I have had my suspicions about the reasoning behind the Term Chi-Fi being used.
I have heard Dealers of Imports vehemently defend their Products and doing their best to alienate their own products, labeling them as a far superior Chi-Fi origin product than the usual to be found.
In my mind the Term commenced as being a means to suggest low quality, and not necessarily a Slur on the Nation.
Time can change things and the perspectives of thoughts once held. There is enough News Coverage to suggest that the Authorities in Western Countries are suspicious of China's Tech' Usage.
I'll leave concerns about this to other's, the following is a statement made by another, that does have a certain appeal.
"An ugly trend has developed on social media and in some audio forums regarding “Chi-fi” and we think there needs to be a wider community discussion about its use.
Whether we want to acknowledge or not, the use of the phrase “Chi-fi” has derogatory connotations. It was originally coined to reference the start-up Chinese audio industry and even then, it came with the understanding that the products being labeled as such were inferior to their more developed counterparts coming from the United States, Canada, U.K, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Japan.
It parallels the early days of Japanese car sales in North America when it was not uncommon to hear them referred to as “Jap Junk” which was more blatantly racist and derogatory but also carried roughly the same sentiment.
For those who would argue that the term is merely a reference to where the products are being made, I ask the question, then why do we not have Kor-fi, Ger-fi, US-fi, and Jap-fi? We don’t identify other products by country of origin which goes to negate part of that argument.
The remainder of the argument can be quickly called out by the fact that people are quick to exclude certain Chinese-made products (HiFiMan as one example) as not qualifying as Chi-fi. If some products are excluded, what are the grounds for inclusion in the class? Obviously, it isn’t just the country of origin that is being used to make the distinction.
The term isn’t applied to Western brands whose products are produced in China. Many American, Canadian, and British brands have production facilities in China including KEF, NAD, Wharfedale, Quad, PSB, Cambridge Audio, Polk, and many others. Consumers seem perfectly fine buying those products manufactured in China because that reality saves them money.
What about companies that source parts from China but then assemble them elsewhere? "
