Chinese Audio: More than Budget Integrated Amplifiers
I gained several insights from visiting these companies and spending time with their founders and designers. First, all are audiophiles interested in making the best-sounding products possible. They are not marketing-driven companies who see audio as just another branch of electronics manufacturing. Second, we in the U.S. tend to think, erroneously, of Chinese-made equipment purely in terms of entry-level products, or those offering high value, rather than as being technically and sonically competitive with the best products the rest of the world has to offer.

At TAS we’ve reviewed many entry-level Chinese-made products, but only one top-of-the-line model, the Audio Space Reference Two preamplifier. Significantly, the Reference Two is competitive with the world’s best preamps, and won our Product of the Year Award in 2007. Could other Chinese-made products be similarly great? Needless to say, The Absolute Sound will take a closer look in the coming year at some of the upper-end products coming out of China’s top factories.

Check out the first and second installment of Robert Harley’s blog on his trip to China

Part 1: The GuangZhou Hi-Fi Show

Part 2: The World’s Number One Audiophile

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