FiiO Industrial Park/Factory Tour + Interview with Founder

[Ferrum Master]

There are multiple high suction chimneys above and the entire area felt like it had some form of laminar air flow, I didn't notice any fumes lingering.

You cannot smell them, most resins are not that smelly as we use at home. I can turn on my soldering gun and in 30seconds my air quality meters in different room start to scream, the gas mixtures react very fast. At work, where I have proper EPA area with soldering stations, everything is set to standards, there is no guessing game here. ESD rules are also pretty poor there, tables are not grounded properly, some are pretty damaged, I cannot see if their uniforms meet ESD, no badges, they use casual footwear, no straps. But that is their problem, as it will increase the RMA rates and faulty goods, they do RF parts there, it is not that primitive.

One tech has a simpe fan on the desk, basically sharing the fumes with others. Look at how nasty it looks. There are special mobile fans for fumes, but those are connected to active carbon filters. You have to have a pipe coming across each soldering point, with active suction. That is simple air vent you stated there, for regulating CO2 levels. This a factory, we can do life hacks at home and risk with our own health. Looking at this makes me sad. During 60ies, 70ties, my older colleagues did not even know about the hazards, but now, they can talk about their common illnesses, what's left of them either way.

Working conditions in Asia is a known problem, it should not be defended and tolerated by any means. It may look innocent at first glance, but the silent killers are the most deadly ones.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

I am just glad I don't have any cassette tapes, CDs, or vinyl records on hand to do reviews of those players now.

I'm not trying to be cruel I just expect better from FiiO. That's a complement. Not a slam. This is just very confusing as a product.

The Washington DC capitol audio fest is this weekend and I blew 5k on a new stylus so this is funny from that angle as well!

 

[AtiAmd]

I had two of their products and both failed within a year. I do not recommend that rubbish company to anyone!

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

VSG will laugh but should he get his ass to the US https://www.stereophile.com/content/capital-audiofest-2024-rockville-maryland

And I almost bought this... https://www.artisanfidelity.com/phonocartridges/miyabi-labs-fuuga

 

[DDp]

I respect Fiio, they are making pretty good products for fair price

 

[brendonmc]

Love the article, and love the brand Fiio. I have their X7 hi-res player and it's awesome despite its age. It reminds me of when I visited visited Guangzhou and Shenzhen in 2002 whilst doing a job over in China. In Shenzhen there was this huge electronics market with vendors selling any conceivable device imaginable, including so many mp3 players (topping out at a whopping 64mb) at a time before the iPod became a global sensation (as they were only released in 2001). Guangzhou is a wonderful city to visit too, full of tram busses and great food and atmosphere.