As so often at shows, the real value lay not in the products to see but the conversations to be had. There wasn’t a single product that blew me away – but the opportunity to meet and talk with distributors, overseas sales managers and brand reps from across Asia and Europe was invaluable and revealing. A repeated theme was that, while places like Malaysia and Thailand might only have a handful of audio retailers, their markets are stable and steadily growing. On the other hand, Mainland China and Hong Kong are facing a much tougher environment, with unpredictable retail conditions.
China and Hong Kong: CD and Vinyl Dominate, Streaming Trails
In both regions, CD and vinyl still dominate, and streaming lags behind. That’s largely due to local media ecosystems. In China, TIDAL and Qobuz aren’t even available. Instead, people use music services owned by domestic tech giants. Most users stream from their phones and connect to their systems via Bluetooth—many feel that’s already “good enough,” so the appeal of high-end streamers is limited.
At the same time, competition across industries in China is at an all-time high. With domestic demand stretched thin, many audio brands are looking to overseas markets in order to survive—Germany, Japan, North America, and beyond. But with all the external pressures at play, how optimistic can we really be about the future of high-end streaming products? They may find a place in buoyant or resilient high-end markets, but are they really going to attract a new generation of audiophiles?
