The author attended the free 31st Shanghai International High-End Audio Show and found that online reviews can’t replace hearing audio equipment in person. There was a wide range of exhibits, most of them unreleased products. The large speakers were imposing, but the venue was noisy, and the author wasn’t keen on their coloration. The most anticipated products were Genelec studio monitors, which made a powerful impression. Designed for individuals and small studios, they’re something the author hopes to buy someday. New Audioengine products in the desktop setup section were another pleasant surprise, with good sound and a provisional price of under 3,000 yuan. After spending hours trying out a wide range of gear, the author says the show is a rare opportunity and strongly recommends listening for yourself.
31st TAS
Even in the internet age, when you can easily learn all about a product from reviews and hands-on videos, audio gear seems to be the exception. No matter how much you read or watch, speakers and headphones never really show you what they're about until you hear them in person.
A few days ago, I happened to learn that the 31st Shanghai International High-End Audio-Visual Show (Top Audio-visual Show, TAS) was about to take place in Shanghai. Admission was free, it wasn't far away — so off I went.
Exhibitor List
This year's show had a huge number of exhibitors, big and small brands alike. Later, I learned through conversations that the vast majority of the exhibits were unreleased new products. What I was most looking forward to was the desk setup section — at least in the foreseeable future, I won't be setting aside an entire room for audio gear.
Exhibitor list
Big Boxes
I made a rough lap of the venue following the route, spending more time where I was interested and just giving a quick listen elsewhere.
Quite a few exhibitors were classical-music speaker makers, and their rigs looked imposing. They were loud, but the hall was so noisy that it was hard to hear anything beyond sheer volume. I also happen to prefer the sound of monitors — I always feel these kinds of speakers have obvious coloration, which I'm not really a fan of.
Genelec
Genelec was what I was most looking forward to. I've dabbled in mixing and music production before, and whether it's a personal studio or a full-scale recording studio, Genelec speakers show up everywhere. The monitors on a mixing engineer's desk are almost always Genelecs — yet I'd never heard them in person, which made me really eager.
But the most counterintuitive thing was that Genelec speakers really aren't big at all, which only made me more curious. Luckily, AURALiC and Genelec shared a demo room, and there was even a talk.
The head of Genelec's sales in China said that with speakers, the bigger the cabinet, the easier the design is and the better it performs; the bigger the room, the easier it is for the acoustic design to achieve good results. That's why all the large recording studios in China adopt this kind of design. But a huge amount of today's music isn't produced in large recording studios — it's created by countless individuals and small studios, and Genelec's products exist precisely to serve those people.
All in all, Genelec sounded truly impressive in person. When my finances allow it in the future, I'll definitely buy one.
Genelec & AURALiC demo room
Desk Setup Section
There were some pleasant surprises too, like two unreleased small speakers from Audioengine. They sounded really good — almost like a mini Genelec. When I asked about the price, I was told it's tentatively under 3k. Not bad.
Audioengine's small speakers
I also ran into an indie creator exhibiting at the show — follow him on Xiaohongshu and Bilibili and you could get a small prize.
His setup was mainly Razer gear, with Genelec G1s for speakers.
Misc
There were also vendors selling cables and records, plus a few home theater exhibitors. I wasn't very interested, so I only took a quick look.
Outro
In a few hours, I heard more gear than I probably have in my entire life combined. A really rare opportunity. If you ever get the chance, I strongly suggest you go and experience it yourself.