Hi,

The Aurum Cantus line of speakers in China are the most famous, I have theAurum Cantus Music Goddess and AURUM CANTUS AC-782 (2005) models at home. Both their most famous floor standing models which use their famous ribbon tweeters. These are very good sounding speakers which I actually compared the sound of the AC-782 with speakers in the US$3-4,000.00 range before purchasing the Music Goddess speakers. They compared in sound with speakers from New Zealand, USA, UK and Italy. Also the level of finish was actually higher.

Other Chinese brands to consider are Swan, some nice Stand Mounts, Jungsun also make nice standmounts. Also Send Sound make some interesting designs. But many brands are available from Hong Kong.

Cables to buy are Xindak.

CDP and Amps available that are reagrded are the pick of high end brands in China by Chinese Audiophiles are:-

Dussun /Korsun - The V81 Integrated being widely known. An OEM Mnaufacturer for the West.

ShengYa - Hybrid gear greatly loved in China an OEM manufacturer for the West also.( Known as Vincent in West)

JUNGSON - Class A amps, some very high end gear available plus some 'cheap' enterance high end.

SHANLING - Need I say more? Beautiful beautiful high end gear. A major OEM manufactuer who makes limited statement products to see under its own label too.

Have fun shopping

Colin made a perfect reply.

I will only add a mention that the Quads are built in China...I wonder just how inexpensively you could get your hands on a pair there!

you might also consider vas audio as well for electronics. i have not personally heard their preamp, but the word is it is special. so far most of the cayin products have received decent reviews internationally as well, noting both sound and build quality. hopefully you will be able to keep us posted here in the u.s. as you make your purchases.

Hi,
try also Audio Physic speakers; they recently moved the production to China and the sound moved too............

I know that one Chinese company that always interests me is Opera Consonance. I don't know much about their speakers, although the French press seems to love them, and there is an interesting horn speaker line called Barque. But I know their CDPs are very highly regarded, as some of the best out there. And if I had around $6K to spend freely right now, there's no doubt that I'd try the Opera Consonance LP 5.0 turntable... comes with its own beautifully finished, heavy-duty stand, price of the stand INCLUDED with the turntable price. At that price point, I'd go for that Consonance table over something like the Basis any time, as excellently regarded the Basis is, and I'll bet that you can get the LP 5.0 for cheaper in China! As great as Continuum Caliburn may be, I think the fact that they charge a separate, hefty premium for the stand reveals a crucial difference in marketing/philosophy between the East & West. I'm obviously much more in favor of the Opera Consonance way of selling

One more point to make: I think it's telling that the French press has embraced Chinese products more readily than the U.S... I think there's something vaguely xenophobic in the blind assumption that if it's made in China, it must be shoddy in quality. That's why it was so refreshing to read Sam Tellig write about Melody amps, and R. Reina on Cayin, with refreshing open-mindedness & democracy of spirit. Hopefully this trend continues & catches on.

Nobody's mentioned Usher yet. Their drivers are sort of Scanspeak clones (to the extent that Scanspeak was suing them for infringement awhile back), and the cabinets are gorgeous. They are extremely well made, and have gotten some good reviews.

Quote:
Nobody's mentioned Usher yet. Their drivers are sort of Scanspeak clones (to the extent that Scanspeak was suing them for infringement awhile back), and the cabinets are gorgeous. They are extremely well made, and have gotten some good reviews.

Duh on all of us. An excellent point, Bri.

Most know that HiVi makes many drivers used in some of the most expensive speakers including B&W boxes, and Swans is their brands. Cambridge Audio has all of their equipment made in China. Most Japanese turntables are manufactured there. Let's be honest, most of the electronics from Japan are manufactured in China. The days of cheap crap are in the past, and if you stay with name brands you should find some excellent equipment.