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.
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.
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.
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.
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