What began as a small record swap meet grew into the country’s biggest gathering for audio enthusiasts and music lovers alike. This year brought the 22nd November HiFi show, a two-day event held on Nov. 16 to 17 in Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City featuring top audio equipment brands and local record sellers: a haven for those who consume their music the old-fashioned way.
The event focused on sound: whether that’s watching the latest movies through a home theater set-up or sitting down and listening to a vinyl record, each booth’s focus is on the listener’s auditory experience. Stroll through hallways of hotel rooms turned into listening parties, where international audio brands and companies show off their speakers and amplifiers. Step into function rooms filled with local record sellers where a variety of genres and artists occupy the same box.
Physical media isn’t dead
Despite us being in the age of streaming services, one quick stroll past the booths and crowds of people is proof that there’s still a community that prefers the opposite. And it isn’t limited to those who grew up with these kinds of formats–younger generations still buy CDs, some even collecting vinyl records.
In a series of interviews with The Benildean, attendees and sellers were asked about this niche community and how it’s been thriving.
“Almost everyday pag nag-live [selling] ako may bumibili–and hindi siya ‘yung pare-parehas na buyers iba-iba [...] ‘yung mga kabataan tulad nyo, ‘yung mga ages mga 15 [years old] pataas they listen to city pop, ‘yung iba they're into jazz [...] It's a good business talaga,” Renee Chua, store owner of the Vintage Loft, mentioned when asked why he still sells vinyl records.
“Syempre in collecting walang katapusan, actually ‘yun talaga ‘yung reason kung bakit hanggang ngayon napakarami pa rin bibili ng plaka,” he mentioned. People would collect the entire discography of an artist, or have a collection of their favorite albums–even if these formats are no longer the norm, people of different ages buy these physical records out of their love of music.
Part of it is also the experience people get out of listening to their records. For Edrel Sison, an audio equipment seller, he notes the growing community surrounding these vintage music formats, “The resurgence of vinyl is probably [...] because of the inconvenience. Vinyl enthusiasts like the inconvenience, you know, getting the media, reading the articles on the media, and then using the turntable, cueing, and then finally listening to the intended music.”
Intentional listening
Aside from the physical copies of music you can find, many sellers showcased speakers, headphones, and other audio-related gear. For Sison, who focuses on selling spare parts used to create speakers and amplifiers, there’s still a market for sound equipment. “There's still a market for audio equipment [...] [despite] streaming [being] the norm nowadays because of the cost and availability.”
But why? Why would a person go through the hassle just to listen to music? Audio enthusiasts go the extra mile in order to get that ‘high-fidelity’ sound. “For manufacturers or sellers, the most important thing is to avoid distortion because it's unpleasant. Everybody likes good sounding equipment so it’s pleasant to the ears. For us, any distortion would be bad and will affect your experience in listening to music,” Sison adds.
The way music is consumed nowadays, it’s relegated to being background noise while working instead of appreciating it. When investing in a better sound system and physical media such as vinyl, it makes the listener more intentional and present with the music they’re consuming. These audio enthusiasts put extra care and attention to the way their music sounds and which albums they buy—and because of the format of CDs and vinyl records, they finish the whole tracklist instead of switching to another song immediately.
For college student Gertie Mendiola, she noted the difference between streaming and listening on vinyl, “It will help you immerse yourself more [in the music] and especially nowadays, a lot of people when they listen to songs, they just listen to one song that they like from an artist over and over. But they don't get to explore more about that artist's discography and what else they actually do.”
An investment in time and money
Collecting records and investing in equipment is not the cheapest hobby. It’s true that being more present with what we consume is important, but not everyone has the time to put on a record in the morning before work—nor does everyone have the budget. Because of this, the vinyl and audio community remains niche.
But in this niche community is a growing market. Mendiola talked of the importance of the November HiFi show, “It promotes these smaller businesses also who are selling these vinyls–and I mean if we're gonna think about it there's not a lot of local artists that have [their albums on] vinyl,” she then mentioned the local city-pop band ALYSON, who played in Benilde for UNITE 2024 as an exception. “They just released a vinyl recently which is pretty cool, because like I haven't seen any for like a lot of local bands.”
For those who are looking into investing in better audio equipment and buying physical copies of music, it’s good to ask why you’re doing it: whether that’s wanting to appreciate music better or supporting local artists.
“If they buy vinyl, they'll end up finding out that these artists have a lot more diverse music that they're making and also it's a very fun experience. Although it might be kind of pricey and expensive, I think it's a pretty good investment,” Mendiola mentioned as one of the reasons she’d recommend vinyl collecting as a hobby to people her age.
Sison gave the reminder that your equipment doesn’t have to be too expensive when you’re starting out, “One thing that you should look at is your capability spending. It doesn't mean that if you are spending less, that doesn't mean [...] that you cannot get better quality music. Just choose the products with good reviews, [those] should be worth considering.”
The passion and love for music is evident in the November HiFi show. More than an event, it’s a vibrant community that’s been built over 22 years and counting.
Catch the HiFi show next year, Nov. 15 to 16, 2025 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City and check out their Facebook page at November Hi-Fi Show.
