Guangzhou Hi End Show 2023 Part I Showfeel Soundaware Yaqin Tecsun Boyuurange Oceanway Raphaelite

Click all Pics to Enlarge. Top, close-up of the Yaqin amp using gigantic GM transmitting tube. More later.

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

Editor: 1) As the show was big, this shall be a multi-part effort; 2) first, I shall write about paraphernalia: some history, how I got there, admission, lunch etc. I want to give you a gist of the atmosphere. Those who just want to go to the gear, just scroll down to where the pictures start to show.

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

Update 4/5/23: Showfeel entry modified and much better photo substituted. They deserve it.

A little more than a month ago, I covered the Shenzhen Audio Show. I mentioned that in terms of audio presence SZ is nothing compared to nearby Guangzhou, one of the power centers of audio in China (the others are Shanghai and Beijing, all cities with stronger cultural heritage.) Guangzhou in particular is the tube capital. Likely over 90% of the Chinese tube stuff (not to mention digital amp and bluetooth stuff ) sold in the world come from its satellite cities.

And so, just one month later, it was the turn of Guangzhou (and, in between, there were other shows, like in Xi’an, and this GZ show will be followed by Chengdu - the exhibitors have had a rough run; I spoke to some, and they were fatigued)! This is, unbelievably, its 28th year (not sure if the 2 year pause due to Covid is counted)! It’s always been the largest show in China, indeed one of the largest anywhere (not counting the mammoth Munich), larger than the one in Hong Kong. Given that China abandoned the Zero Covid policy only in December, that Guangzhou (and the whole of China) was in the midst of a huge Covid storm for weeks after that, and given that flights have not yet completely returned to normal (even domestic; but China has a highly viable alternative, the vast network of high speed trains), it’s astonishing to learn that size this year was bigger than the last show. The organizational power is astonishing, or maybe not given that that several government bodies are behind the efforts!

I’ve been to this show once before, on a trip with some HK audiophiles. That was LONG ago, before the inception of this blog (first post 2008), so more than 15 years ago. It was then at the oldest “high class” hotel, the “White Swan” 白天鹅. I remember that it was a big show and very crowded, but in hindsight the current one is much bigger still. The Swan hotel was already around on my second trip to China in 1986. It’s frightening how time flies!

This time, it’s at the “Eastern Hotel” 东方宾馆 mostly, but some of it was at the adjacent “China Hotel” 中国大酒店. The latter hosted some of the larger exhibits but, since I had heard most of them at SZ and HK, due to lack of time, I sacrificed that segment to accommodate my focus on more affordable stuff.

One reason I didn’t have enough time was that I was dependent on my hosts. We had a leisurely hot pot lunch (anchored on Mongolian lamb) at the shopping center across the street, which was jam packed with people. They had wanted to eat at the famous 点都德, but wait time was an unacceptable hour and a half. The lunch was too long and it cut into show time. When the show wound down at 6 pm, they headed back to SZ, but in far away Guangming 光明, where we had a delicious dinner. It took me more than an hour and a half to get home by MTR (2 transfers). I think I was on the penultimate train to my stop. I rarely went out to someplace so far, so late. The trains were packed with people, mostly young, and I stood almost all the way.

The ticket was 70 RMB (about 10 USD), affordable, and similarly priced to the HK Show. With the ticket, you get a CD. This time, with a twist. In HK shows, we get LPCDs or SACDs. This time we get an MQA encoded CD! Baffling to me, as MQA is definitely on the decline in the West (if not already dead), but here it’s just picking up! There’s also VIP ticket (300 RMB), which gives you an LP (China now has modern LP plants with equipment imported from Germany).

I got a ride to GZ, 2+ hour from SZ. I left home at 6:30 am to travel by MTR to meet up with my hosts by 8:00 am. We were at GZ around 10:30. Parking was scarce and hard to find. The show was packed but not as bad as HK. The one problem was the floor plans and the limitations of the old hotel. While there were exhibits on the ground (1st) floor, the rest were at 5-8 floors, which were accessible only by elevators or stairs. Huge lines at the elevators, so many of us opted to just climb the stairs. This is not a hollowed and domed convention center (like the HK one in Wanchai), where banks of escalators will take you to every floor. And the old hotel is like a puzzle, with wings joined by narrow corridors (likely constructed and expanded one after another). I know I didn’t do the adjacent China Hotel segment, but I’m not even entirely sure whether I have missed some nooks and crannies inside the Eastern.

Lorenzo and escort on silent display

I was literally shocked by the large number of lady models employed by the show. They were everywhere, dozens of them. As soon as you stepped inside (just beyond security clearance) you were greeted by a couple of stunningly tall and beautiful ladies by the side of the Raffle Box. As you moved on, there were many others, some just too voluptuous and in revealing dresses to be embarrassing. Well, China is not so far removed from ancient Rome! My friend Andy (represents Cayin) told me the Taiwan show has even more scantily clad girls. Audio is not about cleavage and legs!

As in SZ, 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. I enjoyed the show. The downside is, this being China, individual members of the audience can be a little rough when rubbing shoulders; I was even stepped on by a young lady who rushed to take a pic!

As I mentioned in my SZ report, one thing you need to know when reading this report: CD is VERY MUCH ALIVE in China. As many exhibitors use CDPs as files or streamers. Analog too is everywhere of course.

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!

In no particular order, kinda retracing my footsteps.

Jungson 钟神 is a very old brand, already established when we visited more than 15 years ago. They used to make weird looking loudspeakers if I remember correctly. Now? This one looks like a YG imitation, but finish (and price) is not even in the same league. They make a full line of electronics now.

Avid Increcable So UK Avid has branched into loudspeakers! I think I have come across Increcable in HK shows before - personally I think it's a Chinese company with registration in the US. No interest.

Soundaware Amphion Soundaware is a Chinese Digital company that has Singapore representation (and hence good English web presence). The same loudspeaker was used in SZ but in GZ the bass module was added - making all the difference, Simple and very good.

龙籁 Wood horn loudspeakers! Note the bottom of the rack houses a pair of the fabled vintage Leak TL 12.1, with Preamps still attached! At the corners a pair of Tannoy's.

Showfeel 宿优  I originally had an out-focused pic, now replaced by a much better one, thanks to my friend Andy! This is a larger room and the sound was even better than in SZ. The owner (Mr. Zhou) demo'ed for me the difference between using one and two, and of course the more the merrier. Nice, room filling sound, enough to satisfy most younger people. The down-firing woofer is very effective. If you look carefully, maybe you can see there are actually two models. The one more expensive (by RMB 1k) has 2.5" tweeters (leftmost) instead of 2" (second from left), yielding even better sound. Yes, every inch counts.

Tecsun 德生 is a world famous radio maker. Now they have a full range of small sized electronics, here driving their newest SP-60A (6.5" woofer) standmount. Yes, they still make their 3/5A clone named SP-80A. The boss is caught in a rare moment without his trade mark cap. He was saying he made the larger SP-60A because, much as he likes the 3/5A, he just wanted a lower reach. I don't blame him.

Audiovector Allnic Totaldac Compared to SZ, everything is bigger, starting from the room. And so the sound also improved.

Boyuurange was showing their 300B amp through the larger loudspeaker with wood horn (the latter <5k RMB; not sure if it's their own make). CD was playing but I noticed a Studer digital product there. Jusging by the size of the mouth, it should be a DAT.

Oceanway JCF These are Pro Audio stuff. Note second from top was a real FM Acoustics Preamp (not a clone that is ubiquitous in China).

Yaqin Sonus faber Oh man, given the current popularity of transmitting tubes (805, 211, 845, onto 212 KR etc) I was still stunned to see this just-out HUMONGOUS tube (GM something). Sound on this occasion was really just yellow, but I upgraded it for the Herculean effort: drivers use 300B, 2A3 and 101D 大包抄！B+ I think is 1800V. The man said 2800 V would be better. No thanks, man!

On silent display is the smaller sibling, using 7092 tube (I looked it up, max plate 7kV!) .

Raphaelite This veteran maker was using a 2-chassis preamp (center). TT was a vintage Japanese (phonoamp below). Amps used were the KT-170 monoblock (quite a few makers use this tube). Classic ATC and Harbth loudspeakers.

北峯 Goldmund Amp maker used the totally over-rated Goldmund Prologos loudspeakers. Underwhelming.

Forgot Name Small trying to show Big. OK la, better than the Goldmund above.

Eaglewood Promoter 沉香 What has it got to do with Fi? Gimmick!

Room Treatment So we were listening to Naim Focal. Don't know whether the treatments are useful. Rated for sound.

新时 Xinshi This room is much smaller than in SZ, and the sound was only yellow, upgraded based on SZ experience.

All Chinese AV stuff. Didn't really listen.

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.