Audiophile slang
Chi-Fi
Also called Chinese hi-fi, ChiFi
Chi-Fi is the nickname for the wave of audio gear from Chinese brands that, since about 2015, has delivered in-ear monitors, DACs and amplifiers at prices that older brands could not match. It started as a dismissive term and is now mostly used with respect.
Brands such as Moondrop, 7Hz, Truthear, KZ, Topping, SMSL and FiiO sell direct, iterate fast and tune to measurable targets like the Harman target, which is how a ten-dollar IEM came to measure like products costing twenty times more. Much of the budget end of the audiophila. catalog is Chi-Fi.
The criticism is quality control, short product lives and a flood of near-identical releases that feeds the flavor-of-the-month cycle. The praise is that Chi-Fi made good sound cheap and forced established makers to compete on measurements. Both are true.