Chi-Fi in the Time of Self-Righteous Indignation.

I had been a fan of the "Made in USA" banner, but honestly is "Made in USA" even a hallmark of quality anymore? We can clearly still make stupid good stuff (ARC, VAC) but it seems to me like Germany/Denmark/Switzerland/Japan/? is where the very top class of high end manufacturing is focused these days.

Chinese manufactured products can indeed be very high quality when very tightly controlled. The problem is that takes investment to do right. And in the meantime there’s still mountains of audio junk being produced there (I mean the really cheap crap, not anything with a recognizable brand name), including counterfeit knock-off cables and clone amps - hence the so-called derogatory terms like "Chi-fi". What are you supposed to say when some noob says they want to try tube amps, ignores all the decent vintage / kit / used suggestions and then follows up with "I just bought this" and an amazon or aliexpress link to a $400 POS. That is rightly called "Chi-fi" 😂

Are most Chinese actually offended by the term "Chi-fi"? Or is this a case of bored whytes being offended on behalf of how they think other people should respond.

In any case, there is still a lot of junk and cheap knock-offs being produced in China, with little to no oversight, and it’s not unreasonable to tag it appropriately. "Chi-fi" seems appropriate, as China is uniquely capable of swamping a market with such goods. There’s also some really nice stuff being made in China, and I have no problem considering it for purchase. What do Chinese audiophiles think of "Chi-fi"? And do we need to draw the line to demarcate "Chi-fi" versus "hi-fi, made in China" - or is it already incredibly apparent (e.g. a $500 tube amp on Amazon versus Line Magnetic)? And as pointed out, a lot of true high-end gear is already a hybrid manufacture, with parts and/or processing sourced in China. That doesn't fall under the "Chi-fi" label either, IMO.