The Triumphant Return of Swan-----Interview with Yao Hongbo, President of Swan Audio

    At the beginning of 2003, an exciting news came from the other side of the ocean: Hivi Audio (www.dulcet.com) brought its top-level home theater audio series to Las Vegas, USA to participate in the annual event in Las Vegas. At the International CES International Consumer Electronics Show and THESHOW 2003 Fever Audio Equipment Exhibition held in the city, the Swans 2.2 ribbon speaker system, the super flagship of Swans, won two laurels at the two major exhibitions, namely CES:

"Best of CES2003 High-End Audio Finalists by TechTV"

"Best of CES Best Audio Finalist"

T.H.E.SHOW 2003 THE HOME ENTERTAINMENT SHOW Fever Audio Equipment Exhibition:

"Excellence In Design & Engineering Award"

At the same time, at THESHOW 2003 exhibition, which is famous all over the world for its audiophile, another modern classic product of Swans - T600HT was awarded the THESHOW 2003 THE HOME ENTERTAINMENT with its extraordinary simple black and white fashion triangle design and perfect music playback effect. Issued by SHOW:

"The Most Innovative Speaker Design Award"

    TechTV official reporting site: www.techtv.com/ces

    Official CES coverage website: www.cesweb.org/awards/best_of_ces

    T.H.E.SHOW 2003 official website: www.the-expo.net

After hearing the news, the reporter interviewed the President of Swans Audio, who had returned from the United States triumphantly - AES member of the American Audio Engineering Society, and Mr. Yao Hongbo, a Canadian Chinese, about the general concern of some domestic audiophiles and audio industry insiders. question, conducted an exclusive interview with Mr. Yao.

The following is the entire record of this visit (Mr. Yao Hongbo is referred to as Yao):

Reporter: What kind of lineup did Hivi Audio attend this event this time?

Yao: Swans Audio attaches great importance to this CES exhibition. We sent 7 senior employees of Swans America and 4 senior employees of Swans Hong Kong, a total of 11 people attended the two events; our senior audio designer Frank Hale Mr. also personally participated in this event.

Reporter: Mr. Yao, are you very excited after winning this award?

Yao: Yes, I am really excited to stand out from hundreds of famous high-end audio manufacturers in the world to receive such three awards that represent the highest honor, because I am not only representing the HiVi brand, but also representing the Chinese people. Although I am a Chinese-Canadian, my heart and my roots will always belong to China!

Reporter: Mr. Yao, you have personally participated in many International CES exhibitions. What is the difference between this exhibition and the previous ones? Can you briefly introduce the T.H.E.SHOW exhibition to all of us?

Yao: Hivi has participated in the International CES eight times, and every time I feel deeply touched. In the current world economic environment is not ideal, CES is still hot, encouraging. In the field of High-End Audio high-end audio, the European and American high-end audio industry usually does not pay attention to the High-End Audio audio brand with Chinese background, let alone winning awards, it is not easy to integrate into the fever circle. The award of Swans this time has reversed the deep-rooted concept of Chinese audio in the European and American High-End Audio high-end audio industry to a certain extent. During the exhibition, many European and American audio brands came to visit HiVi's booth one after another. Many industry insiders who attended the exhibition went to audition and communicated with the world-class designers of HiVi, and expressed their willingness to cooperate. Within two days of the exhibition, all of Swans' small and medium-sized exhibiting products that could be carried were sold out, and even the award-winning flagship Swans 2.2, priced at US$68,000.00, was bought on my way back to China. Regarding THESHOW, if you use an analogy: International CES is the "Oscar" of the electronic audio industry, THESHOW is the "Golden Globe Award", which is a fever-level jointly organized by some very professional audio fever manufacturers and international audio industry authorities. The High-End Audio high-end audio exhibition has a very wide influence in the high-end audio industry.

Reporter: Mr. Yao again, can you tell us more about your experience of winning three awards this time? Can you tell us about the situation at that time?

Yao: The scene at that time was very spectacular. Among the more than 400 famous High-End Audio manufacturers in the world, only three won the Best of CES2003 High-End Audio Finalists. Everyone was concentrated at the CES Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. The lobby of the Sri Lanka Convention and Exhibition Center is unprecedented. Tech TV, the largest technology TV channel in North America, has followed up and cooperated with the live broadcast of the CES exhibition throughout the whole process. It is estimated that more than 13 million American TV viewers watched the live broadcast based on Tech TV's more than 38 million subscribers. Immediately after the Best of CES2003 results were announced on CES Tech TV, I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture. If you don't participate in person, you really don't have the imagination to feel the atmosphere. As Best of CES2003 won the great response, many enthusiasts made a special trip to the Swans booth to appreciate the Swans 2.2 flagship speaker. At the CES exhibition, a famous Latin singer living in California, USA, listened to it for a long time and was still reluctant to leave. He excitedly told the Swans staff that the musical instruments in the songs that are not usually heard are there, and they are excellent for the Swans 2.2 flagship speaker. The detail description is full of praise, and he must take a photo in front of his idol - the flagship 2.2 as a souvenir, and tell us that this is the speaker with the most realistic sound he has ever heard; the CES Tech TV selection committee has a large number of people, and the division is strict, because the exhibitors The products are not limited to the High-End Audio high-end audio series, but also other electronic products, which are divided into ten categories in total. Because there are too many brands participating in the exhibition, the standard audition time set by the CES Tech TV listening evaluation experts was about half an hour for each manufacturer's booth. However, in Swans, an exception was made. After half an hour, I left the Swans booth with satisfaction.

Reporter: Then, Mr. Yao, do you think this is an honor for Swans?

Yao: I don't think so, because winning the award is not the purpose, the award is to let European and American counterparts understand: China can also create a great voice! MADE IN CHINA can also be the representative of High-End Audio top audio! Of course, an open China should be integrated into the world. It is always better to be recognized than to be rejected by others. As long as we rely on our own strength, we can be completely proud.

Reporter: Mr. Yao, please briefly talk about the situation of the T.H.E.SHOW fever audio equipment exhibition.

Yao: T.H.E.SHOW actually surpasses International CES in terms of the gold content of audiophile audio, because the exhibitors of T.H.E.SHOW are all high-end high-end audio manufacturers and are more critical and sensitive to sound. Because this is an awards event specially tailored for the T.H.E. Show, the audiophile audio exhibition, with a relatively higher degree of specialization. At THESHOW 2003 Fever Audio Equipment Exhibition, our Swans won two awards in one fell swoop, and the chairman of THESHOW, Mr. Mike Maloney, personally issued a medal certificate. Professionally sure.

Reporter: So, what does the International CES award mean?

Yao: International CES is an international consumer electronics show with a wide range and complex product categories. The "CES Innovations awards - CES Innovation Award" is only different based on text and pictures. The difficulty is extremely high, and the award-winning ratio is extremely low. TechTV only selected three award-winners for High-End Audio advanced audio products, that is, the Best of CES2003 High-End Audio Finalists award for Swans 2.2, the flagship of Swans; When it came to the news that Swans won the award, many Swans American engineers didn't believe it because the chances were too low. When it was confirmed that Swans won the award, everyone couldn't help cheering: "Today is our day". Swans has won unanimous praise for its world-leading ribbon tweeter technology, which is an honor of Swans, and its business philosophy of "selling wisdom, not sweat" has been recognized by the international High-End professional audio industry.

At the exhibition, we found an American manufacturer of counterfeit Swans products. One is a listed company in the United States. All of our products have applied for international patent protection and have entered the stage of prosecution against the other party. However, it also proved the advanced design level of Swans products and the leading edge of the times. The idea of science and technology, it's also a shame for American companies that counterfeit Swans products, because it's really rare.

Reporter: Let me ask Mr. Yao one last question: What are the plans for Swans after winning the award this year?

Yao: Hivi has always been relying on a professional attitude and a hard-working spirit to gain a foothold in the global high-end audio industry. We have won three awards this time. We should see the results and treat them calmly. After the glory, we must Keep a normal heart, only continuous efforts and research can make it possible to go further; technology has no limit, perfect sound has no boundaries, sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat, Hivi will not get hot-headed because of winning once or twice. , we will continue to work hard. Just kidding: we definitely don't get a fever, we just get your ears hot, (laughs)

Reporter: Mr. Yao is really humorous. Thank you Mr. Yao for accepting this interview. Goodbye!

Yao: Goodbye!