A few weeks ago, the main Hi-Fi Hobbyist looked at the emergence of Chi-Fi. Chi-Fi describes an industry phenomenon where independent Chinese brands deliver high-performance audio equipment at disruptive prices. It marks a shift from OEM manufacturing of Western designs to the emergence of Chinese designed kit offered by Chinese brands and sold on global platforms such as Amazon.

This podcast looks in more detail at how it has developed, and the implications for Hi-Fi Hobbyists and Hi-Fi manufacturers in the West.

In last week's podcast we looked at the different amplifier classes and how they linked to the sound quality of key exemplar amplifiers of each type. One of the conclusions was that the vast majority of modern amplifiers are either Class AB or Class D.

For this week's podcast, we have generated a debate between two AI protagonists, one championing the virtues of Class AB, the other, the benefits of Class D amplifiers. For accompaniment, we have stuck with electronic techno by Nick Panek, this time a track entitled "Ridiculous". It is hosted by Pixabay and used under a Pixabay licence.

I hope that you enjoy the debate. Happy listening!

A few weeks ago, we looked at the the difference between valves and solid-state components such as transistors or integrated circuits in hi-fi amplifiers. One of the issues that emerged from that podcast was the question of amplifier topology or class. It appeared from the research undertaken that the amplifier topology could have as much impact on the ultimate sound as the nature of the devices doing the amplification. In this podcast, we will consider the most common amplifier classes, the characteristics of the sound with which they are associated and some examples of highly regarded amplifiers within each class. The very fact that there are highly regarded amplifiers in each class suggests that no one class is best, but rather each has its own characteristics, and in conjunction with the loudspeakers used will generate its own particular sound quality.