[jaxwired]

I just e-mailed JBL and inquired if the K2 S9900 speakers are destined for manufacture in Mexico or China - I hope that I get a reply and perhaps we may be able to put this issue to rest.

 

Be well...

Even if they are made in China, who cares.  There are plenty of cracker jack factories in China.  Many outstanding products are manufactured there with fit and finish to rival the world's finest.  Yes, they make rubbish too but who doesn't?

[Laundrew]

Even if they are made in China, who cares. 

Simple enough question to answer.

I do...

Be well...

[VOLKS]

Even if they are made in China, who cares.  There are plenty of cracker jack factories in China.  Many outstanding products are manufactured there with fit and finish to rival the world's finest.  Yes, they make rubbish too but who doesn't?

Are these the New&Improved low cost per box of Cracker Jacks from China ?



No Thanks.....i will take the Original Made in NA and pay the extra 30 cens lol

[Robert D]

If anybody is interested here is the review on the 800D’S

http://www.dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=137


Regards Robert

Recommended amplifier power: 50W ~ 1,000W into 8Ω on unclipped program
Bi-Wired Of Course

Robert

[vegasdave]

I just e-mailed JBL and inquired if the K2 S9900 speakers are destined for manufacture in Mexico or China - I hope that I get a reply and perhaps we may be able to put this issue to rest.

 

Be well...

Well, the cabinets will be made in Europe but the assembly will be done in Mexico, and the drivers will be made in Mexico.

You can second guess me all you want. It's true. And that's that.

The info is out there. I've given you links. I'm not a liar.

[Bemopti123]

Well, the cabinets will be made in Europe but the assembly will be done in Mexico, and the drivers will be made in Mexico.

You can second guess me all you want. It's true. And that's that.

The info is out there. I've given you links.

I do believe that some Klipsch models or other lines are also made in Mexico?

[vegasdave]

That I'm not sure of, but all of the Harman International speaker lines are now being made in Mexico and/or China. I have nothing to gain by telling all of you this. You can call me a liar and whatever, I really don't care anymore. I'm telling the truth. Believe what you want. I am 100 percent confident that you'll be telling me that I was right.

[Construct]

That I'm not sure of, but all of the Harman International speaker lines are now being made in Mexico and/or China. I have nothing to gain by telling all of you this. You can call me a liar and whatever, I really don't care anymore. I'm telling the truth. Believe what you want. I am 100 percent confident that you'll be telling me that I was right.

Liar!!!!  Heretic!!!! 
You would have us believe that manufactured goods are...>gasp<  OUTSOURCED????  Say it aint so!!!   
Actually, in my advanced decrepitude I have learned to embrace it.  Point of fact is that there are some great products designed in North America or Europe that are built cheaply overseas.  The benefit is that you can get superior sound for less money.  In my case, Outlaw products live up to the reviews, and didn't cost me as much as an equivalent American product.  Some China built tube amps are quite good, at any price.  I *prefer*  to buy North American and keep jobs at home, but the fact is---for the level of performance I have now it would be no less than 3x the cost if built at home.

[pjg66]

This is pretty simple.  The market shrunk over a period of 20 years.  It's now pretty much leveled off and this is the new real market size for high end audio products.  This new smaller market size is not big enough to support brick and mortar stores except in a very few specific atypical cities (LA, NYC for example).  The audio industry has been in denial of this because the home theater boom allowed them to ignore the obvious market shift.  Now, even that has mostly dried up.  The old larger market size is never coming back as those dollars are now owned by many other industries.  However, this new smaller market size IS big enough to keep companies like Bryston in business, but only the companies smart enough to adapt to the new market will survive.  You absolutely must market via the internet to reach the very geographically diverse customers.  You also must provide new marketing strategies that are mail order friendly like 30 day home trials.  You must lower prices as the 50% retail markup is inappropriate for internet sales.  You must allow free market pricing for authorized internet dealers.  That's the future whether you like it or not.

Bravo!  What a cogent and intelligent response to James' question.  Whether anyone likes it or not, this is the reality.  The glory days of high-end audio as we once knew it are over.

I am a perfect example of why the high-end customer base has eroded.  Although I have been 50+ years in this hobby (and have spent a ton of money), about 10 years ago I decided to just be satisfied with what I have.  And it has stuck.  Haven't made a change/improvement in anything in that time.  Though I remain avidly interested in audio and keep up with it via forums like this (and I do absolutely love and respect my Bryston equipment), I will probably never again make a high-end audio purchase.

And more than likely, there is no younger guy to take my place.  Because of the hype, pricing, or whatever young people are simply not attracted to high-end audio as we have known it.  It is telling that practically to a person, all the young people I know (college and high-school age) consider Bose to be the iconic brand for good sound.  And they want formats (MP3, etc.) that provide them quick, convenient and affordable access to their music.

And in spite of the huffing and puffing of Fremer et. al. about the "resurgence" of vinyl, it is and will remain a miniscule niche format with no real impact on the future of audio.

I now live in an area with no B&M dealers (even the mid-fi shops in my city have all gone out of business).  So even it I were to buy more stuff, I would either have to travel hundreds of miles to find dealers or buy on the Internet, which is what I would choose.  And I would demand pricing that didn't include huge dealer markups and 30-day audition policies. 

I sincerely hope and pray that the companies I admire (like Bryston) will find their way through all this and prosper.

Happy listening.

[Construct]

Bravo!  What a cogent and intelligent response to James' question.  Whether anyone likes it or not, this is the reality.  The glory days of high-end audio as we once knew it are over.

The only caveat or addition I'd make:
Stuff has gotten better overall, and there is more value for the money now.  The days of absurd, arbitrary overpricing are waning and stuff that is actually engineered and performs is taking over.  I can get a component that is US designed, and built overseas now that literally costs 1/3 to 1/4 of what the bloated price, overrated high end boutique stuff costs a few years ago.  Who needs a $20K  speaker when a $3K  speaker can equal or exceed the performance?
You know I am referring to direct brands like outlaw,AVA,  emotiva, Salk and yes, VMPS.  I have always been more objective than subjective because I can't swing $20K on speakers. I look at performance and value. That is all the better because there is simply no reason to charge as much as has been charged to get the performance.   
I can't go back to vinyl, I am too lazy to come home after work and spend hours cleaning vinyl and ensuring all the mechanical alignments are right so I can flip the record after 30 minutes.  Call me boorish (I have been called worse)  but I enjoy the set-it-and-forget-it of FLAC, AIFF and apple lossless over the work and pain of getting a hockey stick with a nail in it to grind a 12" vinyl disc. I say that semi-fecitiously, but you get the drift.  Good audio does not need to be a pretentious, extremely expensive hobby practiced by a select few rich druids. 
Remember how everyone went ape over the CAL tempest cd player?  I would not give you $1 for that player now. 

[Anonamemouse]

I do and very well. A brand new nice kitchen is $20-25k. Veneered, stained, lacquered, with expensive hardware like Blum Tandem / Blumotion slides. And this is custom work at your order/choice.

Now compare with two industrially, mass produced boxes. How do you justify the same price.

 

Nap.

Uhm... How much???
For that money you will get a custom built all solid oak marble top kitchen with all siemens appliances from me...
I need to move. I clearly can make millions in the US kitchen industry.

[ctviggen]

You must live somewhere cheap.  One can spend 20-25k on appliances in the U.S., if you go higher end.  A kitchen remodel can cost 100k easily. 

[Napalm]

You know I am referring to direct brands like outlaw,AVA,  emotiva, Salk and yes, VMPS.   

I'm still amazed that people will dig for Emotiva without checking first Anthem. Which really works and has real customer service.

Nap.

[john1970]

I'm still amazed that people will dig for Emotiva without checking first Anthem. Which really works and has real customer service.

Nap.

I second that opinion as well.  There are some direct sell brands that have an excellent reputation and other that have below average QC/reliability.  PM me if you want details.

John

[Napalm]

You must live somewhere cheap.  One can spend 20-25k on appliances in the U.S., if you go higher end.  A kitchen remodel can cost 100k easily.

That's another scam. Once you're past the obvious upgrades (size and stuff like having stainless steel doors instead of white paint ones), how exactly is the cold in a $4000 refrigerator better than the cold in a $1500 one?

Nap. 

[BobRex]

That's another scam. Once you're past the obvious upgrades (size and stuff like having stainless steel doors instead of white paint ones), how exactly is the cold in a $4000 refrigerator better than the cold in a $1500 one?

Nap. 

And Stainless is a real PITA to keep clean.  Looks great in the showroom, but let a family have at it for a month and it looks like hell.  How did that finish ever pass the ABX test?

[mix4fix]

These are expensive speakers, regardless of how much more expensive others may be. You have to be prepared to add to the expense by spending money on some serious power, because you won’t know how good they are if you don’t. You also absolutely need to try a variety of amps and cables with the 800D’s because they respond very audibly to changes in those other components.

With Best Buy/Mini-Mag, you're gonna get some inexperienced person (kid) who will have it hooked up to a whatever A/V receiver (connected by Monster Cable) and crank up Lady Gaga for a minute pefore they turn it down and ask "how's that?".

[Stu Pitt]

I understand why people get upset about hifi gear being sold in mass market places like Magnolia and Amazon.  Yet these are mainly the same people who hate the iPod and today's music production quality. 

Seems kind of like an oxymoron to me.  They want people to stop listening to crap components and low sound quality, yet they don't want the masses to have their traditional acess to great sounding gear. 

I'd love to see a hifi shop in a mall that sells entry level hifi gear like NAD and Rotel along side upscale gear like Bryston and McIntosh.  Lure them in with iPod accessories like the Wadia iTransport in the window, then let them hear what recorded music should sound right.  If the demo is done properly, sales will increase.  Others will begin carrying good gear to compete.  Or at least that's what my crazy imagination tells me. 

There's a great store where I grew up - Albany, NY.  They carry a brand or two like Sony and JVC.  They advertise in print and the radio, and include brand names and pictures of stuff like McIntosh and B&W.  The mass market gear that's priced a little lower than the competition gets people in the door.  Seeing and hearing Mac and Cambridge gear opens their eyes to the possibilities of great music reproduction. 

While they're not invincible to the current economic climate, they do pretty well.  They've been around for about 30 years, and their business model hasn't changed.

Hippo's in Albany started me down this crazy path. 

There used to be a Nobody Beats The Wiz in the mall, which surprisingly had a good mix of hifi and mass market gear. 

[Stu Pitt]

With Best Buy/Mini-Mag, you're gonna get some inexperienced person (kid) who will have it hooked up to a whatever A/V receiver (connected by Monster Cable) and crank up Lady Gaga for a minute pefore they turn it down and ask "how's that?".

At least they saw and heard the gear.  Just because you don't like the way others enjoy their music doesn't mean they shouldn't enjoy it how they want to. 

Not to say that that's a proper demo by any means.  When the staff doesn't demo the gear right, it most likely won't sell.  Any customer who's serious about buying the gear will pay more attention than a 10 second clip of Lady Gaga cranked.  While people can be pretty stupid, most aren't that stupid. 

On another forum, a guy said something along the lines of 'Great.  Now they'll play Puff Daddy on Martin Logans pushed right up against the wall and crank the he'll out of it." My question was how does that effect you?

Live and let live.   

[jaxwired]

Simple enough question to answer.

I do...

Be well...

My reply was just meant to address the common misconception that China cannot produce the same quality as a European or US manufactured product.  That's simply false.  If, however, your interest lies in just wanting to support North American manufacturing, then I fully understand.

AND, no, you be well.  I mean really.  I'm not just saying that.  I'm worried.