people still buy & use DVDs and BlueRay Players? With all respect even if you purchase legal audio & video content it is still cheaper than its traditional counterparts

Suning,the large electronics store out in Wujiaochang, had a nice assortment of Mission, Dali, Polk, and a few others all in the 2K -3k Rmb range. The store has a huge listening area and were very helpful auditioning speakers. So suning gets major points for mid to low cost speakers. I'm sure other Suning branches have similar stock.

I found it interesting they had a sale on Dali speakers that made them about 800 RMB cheaper than the Dali store in Grand Gateway.

Hope this helps others.

Not that interesting, the main cost for retail is rent, and the rent in Grand gateway is obviously higher than WujiaoChang.

I just wanted to mention something. Don't take offence, it's just an observation, but...
How come people seem to think they can buy some audiophile-ish kind of products on a budget of 2-4k RMB? No offense but in the west that'd be in USD or GBP, or Euros. And that's considered low end range audiophile (not to confuse with actual low end). Sure, CHinese audiophile products can be had for quite a bit cheaper than what we pay on the west, but still. Buy consconance and you are at 10-30k for a single element. Or one of the more reputable low end audiophile brands, like Yarland, dassun, CAV, HiVi, those too go for quite a bit more than 2-4k. I understand that for some people 2-4k RMB is a lot of money to spend on audio equipment, but lets not call it audiophile shall we?

@Ksporry, you most certainly can buy decent stuff in that range.

A friend of mine has a semi decent DAC hooked up to a squeezebox, connected to a nice valve amp.
All his music is stored lossless, and he has a quite a few 24bit/96kHz and other hdaudio (thx surround etc etc) test files, and other audio on there.
Sounds are warm (as you'd expect from a valve amp), and prices for most of the components is in the 2-4k range. I was pleasantly surprised actually. Its so good in fact, I'm thinking of getting a similar setup.

So, totally possibly here especially within that range.

Honestly - unless you're looking at Amp's, most of the money over 2-4k is in the advertising mojo, rather than the product.

There are some fine Chinese audio products out there for not too much money.

Lawrence, can you recommend a good Chinese brand ? I need some active subwoofers for my HT. The ones I have now doesnt have enough power.

thanks

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=8335 ... _548495728

Haven't tried them yet but they look pretty good - especially that round one - Swans/Hivi is a great chinese brand

any recommendation for a good headphone? i am using it for walks, subways and business trips.. preferably not too bulky.

and where to buy? i frequently go to Xujiahui's bai nao hui but suspicious that those sold there are knock offs..

I will suggest you to take a look at the Shure and Etymotic Research range of in-ear headphones.
Just don't buy them on Taobao or any of the small vendor, the percentage of risk that you will get a fake one is 100%. Go to Media Markt to buy the real one for sure.

Cheers

@computersolutions: a squeezebox is some 2k on its own, a cheap cheerful Chinese brand tube amp is another 2-4k. A semi decent sac does not come for free and we haven't discussed speakers. I might misunderstood the currency u talk about though. I was talking about EMBARQ, whilst your prices in ISSUE actually make sense.

Hi, I've been going several times through this post but have not been able to find where I can buy decent audio cables. I want to set up my home theatre set properly, but can not find any place where they sell +/- 50m of quality audio cable.Been to Suning, Mediamarkt etc...but all have max2m cables. Anybody has an address downtown/hongqiao area?
Thx

Philli wrote:Hi, I've been going several times through this post but have not been able to find where I can buy decent audio cables. I want to set up my home theatre set properly, but can not find any place where they sell +/- 50m of quality audio cable.Been to Suning, Mediamarkt etc...but all have max2m cables. Anybody has an address downtown/hongqiao area?
Thx

Have you tried Zhenjiang lu? It's a side street of Nanjing dong lu. There is a hifi plaza there, which is quite audiophile. 50m is a lot though.

For bulk speaker cable you can also try the "Modern Electronic Market" at Fuxing Lu and Xiangyang Nan Lu. A booth on the 3rd floor (if I remember it is #337 or close to that) sells audiophile cables including some in bulk. She also has some nice power cables (a particular fetish of mine) but the prices seem higher than in the US (e.g., The Cable Company) for these.

Before I went inside this place I was skeptical, and it does have a number of questionable booths. However there are some used equipment vendors (caveat emptor) with audiophile name brands (Krell, etc.) and some cool-looking tube amps (yet another fetish), so perhaps some bargains to be had.

The best place I have seen in Shanghai for high-end audio is the Li Ying building that was previously mentioned in this thread.

Hi All,

I'm looking for an inexpensive AV 5.1 amp, not state of the art HD 7.1 etc. Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha entry level amp would be fine. One thing I want it to have is HDMI in and out to TV so I can connect my laptop to it.

Where do you think I might fine a half decent secondhand one?? Budget is tight as moving house, I think I have some nice speakers allready lined up. So need to buy a AV amp this weekend..

Can you advise where I might find what I am after, (directions would be appreciated as new to Shanghai, nearest Metro etc) and what do you think I could pick one up for?? I can get a new Pioneer 5.1 Amp from Taobao for 1850 RMB, which I can't afford right now.

I so miss my 51" 3D Samsung TV and 7.1 HD AV set up from homeback in England!!!....

Any help would be appreciated...I'm fed up of sound from my laptop speakers or mono sound from my TV!!!

Regards, Steve...

Just noticed a large Electronics Section at the basement of the new mall at the corner of Ruijin Road and Xujiahui Road right above Dapuqiao Metro Station on Line 9).

There are a number of individual shops (some still in the process of opening) selling brands like KEF, Monitor Audio, Jamo, Wharfedale etc..

I would try Mediamarket, it has a good range of High Street Names from Sony to Yamaha. Prices to fit every pocket.

You can get bargins on TaoBao as something sold in the shops in the UK for $100 has to be purchased retail for $15 here in China.

Is it possible to find decent brands at near US prices in the electronics malls? I went to Mediamarkt today, and they have the Onkyo 309/509 at 3300/4000, which is an insane rip off. I have the projector, I have the screen, but now I need a budget/decent receiver and some speakers. Not sure where best to look.

I have bought from taobao seller that has an actual shop in Shanghai. It wasnt Onkyo but Marantz.. Good deal too. Try to check taobao for online sellers who have their own shop but push them in price. I was buying a subwoofer that would cost me around RMB 20.000 from HKG.. The taobao seller wanted 25/k for the same but offered me 20/k after talking to him

Any advice on a budget surround setup that isn't a HTIB? While I'm pretty experienced/knowledgeable in the videodepartment, audio has never really been of much interest. Looking for a decent receiver and some speakers.

Normally I would just google for reviews/setups or ask on AVSforum, but it proves to be pretty difficult to find the same products in SH that are readily available in the US at just about every online merchant.

I feel like you can get nothing of value in China. All the best review products seem non-existent over here. I see killer reviews for the Pioneer speakers and I can't even find one on Taobao. And they're budget minded too. You'd think they would sell their budget speaks in China. Sometimes I just hate living in China...

So, any advice on a setup that is probably find-able in SH would be appreciated. Not looking for high-end.

Ok, think I found a reputable place with decent prices. Will probably pick up a Denon 1912 receiver for like 3800. So-so price, but way better than some other places I saw. Will see if I can talk him down a little.

I'm still, however, lacking speakers. I've decided to budget about $1000 USD for a set. It's proving pretty hard to find reviews of what's available here. Any suggestions?

Hello, thanks for all of the posted information, it has been extremely helpful and informative. A friend of mine who recently repatriated used this forum to purchase a Chinese branded audiophile setup and I bought it from him when he left. I now have his Mingda tube amp.

Unfortunately when I returned from my CNY break back home the amp failed to turn on. I checked all of the connections, the power cord, the surge protector. I checked all of the tubes, none were blown.

Does anyone know if I can bring the amp to the LiYing building at 398 Zhejiang Road, to the stall that sells Mingda, and get mine serviced? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Your advice will be much appreciated.

klink

For those who were not aware: Western brand products are at a premium due to import duties charged by the chinese government. It doesn't matter if the equipment was made in China or not. If It's for the western market it gets taxed.

@klinkny: They should be able to sort you out there. They have a booth with parts as well (tubes, caps, transformers, etc), so I don't see why not. However, I do recommend you call them, or pay them a visit before bringing in your unit, just to check if they actually do do repairs (might save you the hassle of carrying a 20kg unit across town).
Also, I would recommend you first do some more troubleshooting. E.g. do any of the tubes light up when you switch it on? Does the transformer get warm after a while? Are there any power indicators that may indicate there is power on the unit? Have you tried other speakers? Have you tried other source inputs?
Ofcourse you may have checked all this, I'm just trying to determine if the fix is potentially a DIY job or does need soem more investigating. E.g. could be a loose contact at the power switch, or at the speaker exits, which are easy fixes. If we talk about blown caps or resistors, it may be more difficult (although sometimes, if they are blackened, that might be an indication...) You can also go to www.diyaudio.com to seek some expert advice. They seem to know a lot about the chinese amps.

Re. the "parts & kits" booth in the Zhejiang Zhong Lu mall (the one around the corner from the Opera / Aurum Cantus place) - do you know if the NOS tubes the guy sells are likely to be genuine, and what are the prices like?

Seems less hassle than ordering from the UK......

honestly I suspect them to be genuine. Of course i can have been mislead, but other than buying and trying there is no real way of knowing. So far the guys there have been pretty honest to me anyway. With one exception. One seller was claiming that a Finite ELements Pagoda 2 tier HiFi rack in dark wood, was some 30.000RMB, which ofcourse is ridiculous, considering that a 3 tier in birch at his neighbour goes for under 10k RMB.