In August 2023, FutureShop attended the Sound and Music United 20th Anniversary AV Head-Fi Show at the Hong Kong Convention Centre. This is our report from the floor.
About the Show
The Sound and Music United show in Hong Kong is one of the largest dedicated high-end audio and AV events in Asia, running for over two decades. Its 20th anniversary edition drew an extraordinary turnout: demo rooms filling 30 minutes before each session, standing-room-only audiences in near silence, and an exhibition floor spanning everything from reference loudspeakers to bejewelled in-ear monitors. For FutureShop, it was the most comprehensive single display of high-end audio we have encountered at any international show.
Key Takeaways
- Physical media is not dead in Asia. CD collections dominated the show floor alongside vinyl, with both formats actively purchased and sought by delegates of all ages.
- Cables and power were a central exhibition theme, not a peripheral one. Delegates were informed, engaged, and actively seeking to upgrade their cable and power solutions.
- The high-end in-ear monitor market in the Far East is significantly more developed than in Europe. Premium IEMs, including bejewelled and custom designs, were paired with high-end DAPs such as the Astell & Kern SR35. This trend is worth watching for European audiophiles.
- We reconnected with AudioQuest, Nordost, Synergistic Research, PS Audio, IsoTek, QSA, and IsoAcoustics, and formed new relationships across the industry.
- The scale and passion of the Hong Kong audio market confirms what many European audiophiles suspect: high-end audio is a thriving, global community, and the best products travel well in every direction.
Arriving at the Show
From the moment our team entered the Hong Kong Convention Centre for the Sound and Music United 20th Anniversary AV Head-Fi Show, it was clear this was not a typical trade event. The lines of delegates stretched patiently across the atrium, each person there for the same reason: music, and the best possible way to hear it.
That shared purpose was the thread connecting everyone in the building, exhibitors and visitors alike. Conversations between strangers began with the same question: what did you just hear in there?
Physical Music Is Alive and Well
Entering the show floor, the first thing that surprised us was the volume of physical media on display. Vast collections of CDs lined the opening hall, still immensely popular here, available for purchase in quantities that would not be out of place in a specialist record shop in its prime. Vinyl followed, catering to a broad range of musical genres and collector interests.
Hong Kong's audiophile community has a genuine, active relationship with physical formats that many European markets have moved away from. The music is not a backdrop to the technology here; it is the point. That orientation shaped everything else we saw at the show.
The Demonstration Rooms
The listener experience across the demonstration rooms was unlike anything we have encountered at a European audio show. High-end speakers, amplifiers, turntables, DACs, streamers, cartridges, valve amplifiers, power amplifiers, hi-fi racks, headphones, cables, power cables, power blocks, mains conditioners, isolation accessories, and plugs were set up and demonstrated on a near-hourly rotation. Entire systems, not single products.
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Seats filled up 30 minutes before each session. Standing-room audiences pressed in behind those who had arrived early, and when the music started, the room fell completely silent. Eyes closed, listeners sat in genuine reverence. It is one thing to know intellectually that audio matters to people in this part of the world; it is another to stand in a packed room in Hong Kong and feel it.
Cables, Power, and the Industry Conversations That Matter
Outside the hardware demonstrations, cables and power were a central thread throughout the show. Delegates were not casually browsing; they were actively seeking to upgrade specific parts of their signal and power chains, and they arrived knowing what they were looking for.
We reconnected with our contacts at AudioQuest, Nordost, Synergistic Research, PS Audio, IsoTek, QSA, and IsoAcoustics, and formed new relationships with brands we had not previously worked with. The conversations were productive and wide-ranging, covering product direction, market trends, and what European customers are increasingly asking for.
The In-Ear Monitor Market: A Trend Worth Watching
Perhaps the most striking observation from the show floor was the scale and sophistication of the high-end in-ear monitor market in Hong Kong. Custom and bejewelled IEMs, positioned firmly at the luxury end of the market, were paired with premium digital audio players such as the Astell & Kern SR35 and demonstrated to enthusiastic queues of younger and older listeners alike.
This is not a market we see at this scale or sophistication in Europe yet, but the appetite for high-quality portable audio is clearly established in the Far East, and these trends typically travel. We will be watching closely to see whether premium IEM culture develops in the same direction for our UK customers over the coming years.
Brands We Met at the Show
The following brands all have a presence in FutureShop's range and were among those we met with in Hong Kong. Each link goes to their FutureShop brand page.
| Brand | What they showed | Available at FutureShop |
|---|---|---|
| AudioQuest | Speaker cables, power cables, Ethernet cables, HDMI, and DragonFly DACs across demo rooms throughout the show | Full range including speaker cables, power cables, HDMI, Ethernet, and analogue interconnects |
| Nordost | Cable looms, QBase power distribution, and QKORE grounding systems. Full loom demonstrations drew some of the show's most attentive audiences. | Speaker cables, power cords, interconnects, Ethernet cables, and the QBASE MkIII distribution unit |
| Synergistic Research | Power conditioning, cable technology, and room treatment products. Synergistic Research's approach to power and signal management drew strong interest from Asian audiophiles. | Power conditioners and cable range |
| PS Audio | Power regenerators, DACs, and power cables. PS Audio's power regeneration technology is a consistent conversation piece wherever clean power is discussed. | Power cables, power conditioners, and power blocks |
| IsoTek | Mains conditioning and power distribution. IsoTek's filtering approach complements the unfiltered philosophy of brands like Chord, and both were well represented at the show. | Power conditioners and power blocks |
| Quantum Science Audio (QSA) | Treated fuses and Jitters across power and signal connections. QSA's products attracted significant attention from delegates already familiar with the brand from online communities. | Full fuse range and all four Jitter types |
| IsoAcoustics | Speaker and component isolation products. IsoAcoustics demonstrated their GAIA speaker isolation footers and Orea component isolators across multiple system demonstrations. | GAIA speaker isolation, Orea and Aperta component isolation |
What We Brought Back
The Hong Kong High End AV Show gave us a clear view of where the global audio market is heading. The appetite for high-quality cables, power solutions, and isolation products is not a niche concern confined to a small number of enthusiasts; it is mainstream within the high-end audio community in Asia, and that community is large, informed, and growing.
For FutureShop customers, the conversations we had in Hong Kong inform what we stock, how we advise, and which brands we invest in. The show confirmed the relevance of every product category we represent, from cables and power to isolation and source components, and reinforced our confidence in the direction we are taking as a specialist retailer.
If you want to explore any of the brands we met at the show, start with their FutureShop brand pages above, or contact our team for a conversation about which products from these ranges suit your system. Our team has heard these products at source, in context, alongside the people who make them.
For a sense of how some of these brand relationships translate into product reviews, our Nordost Leif 3 review covers the full loom we discussed in Hong Kong in a live listening context. And for QSA, whose products generated consistent attention at the show, our QSA Jitters and treated upgrades review covers their full range of power and signal treatments on our reference system.
Every brand mentioned in this report is available from FutureShop in the UK. Get in touch with our team for free expert advice on any product, brand, or system question that came to mind while reading this.
