Hi-fi headphones are popular among foreign audiophiles in China, foreign media reported. Although these Chinese headphone brands are little-known, due to their complete supply chain, they can also adopt accessories from well-known manufacturers and create products with good sound quality and cheap sound quality without all kinds of marketing expenses.
The following is the translation
When buying new headphones, most foreigners are likely to go to amazon.com or an apple retail store to screen. However, a small number of people appear at headfi, the world's largest hi-fi headset, to make insightful comments about balancing armature (moving iron) and moving coil drive units, testing their equipment and making frequency charts.
But as fans of the aficionado culture, they are increasingly paying attention to a variety of lesser-known Chinese headphones, which often cost less than 175 yuan, or about the same as a pizza. These people buy the headphones through aliexpress, then write detailed research and performance reviews on blogs and YouTube, and debate endlessly about the pros and cons.
Little known price，Quality can be guaranteed?
On the Internet, the phenomenon is known as "chi-fi" -- a mash-up of "Chinese" and "high-fidelity" -- and is often used to refer to portable audio devices, virtually all of which are headphones, including airpod-like and in-ear listening headphones (IEM). These devices are mostly made by little-known Chinese companies. When you search on amazon, you tend to find a lot of Chinese brands you've never heard of, but this could be a turning point in your entry into this strange "shadow market".
The names of these companies are simple and sometimes confusing, but headphones are incredibly cheap. As a rational consumer, many people may think that the earphones for 40 or 50 yuan can't be too good. But in fact, China may offer the best hi-fi headphones. What if the brand is unknown and the price is ridiculously low, but the quality and function of the product are surprisingly good?
YouTubeNet redLachlan Tsang say：“I heard it for the first time.Chi-Fi It was two or three years ago，a bit of a buzzword。”Lachlan TsangWorking at a high-end audio store in Sydney, Australia。
Focus on the Chinese audio products website with friendsAccessible AudioChinese Hong Kong peopleAlfred LeeExpress：“About2010年，These headphones only appear on Taobao.，Now it’s everywhere。”
“Chi-Fi”在2015First appeared at the end of the yearReddit上，But this concept has existed for a few years before that.。These brands have a lot of weird names.，such asTIN Audio、Yinyoo and Revonext，Some are made up of letters，Such asKZ、BQEYZ和QDC etc。Prices vary，But the place that most people are fascinated is concentrated on very cheap products.。Their manufacturing quality is uneven，Limited accessories，After-sales service basically does not exist。
Most brand-name audio companies actually manufacture products in China.，Because of the advantage in price。equipment、The concentration of expertise and raw materials has created manyDIYHotspots for electronics manufacturing，The most famous is Shenzhen，Where you can buy a plastic earphone casing、wire、Drive and all the parts needed to make a headset。
Shenzhen and other similar Chinese cities are the perfect birthplace of these unnamed companies.。The origin story of each brand is a little different。Some companies started as original equipment manufacturers，That means they are actuallyBeatsBrand OEM products。Audio Engineering Consultant Mike·Krasko(Mike Klasco)Express：“Some of these manufacturers were originally trading companies ，Some provide engineering support for other brands.。”
Due to related components，Such as wires、shell、Driver and chip prices are relatively cheap，Therefore, the quality of the finished headphones is difficult to guarantee.。For headphones，The quality of the components is directly related to the quality of the overall product。The price of the diaphragm of the microspeaker in the earphone may be as low as0.3yuan，Diamond-coated diaphragms are expensive28元。If you have top drivers and chips，Your product will sound very good，Even if the build quality is a bit poor。
Low barrier to entry，A bottle of glue is enough for a van
People's interest in audio equipment，Different levels of concern with other electronic products in Shenzhen。No one will spend a few days picking the best portable battery charger for their car.、USBWire or smartphone stand。These are components with very clear functional boundaries.：They either work，Either not working。Audio is different。There is a wider range between good and bad，Have fashion and design concerns，Different use cases，Different brand combinations。And because most customers don’t have the time or money to test each brand，So most of us end up relying on well-known brands.。
of course，Premium brands also mean higher prices。Krasko said：“Best Buy may improve50%Price。”For brand-name audio companies，Cost comes from extensive testing、design、marketing、Employee expenses、package、Transportation and multiple apportions from manufacturers to wholesalers to retailers。
But Chinese brands eliminate all these costs.，Only those who are the biggest、The most ambitious company will be bothered to build a website，Most companies have simple supplier pages on AliExpress.。Some of these companies are from Sennheiser andBeatsThe supplier buys the drive there。
These same drives，Or at least a very similar drive，Also available atUltimate ears IEMFound in，Its price is hundreds or even thousands of dollars。The factories that make the drives don’t care who they are sold to.，They maintain a certain level of quality，Because their customers understand this。Once the part source is found，It’s not expensive to assemble them.。Krasko said：“If you have a van and a bottle of glue，You can enter this industry。”
sometimes，What you end up with is a shocking、Headphones with high-end interiors，This means that a company that has essentially no marketing overhead produces headphones that are very good in sound quality.。If someone can find their stuff，These companies can make huge profits.。
It's hard to say how much intellectual property is involved in this process.。But Krasko said，Most companies will be happy to allow him to visit，And he often finds，They are doing the same thing as big companies：Buy components from the factory that manufactures the components，Assemble finished product，Then sell it out。of course，This market sometimes has design inspiration，Sometimes even big companies can be inspired。
Community is vibrant，在“Rubbish”Screening“gem”
Sometimes，Even small manufacturers，Can also accumulate enough followers，Thus spanning into traditional retail channels，They hire customer service personnel、Website designer、Quality control personnel，And all other people in a more mature company.。The most famous example isAnker，It started producing replacement batteries for laptops，Then turned to the production of portable battery chargers。In just a few years，They have become globally recognized brands。
Some ChinaHi-FiHeadphone companies also have this potential，Such as flying proud(Fiio)Heifeman(HiFiMan)，Both companies have actual websites that introduce their products.。Krasko actuallyHiFiManAngry when listed on the list of unnamed brands，The company was originally a very small Chinese manufacturer.，But surprisingly succeeded in several products，And rise rapidly。Krasko said：“HiFiManNot an unnamed brand at all，They released a lot of very expensive and complicated things。”FiioAlso got the praise of many mainstream media。
But for most ChinaHi-FiFor headphone enthusiasts，The most exciting thing is“hunting”。They like to be at“Rubbish”Screening，Hope to find“Precious gem”，Value25Dollar、Angular red metalIEM，Inspired by a larger company，But unbelievable is，Its sound quality sounds and sells500DollarIEMAlmost no difference。Lachlan TsangPoint out：“This is the product from these anonymous factories.，The brand story was replaced by this ordinary little story about making in China.。”
A brand new ChineseHi-FiThe release of headphones can spark a heated debate on the forum。In most instances，These companies seem to be completely unprepared，I didn’t even think that I would have such a hot product in my hand.。This is not because they think they are releasing junk products.，But because the competition is so fierce，Their resources are so few，So that they are in the Netherlands、Sales in the US or Germany seem unlikely to suddenly soar。
Some in-depth comment sites specialize in ChinaHi-FiHeadphone brand，如AudioBudget。Audio forumHead-FiThe longest post is also about“Chi-fi”的，More than4.8Ten related posts。Although the number of posts is not a true fair measure。But it can be seen，This community is full of energy，Various factions are arguing about things likeVShape andUPros and cons of shape，How to best block someIEMSmall vents in the middle for enhanced bass，Or which aftermarket silicone head is the best。Enthusiasts like this argument。
With the emergence of new and affordable products，China'sHi-FiThe headset brand offers many new topics。For many of these forum users，Classic enthusiast equipment is beyond their reach。CNETThe top headphones for review are priced at2400Dollar，The cost of high-end speakers is usually as high as 670,000 yuan.。For most people，This kind of equipment looks a bit unattainable，Even those who are fascinated by audio quality。however，中国Hi-FiThe audio boom has given them the opportunity to experience high-end experiences，This has never happened before.。
Even the devices that make these frequency maps become more affordable.。MiniDSPMake a about200Dollar product，Basically a pair of artificial ears with a microphone，But it is fully qualified for the current job。This device used to cost tens of thousands of dollars to buy。Still still，And better，But like the torrent of cheap headphones，MiniDSPSuperior ability，a little weird，But everyone can afford it。
Consider all these cheap new toys，People are obsessed with them and they are understandable.。Alfred Lee称：“It is easy to enter this industry，You just need to keep trying。forChi-FiIn terms of，Just spend20The dollar can get a different experience，Why not try it??”