Man, are we paddling or playing lacrosse here? The large floorstander driven by Prima Luna tube amps sounded good, but not exceptional. For me, there are many Chinese amps more interesting than Prima Luna, like those from Analog Sound and Line Magnetic in Part I. Mind you, Prima Luna is made in China too, 

LALS Kinki LALS is a Taiwanese company with Shenzhen base, sold in Europe too. The Taiwanese proprietor told me the factory used to make JBL drivers. They have kind of a professional, or TAD-like look, and are horn based. Some higher models have alnico magnets and silver coils. Sound with Kinki electronics and a Chinese tube amp was only so-so. I think not enough power. We heard the smaller model unfortunately. I'd like to hear these again under better circumstances. I told his wife the negative connotations of “kinky” and she was really surprised. What's in a name? Plenty!

Audes Audio Analogue Estonian loudspeakers Audes (with AMT) looked very nice. I was really surprised that Italian Audio Analogue had really gone upmarket! Long ago, I had their Puccini integrated for a little while. Not the most controlled but musical. At the time the Bellini/Donizetti separates were the next step up (not that expensive). Forward to now, the last 2 named opera composers are in Anniversary editions, with much heftier build and price tag. Sound was, as expected, on the warm side, and quite decent.

Quested Mymei 艾美 Mymei is a company that specialized in digital streaming. Through the UK Quested active monitors the sound was not bad.

Humble Offerings from Elac and Musical Fidelity. Did not stay.

Silent Display of Kreisel and Starke, unknown to me

Not Acapella, I assure you (not that it matters). Chinese loudspeakers and amps.

Didn't like the looks and sound when I peeked in, so left.

***End of Show Report***

Notes: 1) There were quite a few rooms of Chinese Cables and Power Conditioners, which I just skipped; 2) I scanned through the top floor of AV, nothing much of interest; 3) I also did not cover the many rooms that sold LPs and CDs, though I bought 3 bargain LPs @rmb 15 each, and I don't even have a TT here - it's kinda like Dr. Strangelove's arm, which hasn't completely lost its memory.

Postscript: 1) This being a show that is manageable in size and not very crowded, I actually got to sit down and appreciate some of the stuff. So, I get to report more in detail. Thumbs up; 2) average sound is definitely superior to that of the large HK AV Show in August. It's not a coincidence as HK exhibitors Roksan and Changye had better sounds here than in HK; in HK I often do not stay for more than a minute because of subpar sound; 3） There are a lot more of interesting Central and Eastern European Hifi here than in HK, but then I haven't really been in a HK show for a few years. My last coverage of the HK show was in 2015! 4) Almost no German presence here! That's just fine with me. No time wasted with MBL (electronics), Burmester, Symphonic Line, Einstein, Clearaudio, etc. More than 90% of the German Fi are not good sounding nor interesting to me. Ditto US and UK Fi. No Naim, Audio Note, Wilson, McIntosh, furnaces like VAC, VTL etc. We all need a change of scenery, but some of the brands I mentioned may perhaps show up in the large Guangzhou show in May, which I may or may not attend.