U.S.A?

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chgolatin2

U.S.A?
« on: 10 Dec 2008, 12:59 am »
Wow, hardly anything is made in the good ole U.S of A!  Whatever happen to our American society that only demanded US Made products???  God, everything and I mean everything is made in China, Korea, Mexico etc...  Then we wonder why American's don't have jobs...  Sad~!  but we all are the culprits of this..  Most of our audiophile gear is Made In China!  Well, can I say almost everything?   :scratch:


Crimson

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #1 on: 10 Dec 2008, 01:05 am »
Well....................My speakers, subs, dac, preamp, power conditioners, stands, racks, and cables are all made in the US. My amps are from Canada and China, crossover from Canada, TT/Cart/phono pre are from the UK, and SACD player from Japan.

The Mac is designed in the US, and assembled in Taiwan.  :green:

What's the problem?

Zero

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #2 on: 10 Dec 2008, 01:09 am »
There's plenty of American-made product in Hi-Fi.  There's also plenty of European product as well. In fact, there are a number of companies based in China that are bringing forth innovative and unique products. It's an exciting time for hi-fi, and you can find just about anything you like - if you search hard enough for it.


Kevin Haskins

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #3 on: 10 Dec 2008, 02:04 am »
All of my amplifier chassis will be made in the USA.   Really, it is hard to make anything 100% in the USA because the nature of the world is International.   Some of my best suppliers are in Europe or Asia so I don't want to NOT use them simply because they are not in North America.

Having said that, I'm going to be doing much of my newer chassis work in-house with a new CNC Mill & lathe I've bought.    They are going to be more expensive than China sourced parts but the flexibility in design and the ability to make anything I need in low volume are the trade-off.

Hopefully people will see value in American Made and the hand-built with good ole fashion craftsmanship.   But I primarily think people buy based upon what they consider is good value.   That doesn't always translate to cheap.   Value can mean a lot of things.


Vinnie R.

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Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #4 on: 10 Dec 2008, 02:06 am »
Hi chgolatin2,

We at Red Wine Audio proudly design and build our products right here in the state of CT, USA.  
This is the way it will ALWAYS be! (at least the "USA" part)

Louis of Omega Loudspeakers is 45 minutes south of me in Norwalk, CT where he designs and builds his speakers
from start to finish.

There are other manufacturers on Audiocircle that design and build here in the USA, such as Ed of The Hornshoppe, Dan at Modwright, and quite a few others here as well!

While we are not big companies, we all take great pride in designing and manufacturing high-quality products right here in the USA. :)

Quote
It's an exciting time for hi-fi, and you can find just about anything you like - if you search hard enough for it.

I agree with Zero!

Best regards,

Vinnie

JIMV

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Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #5 on: 10 Dec 2008, 02:46 am »
Wow, hardly anything is made in the good ole U.S of A!  Whatever happen to our American society that only demanded US Made products???  God, everything and I mean everything is made in China, Korea, Mexico etc...  Then we wonder why American's don't have jobs...  Sad~!  but we all are the culprits of this..  Most of our audiophile gear is Made In China!  Well, can I say almost everything?   :scratch:



Does the phrase greedy,  union labor and illegals mean anything to you. Now add in the cost of government regulation and your $1000 amp costs $3000 if made in the USA. You want to fix it, fire Congress.

TONEPUB

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #6 on: 10 Dec 2008, 02:56 am »
Most of the better gear is still made here or in the UK.

CJ, AYRE, ARC, BAT, McIntosh, Boulder, Wilson, Avalon, Magnepan
just to name a few are still made here.

Naim, Rega, Meridian, Harbeth, SME are still made in the UK.

I could probably list about 50 more.  Very little of the best gear in
high end audio is made in China, if any.

And a number of mfrs. like MartinLogan that get some of their lower
end product made in China are bringing production back here, so
not sure what you are talking about...

jtwrace

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Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #7 on: 10 Dec 2008, 03:00 am »


And a number of mfrs. like MartinLogan that get some of their lower
end product made in China are bringing production back here, so
not sure what you are talking about...

really?  is this a fact?  why?

Wind Chaser

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #8 on: 10 Dec 2008, 03:10 am »
Keep in mind Audio Circle is not American website, nor does it merely cater to Americans.  This is an international community.

I couldn't care less where something is made as long as it is made on planet earth, preferably by human beings.

JerryM

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Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #9 on: 10 Dec 2008, 03:13 am »
Keep in mind Audio Circle is not American website nor does it merely cater to Americans.  This is an international community.

I couldn't care less where something is made as long as it is made on planet earth, preferably by human beings.

Ditto. But even my blender needs to sound good...  :icon_lol:

Have fun,
Jerry

Kevin Haskins

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #10 on: 10 Dec 2008, 03:25 am »
Even the things manufactured here have foreign content.   Even if you do final assembly here components are always sourced Internationally.   Virtually all passive parts are made in Japan, Taiwan, mainland China, etc...     Power transformers are typically sourced from Asia.   Even the domestic suppliers like Avel Lindberg have Chinese based manufacturing.     Most transducers are sourced from Asia.   Tymphany has a China plant for manufacturing so Peerless, Scan Speak, Vifa are Chinese made products. 

I'd say it is extremely difficult to produce anything without some foreign content.   Especially loudspeakers because most of the supporting industries are all in China.   

doorman

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #11 on: 10 Dec 2008, 05:52 am »
Take heart folks, the Chinese had a rich and advanced culture while much of the world was far behind. Globalization's not going anywhere soon.
Don

TONEPUB

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #12 on: 10 Dec 2008, 06:03 am »


And a number of mfrs. like MartinLogan that get some of their lower
end product made in China are bringing production back here, so
not sure what you are talking about...

really?  is this a fact?  why?

Costs of getting defective product from China, costs of shipping, and most
of all lead times.

Easier just to make it locally.

konut

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Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #13 on: 10 Dec 2008, 02:46 pm »

Costs of getting defective product from China, costs of shipping, and most
of all lead times.

Easier just to make it locally.

AV123 is finding this out, the hard way, with their electronic lines.
 I make a conscious effort to not buy Chinese manufactured goods for the same reason I don't shop at Walmart: keeping the competition viable prevents the establishment of a monopoly. I am not always successful. Mainly its a price vs quality ratio. For example, I bought an American made bicycle, Cannondale, because I was able to get 40% off a demo model. I would never have paid full retail. But, I have also pre-ordered 2 X-Amps from AV123, which are manufactured in China. It remains to be seen if my perceived value vs quality vector will be realised.

wilsynet

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Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #14 on: 10 Dec 2008, 03:19 pm »
Does the phrase greedy,  union labor and illegals mean anything to you. Now add in the cost of government regulation and your $1000 amp costs $3000 if made in the USA. You want to fix it, fire Congress.

Yes, what's wrong is that our labor is *both* too expensive (unions) AND too cheap (illegals).  Thanks for the refresher in political talking points; didn't quite get enough in the last election.

All of my audio equipment is made in the USA.  Not because I was especially patriotic but because I especially liked it.  Maybe innovation really is alive and kicking here afterall.

Big Red Machine

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #15 on: 10 Dec 2008, 03:36 pm »


And a number of mfrs. like MartinLogan that get some of their lower
end product made in China are bringing production back here, so
not sure what you are talking about...

really?  is this a fact?  why?

Not sure ML for sure, but the inflation rate had increased in China and with the shipping costs and cost of quality factored in, some electronics manufacturers had begun pulling out of China..... and then going to Malyasia.  Also Vietnam is next on the hit parade once their infrastructure solidifies.  Not sure in the end how many are coming back to the U.S.  There is a major rigger/outfitter business in Tennesse who is full up with relocating some businesses back to the U.S. from China but I did not think to ask what sectors they were busy with.   :duh:  Don't forget that China's allure is also that they have a billion consumers of goods.  They're not just a manufacturing site for shipment back to here, but as their economy grows and more "middle class" develop, they consume and China's government prefers it to be locally manufactured.  Another example; GM sells more Buicks in China than anywhere else on the planet right now.

martyo

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #16 on: 10 Dec 2008, 04:25 pm »
All my gear except the BluRay was built here, in Minnesota and Michigan.

I work in manufacturing, or at least try to.
I have much more to say on my families own personal buying practices, but it would no doubt be the first step towards sending this thread to limbo  :nono:   8)

miklorsmith

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #17 on: 10 Dec 2008, 04:30 pm »
Zu, SP Tech, DeVore, Van Alstine, Lamm, Art Audio, Fi, Salk, and Modwright are other, outstanding US designer/manufacturers.  There are a lot more.  It's not hard at all to have a nearly all-US-made system if you try.  Mine is about 80% US made by value.

Brown

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Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #18 on: 10 Dec 2008, 05:26 pm »
American Manfs could be competitive with Chinese manfs if import taxes were inforced as well as tax credits to our manfs.
   Be reminded that not all goods manf. in China are less expensive. The pricing has caught up and the difference in price may not be worth the difference in quality. If the tax or capitol gains regulations are relaxed herewe could match anyones price. Not trying to be political here so excuse the reference.

PhilNYC

Re: U.S.A?
« Reply #19 on: 10 Dec 2008, 05:57 pm »
   Be reminded that not all goods manf. in China are less expensive. The pricing has caught up and the difference in price may not be worth the difference in quality.

Also be reminded that not all goods manufactured in China are of poor quality... :wink:

(disclosure: I am a dealer for Cayin, a Chinese audio manufacturer.  I became a dealer for them because of what I perceived to be excellent quality products as well as strong price/performance and solid distributor support).