The Guangzhou AV Fair 2018 in its 25th edition was held at Dongfang Hotel, Guangzhou and China Hotel, Guangzhou from the 14th to 16th September. Spanning across over 100 exhibition halls of various specifications according to the conventions of the International Advanced Audio Show, the fair is currently the largest audio exhibition in China.
This year’s exhibition featured a headphone and portable gear zone, located at Gold Hall A and B. Porta-Fi was on-site and as usual, we are sharing what caught our ears and eyes.
DITA Audio
The Singaporean company was exhibiting in Guangzhou and has taken the opportunity to announce the OSLO (Oil Soaked Long-crystal Oxygen-free) cable. Made in Japan, the OSLO cable is the standard cable for Project 71 and will also be available as an upgrade cable for In-Ear Monitors (IEMs).
We were also given an exclusive audition of the final tuning of Project 71, the company’s celebrated creation to commemorate 47 years of precision engineering since the establishment of its parent company in 1971. Owing to the complexity of the use of Ebony and Brass in the chassis, the Made in Japan IEMs will be exclusive and limited to 300 sets globally.
Matrix Audio
Matrix Audio introduced Element-X, its latest Flagship wireless high-resolution audio DAC. The Element-X is an MQA full decoder DAC which can fully decode the original MQA files without any assistance from the third party player software (MQA Core Decode), the DAC can also support DSD512 and PCM audio stream up to 24Bit/768kHz sampling rate. It uses the ES9038PRO advanced 8-channel D/A chip, coupled with its inner DSP unit and analog circuit provides high performance and enhances the user experience, claimed Matrix Audio.
The Element-X can also be configured as a pre-amplifier allowing for use with a pair of low-gain active speakers. The company also shared that the Element-X will be able to support Tidal and Roon via a firmware update in the near future.
Original
Original showcased its OPA-3A tube amplifier. Introduced earlier this year to succeed the highly acclaimed OPA-2A, the OPA-3A features the 300B pair of PSVANE Tubes. Designed to work with both headphones and speakers, the tube amp features a 6.3mm single-ended as well as XLR 4-pin balanced outputs on the front panel and speaker outputs on the rear panel.
The tube amplifier’s “golden 8-watt” output is not to be underestimated and have left us wanting to test it more at Porta-Fi Experience Lab.
qdc
qdc showcased its new Flagship, the Anole VX. X represents 10, which is the number of balanced armature drivers in its configuration. The Anole VX is equipped with 3 switches catering for 8 different tunings, inclusive of one that will set the IEMs to High Sensitivity allowing the Flagship to be driven by smartphones.
Sheng Ya
Sheng Ya unveiled a new edition of its HPA-1 stereo headphone amplifier. The new HPA-1 is 30% smaller and features a 6.3mm single-ended and 4-pin XLR balanced outputs with an output of 2.5V @ 32Ω, 43% higher than its predecessor. The HPA-1 also features a volume control potentiometer from ALPS of Japan.
