In audio as in jazz, some of the most interesting trends happen far outside the mainstream. Hop onto internet forums dedicated to headphones, and you’ll see fervent discussion of a bunch of brands you’d never find at Best Buy, like Moondrop, KZ, and Uisii. Audio enthusiasts call these “Chi-Fi”—short for “Chinese Hi-Fi”—products. Although Chi-Fi products can be found in many categories, such as tube amplifiers and digital-to-analog converters, they’re especially prominent in the field of passive (i.e., wired) earphones..
The reason audiophiles pay so much attention to