Chinese DAC's

Wise post!

I dont need to write anything more...

I learned long ago when I could still hear well that electronics account for a small part of one’s sound compared to transducers and room acoustics. But like most of us I like nice things, so I have gone through many amps, preamps, CD players, etc. 

DACs seem like a problem solved. My SMSL DO200Pro ($400) does me fine.  Even with tariffs it will still be a bargain. 

@yoyoyaya that is correct.  Also, since the tariffs apply when landed and country that has a 90 day delay, must have goods on the water by the middle to end of May to get them through customs before July 4.

One of our customers (we are a manufacturer) wanted us to eat the tariffs, we declined their kind offer.

There are talented engineers around the world so I wouldn't use nationality as a criterion, except where the country has very high labor costs reflected in the price. Some producers may use counterfeit parts especially in the crossover. Caveat emptor. 

NAD increased the price on their Masters M23 Power Amp 29% just prior to tariffs  from Canada going into effect. Coincidence?

For those who skipped Econ 101 or took it before about 1990, we now live in an inextricably interconnected world of global supply chains. The finished component relies on parts from several global sources, and those parts, semiconductors and, yes, tubes, rely on another set of supply chains for the machinery to fabricate the components and a second supply chain for the silicon, tungsten, and rare earths necessary for their fabrication. Those sources in turn rely on the manufacturers of extractive mining equipment who rely on ... and on and on it goes. Those heady 19th century days when technology amounted to coal, iron, brass and wood, and economic self-sufficiency was a possibility are long gone and so is any relevance of tariffs based on that kind of economic theory. Driving with the rear-view mirror it's called. Not surprisingly, it ends up in a crash.