China Hi-Fi Tour 2006

Packed My Bags Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 7:21 PM ET
By Wes Phillips

That concludes the audio portion of my tour. I'm packed, and after toodling around Shanghai a little, I peddle off to Beijing for some culture, and then home.

Thanks for joining me on the tour—it has been nice writing home to all of you in the audiosphere.

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Mu Too Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:31 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

This is the µ3i with its top off. MC, MM, and lots of flexibility.

"How much does it cost in the US?"

"Oh, we don't sell it in the US. There's no market for analog there."

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What's Mu? Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:29 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Wow, what are those?

"That's our µ3i phono section," said Zou.

Only, it wasn't. I walked around to the back and discovered it was the outboard DC power supply for the µ3i.

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Quality Control Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:27 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

First you build, then you measure.

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Did I Say Miles? Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:25 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Modules awaiting attachment to the chassis. "It looks like kits."

"My first integrated was a kit—I built it in middle school."

"Did you build it because you were into music or because you were into electronics?"

"Pretty much the same as now," Zou said. "First I built, then I listened, then I adjusted, then I listened some more."

"And so on?"

"And so on."

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I Can Sink For Miles Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:23 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Heatsinks waiting to be attached to their output devices—or is it the other way around?

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Innards Again Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:21 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

The inside view of a Dussun X-500 power conditioner.

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D9 Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:19 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

The D9 is Dussun's multichannel integrated amplifier. Actually, the only amps Dussun makes are integrateds.

The D9 is a huge beast. Wonder if Zou knows it's the name of a heavy metal piece of earth moving equipment? Bet he does.

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Hand-Matched Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:17 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

"We only do final assembly," Zou said. "I can't afford a larger staff, given Shanghai salaries, so we purchase the component parts from all over—the resistors are European, the circuit boards are the best, and we buy chassis parts from David Zheng at EKTG."

Here an employee is hand-matching individual FETs.

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Zou Yuan Yuan Posted Thu Dec 7, 2006, 4:15 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

This is Zou Yuan Yuan, managing director of Dussun Electronics Co. Ltd. That's pronounced da-sun, as in "Da sun, boss, da sun!"

He's standing in front of an array of test equipment that stands behind his office desk. It would make John Atkinson green with envy.

Why does the company's managing director have test equipment in his office? "When I left school [as an EE], I went to work for Red Lantern [a large Chinese electronics manufacturer, founded in 1960], designing test equipment. After a year or so, I joined the amplification design team."

Designing test equipment influences Zou Yuan Yuan's amplifier design philosophy. "Things must sound good—but we start with good measurements and proceed from there."

When Red Lantern folded in 1998, Zou started Korsun, taking with him a hand-picked team of Red Lantern veterans. Most of his 12 employees were part of that crew.

Korsun became Dussun in 2005, when Zou bought the company from his investors.

"Does the word Dussun mean anything?"

"No, I took a dictionary and looked for words that had no meaning."

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SL-INS Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:40 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

XLH's SL-INS preamplifier ($5000). No, I didn't get a chance to hear them—Mr. Hou is still building his second AEF-1812, having sold his previous sets.

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M-2000 Amplifier Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:38 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

XLH's M-2000 monoblock power amplifier $25,000/pair).

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Vintage Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:36 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Mr. Hou's tasty vintage Fender Jazz bass.

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More Test Gear Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:34 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Mr. Hou's Marshall and Strat.

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And I Do Mean Playground Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:32 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Mr. Hou's loft is stuffed with fun goodies, such as a drum set, keyboard rack—even a disco ball.

He hits a tom-tom and says, "When you hear a speaker reproduce this, you're really getting somewhere."

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XLH Factory Floor Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:29 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Since high-end audio isn't how Mr. Hou makes his living, he has his real factory elsewhere in the building. This is just his audio playground.

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AEF-1812 Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:27 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

Just the speaker.

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Mr. Hou Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 5:25 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

This is Hou Ying Zhong, of XLH.

His real job is creating theatrical and cinema sound systems, but high-end audio is his passion.

He's standing in front of his $50,000/pair AEF-1812 loudspeakers. That's "18," as in 18" woofer, and "12," as in "1+2=3, which is an auspicious number.

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Naughty Fund Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 4:08 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

I spotted this box of money by the door. "What's that?" I asked, "The tea fund?"

"No," Linda Ling said. "It's the naughty fund. When someone breaks a rule like coming to work late, they have to pay in some small cash. When the box is full, we take everybody out for a celebration."

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When He Says "Hand-Made," He Means It Posted Wed Dec 6, 2006, 4:06 AM ET
By Wes Phillips

This is not the fastest way to heatshrink trannie leads, but this guy obviously takes his job seriously.

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