Bytor123
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2013
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Isn't nearly all 'fi', 'chi'?
Probably depends on the price range you are looking at. Most lower cost audio gear is made in China as it is not feasible to produce it in other countries because of labor costs. I think Schiit may be the only audio company I know that pierced that veil with their $99 units. Once gear starts getting more expensive, you'll find it's produced all over the world, because people enthusiastic about their product like to have control over the manufacturing process. This can be difficult especially for smaller companies that try and have gear made in China.Isn't nearly all 'fi', 'chi'?
First of all, there are two kinds of audiophiles:It seems to me that more and more people do not care if a guitar sound as close to the real life as possible, more and more people seem to only care about measurements and graphs from computers on paper because, when a computer says it sounds better, it does have to, or not?
Yamaha headphones are fairly good IMO, especially in the lower to mid price range. But I am not that impressed with Sony these days.I haven't heard a well tuned Japanese iem/headphone. However, Chifi has lots of different offerings that some are good tuning and gives much much much better values than Japanese products.
Z1R is just a good example of Sony has no idea how to tune. And they overcharge your for avg sound.
I really don't own Japanese iem/headphone/amps, etc.. because there is no reference Japanese sound. I do have several Chinese products including Hifiman, Moondrop, etc.. ect.. and I only use SEnnheiser headphones. Never their iems.
Japanese headphones audio is like their movies. They kinda suck. I wish there was a Japanese Elden Ring of audio products. You know, some people that can design audio like FromSoftware can for video games?
Here's just some of the U.S. audio manufacturers: https://americanmadeaudio.com/the-list/
This is the "Assembled in USA" list. Only some of Klipsch's items are assembled in the U.S. So it's inclusion on the list requires that caveat. If you were bored you could probably go through them one by one and make that definitive list as most manufacturers proudly list it on their website. I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in a list of audio gear that was definitively Made in U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Australia, U.K., etc.I'd like to see a definitive list of made-in-America but that site is not it. For example, they list Klipsch. I have a pair of Klipsch speakers and they're made in China. Many of these companies listed design things domestically and have some or most of the products made offshore.
So, in other words, people were paying thousands for bulk cable made in China? lol...nice..This is the "Assembled in USA" list. Only some of Klipsch's items are assembled in the U.S. So it's inclusion on the list requires that caveat. If you were bored you could probably go through them one by one and make that definitive list as most manufacturers proudly list it on their website. I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in a list of audio gear that was definitively Made in U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Australia, U.K., etc.
Another boring activity is reading about what legally constitutes Made in USA: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/12/made-in-the-usa.asp ...most businesses choose to say Assembled in USA as they are getting some parts from overseas and assembling the product in the U.S. They take it pretty seriously over here: Police Raid TARA Labs.
There are extremely more offensive things happening on a daily basis, but this is a politics-free forumSo, in other words, people were paying thousands for bulk cable made in China? lol...nice..
Why do people wear make up? Is it because they hate the natural way they look? The MDR-Z1R is the worst headphone I have ever heard over $1000. You couldn't pay me to take it. And, I am a former jazz musician. There are many ways for art to be pleasant. A very very small percentage of art is a direct copy of real life. There is even a form of art that is nothing like real life and it's fascinating because it reminds us of something real or evokes emotions. You like and work with reference sound. Good for you. Like art, people enjoy their music in different ways.Would you buy a painting based on the material of the canvas, the paint and the brushes used? Do you even care what materials the artists use? Normally you buy a painting based on the final result and not by the materials used in the process.
Strange comparison, but that is how, at least my feeling, most people in this forum buy their gear.
It seems to me that more and more people do not care if a guitar sound as close to the real life as possible, more and more people seem to only care about measurements and graphs from computers on paper because, when a computer says it sounds better, it does have to, or not?
And thats the thing. The computer can say if one canvas is better than the other, if one paint is better than the other, but a computer can not judge if the art looks better. Also a computer can not judge, if listening to a recording of a solo guitar sounds like the guitar in real life.
I play instruments and i talk to lots of musicians and also record, mix and master music and i have the feeling that musicians buy different gear than most audiophiles because they don't care about measurements on paper but on the capability of reproducing an real life sound. Because they know how music sounds life.
Some headphones (just one example: MDR-Z1R) received some very bad critique for their weird tuning. But i don't understand that critique because the MDR-Z1R makes instruments sound almost exactly like they sound in real life. Just an example, the MDR-Z1R is not the only headphone and/or in-ear that can do that.
But is that not what you want? Do you not want that the guitar sounds as close to the real sound as possible? I don’t understand the majority of the people here. Why are there people who actually prefer the limited and stripped down monitoring version of the guitar? Do you dislike the sound of instruments?
Quite a few people complain that its too bassy and not neutral enough, but guitars, double bass, pianos and so on don't produce an flat, neutral and analytic sound. They are all made of wood and mostly sound warm and bassy. That is how instruments sound.
Why do people listen to a guitar and then complain, that their headphone makes the guitar sound life and real. If you don’t like the sound of guitars, why listen to them?
But i haven't heard a single piece of Chi-Fi that was able to make instruments sound real and I think that is not an coincidence because people like Chi-Fi because its cheap and Chi-Fi sounds flat/neutral/analytic (mostly) because its easy and cheap to tune an IEM like that. You just need a measurement rig and off-the-shelve components and there goes your 600$ flagship Chi-Fi IEM.
Because I am also a very technical person (which is why I work in IT) I also sometimes fell for this and buy after looking at a graph or due to technical specs of a product. And I always fall on my nose doing so.
I suspect that a fair number of those on the list do final assembly (or cable termination) in the US, but many of the parts are made in China, especially speaker cabinets and cables (un-terminated raw cable). That might also include some speaker drivers in certain cases.I'd like to see a definitive list of made-in-America but that site is not it. For example, they list Klipsch. I have a pair of Klipsch speakers and they're made in China. Many of these companies listed design things domestically and have some or most of the products made offshore.
I suspect that a fair number of those on the list do final assembly (or cable termination) in the US, but many of the parts are made in China, especially speaker cabinets and cables (un-terminated raw cable). That might also include some speaker drivers in certain cases.
Wow that's limiting.First of all, there are two kinds of audiophiles:
- Those who primarily look at measurements/graphs.
- Those who claim to hear meaningful differences between two well-made cables (speaker level, line level, and even power cords).