The story of Hifiman: The sadness of a domestic audio manufacturer

An Apple program that buys 3.2 billion of dollars to buy audio equipment maker Beats has raised the spotlight on audio devices, a product that is rarely valued and can not be separated from it. Domestic digital brands are often naturally affixed to the low-end, low quality label. However, it is difficult and valuable, domestic audio equipment manufacturers are not only in China, and even the global high-end audio equipment occupy an important position, the birth of Huiwei, Hifiman, Da Yinko, FiiO, seven Rainbow, Ibasso, etc. in the United States market has a certain well-known brands. What is the soil so that domestic audio equipment manufacturers have the space to survive, what is the power to keep them to the high-end forge ahead? With the domestic high-end audio manufacturers of curiosity and doubt, Sina Technology interview with the domestic high-end audio products manufacturer Hifiman founder Edge imitation, from his 6 years of experience in the establishment of domestic audio manufacturers to tell the reality and sadness. As soon as Walkman's enlightenment mentioned Walkman, the interest of imitation was immediately mobilized. I started playing personal audio products from the 90 's, playing from high school to college, listening to music and having thousands of tapes and CDs. Later graduate students in Tianjin Nankai University to read, Tianjin Tanggu has a goods market, selling parallel and second-hand Walkman, I am particularly fascinated, almost every weekend to go to listen to various equipment. At that time, the most well-known portable audio product is the Sony Walkman as the representative of the Walkman and earplugs, which is almost the generation of audio equipment in common memory. Since 1979, when Sony chairman of the Sheng Morita created the concept of Walkman, and to the global promotion since the 70-90 generation of the history of Walkman is almost equivalent to the history of portable audio equipment. At that time the dream is to have a NB of earplugs, and then finally Amoy a good earplugs, and want to buy NB CD machine and tape Walkman to match earplugs, froing living quickly spent. There's a lot of Walkman and headphones in my hand. Side imitation said, in order to supplement living expenses, can only go to the forum to sell second-hand, sometimes see like and buy, even buy and sell, the audio equipment engaged in a very proficient. When I graduate from graduate school, I basically do the Walkman and headphones of the Japanese department for more than 20 years, and see any player, and immediately can tell its model, production age and sound quality. After graduating from graduate school, he went to America to study for his doctorate. He realized that it was not easy for the science majors to find the ideal job in America. With a sense of crisis in the future, while reading, while the amateur time to start acting domestic products, the domestic do a good number of brands sound the United States, Vsonic, Yuin to get foreign sales. By 2007, I think it's time to make a music player with good sound quality, after all, the ipod is too bad. At that time, the HiFi sound quality as the selling point of the portable player does not exist. This player is driven by the high Fidelity music player industry HM-801. My various resources on the player and headphones are pushing me forward. That's how the Hifiman brand comes in. My reply to the doctor at the end of 2010After the debate ended the next day to return, the formation of a team, expand the factory, 1.1 points from nothing, to the workshop, to the small factory, to the present. Side imitation said. What is good quality? To do audio products, you must first understand a problem, that is what is good quality? How to calculate the sound quality good? In the side imitation view, the sound quality is subjective to listen to the truth, like true. For example, you are listening to the violin music, to be compared with the real violin live play. Someone to get the headset to go than frequency, signal-to-noise ratio and other indicators, this is wrong. In fact, this is the idea of fi. FI is the abbreviation of English high-fidelity, the literal translation of high fidelity, which is defined as a replay sound that is highly similar to the original sound. But the problem is that the vast majority of people in China have never heard a real violin at a high level, how do you know what the real sound is? How do you judge a good voice? You haven't heard the sound, what do you use to refer to it? Side imitation said. Lack of a mature, listening to the experience of the crowd, this is the entire Chinese audio market embarrassing reality. For example, the frequency response is an important indicator of headphones, the human ear can hear the range is about 20hz-20khz, if the frequency of scanning the headphones, the curve in the ear after the curve correction to achieve basic straight, this is to explain this headset sound is true. But some equipment manufacturers in order to curry favor with the user, in the ear-sensitive frequency bands do exaggerated treatment, such as to emphasize the bass, the low frequency of the exaggerated. But it is precisely this unreal sound, but it has a high degree of identification, often by the beginners mistakenly think that this sound is good. In the side imitation view, the audio industry has two misunderstandings, some people think that the low-frequency many, is good, and some people think that high-frequency, loud, more details is good. In fact, whether it is exaggerated any one band is not correct, not good sound. True quality sound must be high fidelity, the original restore the true voice, but the current audio market, because most of the user age is small, lack of listening experience, in fact, it is difficult to do.　　Side imitation said. The water's already muddy. Signal-to-noise ratio, but also an audio equipment commonly used indicators, the greater the signal-to-noise ratio, the noise mixed in the signal is smaller, the sound playback of the higher the quality, otherwise the contrary. Generally, the signal-to-noise ratio of more than 100dB ears can not hear the noise, but the ears can not hear a noise does not mean no noise. If someone can't hear the 20k above the digital clutter mixing, will cause the timbre change, the sound becomes cold and cold, the subjective hearing feeling is poor, but the signal-to-noise ratio index is not reflected. But the question now is, the vast majority of users are starting from the low-end digital products, these digital products, such as mobile phones, because there is no perfect analog filter design, most of the problem of mixing high-frequency digital noise, the sound is cold, and many users have been accustomed to this chilled digital sound, they think this is right. Side imitation said. With the improvement of users ' quality of life, the middle and high-end audio market is developing very fast, each company's sales are improving, the new brand layerNot poor, this is a good thing is a bad thing. The water in this industry is actually muddy. Side imitation helpless said, because the user lacks the scene the listening feeling, the final result is good, the bad two kind of hearing thing, is said to be the different characteristic. You're making a lot of effort to make a high fidelity sound, and you're bound to sacrifice something. For example, in order to do the sound quality, the use of high voltage and multiple power supply design, in order to do a good job, add a lot of sound level of operational amplification chip to build a perfect analog filter, will inevitably lead to higher power consumption, working temperature rise, volume increase, battery endurance decline. Many manufacturers, often famous import brands, of course, domestic brands have to do with the sound quality as the selling point of audio products, sound quality is not done well, but the product looks good, advertising hit, anyway, the sound quality is not a standard, so can also sell well. This phenomenon may become the biggest impediment to the development of the audio market in the near future, Bian said.　　This is actually the same way that Sony (16.5,-1.14,-6.46%) Walkman the decline. The death of Walkman: the cycle of sound deterioration in the early days of Walkman birth, the daily product size is generally large, whether it is CD-player or Walkman can be used to describe the brick. Their common feature is that the use of desktop speakers will use the components, power supply voltage is high, product range is not long, but the sound quality is very good. Side imitation recalls that at that time, the 80 's medium-term high-end Sony Discman and desktop CD machine to do contrast, the sound quality has reached the level of entry-level desktop level products. By the 90 's, the Sony Walkman adopted a ultra-thin design, the volume quickly dropped, as the size of the tape box, but also added a heavy bass, shockproof and other more dazzling functions, the endurance time is also greatly improved, one can use dozens of hours. But the quality of this thing is not the sky off the pie, the pursuit of small, long endurance, can improve the quality of the device due to the cost of electricity and volume, can save the province, can not use the last sound more and more withered. Side imitation that, if the Japanese brand 90 generation does not take this road, will not be Apple MP3 so quickly replaced. Unfortunately, in the MP3 era, this process of quality degradation has been repeated again. Early MP3 players, such as the ipod generation, second generation, the quality of materials, although larger, to ensure a high level of sound quality, but after the product is smaller, the sound quality is getting worse. The ipod has taken 7 years or so to regain the sound of Sony's 20-year journey. He said with regret. Until 2008, with Hifiman HM-801 and Han Sound as the representative of the HiFi player appeared, high-end portable market trend has been a certain reversal, the market has appeared again to the sound quality as a selling point music player. But the users of HiFi audio are many young users with low age and lack of listening experience, how many of them have heard of classical music or no concerts? How many of you have really listened to a high level of live performance? Less than 1%. So it hurts me to beThe product with sound quality as the selling point is the third repetition of sound deterioration.　　Side imitation said. A domestic small factory troubles talked about Apple recently interested in the acquisition of the Beats, side imitation that beats this type of manufacturer is a typical pet users, in order to meet the users of high identification type of sound wrong preference, deliberately strengthen the low-frequency, so that sound sounds more exciting. In fact, the more high-end products sound more balanced, the more should be close to the original, and beats not only did not pursue high-fidelity voice, but is doing the opposite. Side imitation said. On many occasions, the imitation tries to persuade young users to accept his idea of high-fidelity sound, but as a domestic minority brand, in the competition with international manufacturers often encounter supercilious and attack. Some users even openly questioned, Hifiman is just a domestic cottage brand, what you teach me, others foreign big voice is like this. In fact, we this kind of domestic brands have been in a weak position, including Yu-sound, sound beauty, vsonic, including the brand of ear plugs are actually doing very well, and some earplugs sound than foreign brands closer to the original, but only dare to sell within 300 yuan. Your product is good, no one in the country believe you. Side imitation For example, Yuin 2005 launched the PK1 headphones, in the circumstances can be said to be in the category of flat-head earplugs Shong, the result is difficult to be recognized at home, from 2005 to 2010, most of the sales are in foreign countries, domestic sales are not up to a foreign region. Side imitation Sad said: We also have a piece of earplugs sold to more than 2000 yuan, but the efficiency is very low, the customer is difficult to accept a domestic brand incredibly dare to sell so high price. In fact, the Hifiman brand was founded in the first few years, are only to do the United States market, did not do the Chinese market. Most well-known domestic audio brands are also gone this way, in foreign brands, and then killed back to China, if it is a home-grown Chinese brand is impossible to develop. He said. Domestic high-end audio manufacturers in the HiFi crowd has a certain market share, but are relying on the quality of hard hard to fight over. Our small brand does not have so much money, go to and Sony, Sennheiser, spell marketing, can only silently do their own things. Unfortunately, most people think that domestic only with low-cost products, only cost-effective, there is no dignity, this is the domestic market embarrassing and helpless reality. Side imitation finally said.