Schiit is assembled in California and Texas, with mostly USA made parts...
Made In China
There seems to be a lot of varying opinion when it comes to China and the products that are made there. I personally know of an audio store in my home town that made the decision to no longer carry products with manufacturing ties in China. Maybe that’s why they have such a limited show room? Recently, I purchased a Cayin RU2 portable DAC and headphone dongle that‘s made in China. It’s the only audio product that I own that’s solely manufactured by a Chinese company and so far I have no complaints. Of course, my Apple products were likely made in China and I like those a lot. And if I’m correct (and I’m likely incorrect), Denafrips and Schiit Audio products are assembled in China but I’m uncertain where those companies are located. So I’m just wondering about audio products from Asia that offer high end build and sound quality. I would assume that most products from China, Korea, Japan, etc… offer a high value for the dollar? Anyway, please feel free to share your opinion and knowledge on this topic as I’m wanting to learn more about what‘s out made and engineered in that part of the world.
Thanks!
75 responses
From the Schiit website see below: Mike
''Designed and Built in California By “designed and built in California" this is what we mean: the vast majority of the total production cost of Tyr—chassis, boards, transformers, assembly, etc—goes to US companies manufacturing in the US. Our chassis are made minutes from our facility. Our PCBs are done just over the hill from us. Our transformers are also made in California. All of this comes together in our Valencia, California facility, where each Tyr is assembled, tested, burned in for 3 days, and then listen-tested again.
5-Year Warranty Tyr is covered by a limited warranty that covers parts and labor for five years. That’s 5 years. Yes. FIVE. Which is up to 5X that of our competition, if you weren’t so hot at math. Note the marketing weasel-wording “up to.”
15-Day Satisfaction Guarantee Try Tyr in your own house for 15 days. If you don’t like them, simply send them back for a refund, minus a 5% transaction fee. Try spending 15 days in an audio store. They’ll kick you out. Unless you buy them donuts. Maybe.'' |
I own 4 low cost fantastic chinese products... One from japan... Two from germany ... One from France... No defects and complaints... I enjoy audiophile experience with out of the head soundfield headphone... I enjoy with the limitation of a small set of speakers almost audiophile sound with pin point imaging a soundstage englobing my position and even clear 50 hertz bass ...... i dont need anything more...😊 To really crush my system not a sidegrade will cost me instead of 1000 bucks , 15 times more (+ BACCH filters)... I am not frustrated because i enjoy the minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold as it is now ...
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I have owned a bunch of chinese products But am getting away from it why For thr ccp runs everything inclufing child labor An wiegert slave labor.my uncle works as a engineer And he seen first hand 80% live in poverty Thats why no more and even Hegel is built in China but you neven hear about it Sonus fabers lower level products also. Sad but true. |
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I have worked for global high tech manufacturing companies for most of my career. Most recently spending about a week in mainland China and Japan each month, then for several months in Europe and Mexico in contract manufacturers and logistics centers. In general, Japan designs and manufactures excellent products of all kinds, China produces some of the finest products… think iPhones, complete junk, and everything in between. korea also produces some excellent products… think Aurender.
At the highest level, the best audio products come from the US, but with some outstanding products from Europe, Korea and Japan. I would say the US and Europe dominate. But, these are generalizations. When you drop down to lower tier stuff, it is all over the map. Overall, country of origin is of little consequence when purchasing equipment.
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Wise post and you are certainly right ... I trust you about audio...ghdprentice
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I prefer American products. The remembrances of at least 251 military interventions between 1991 and 2022 in no way affect the quality of the US audio product. And all governements change around the world and killings since 1945 is only for the greater good , no ? Am i brainwash?😁 As i said it is better for the thread to stay on audio...😊
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I own two products from Denafrips, a Chinese company, and they seem to be very well made. I’ve had zero issues, although I’ve only owned them for slightly less than a year. They do come with a warranty and Denafrips has US support. They are also responsive to emails. They have changed my opinion of Chinese made products in that it is possible to find well made/engineered Chinese components. |
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Do not confuse moderation with suggestion... And to your sarcastic political post i gave another sarcastic political answer... my answer is as true as what you said by the way ... This means there is no valid reason to boycott china or US... Or we must boycott the two together ... 😁 Are you the only one who had the right to spoke political facts ? China kill uyghurs , true, but Us kiilled how many people in all wars think Vietnam and Iraq and all South American one etc ... Read my posts and try to emulate my quality of posts before attacking me because to your brainwashing post i oppose another one ( perhaps truer )... I like discussion , i never spoke english then my writing is heavy and lenghty but i propose some information ...
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Each time i spoke to a narrow mind short of arguments in the last 8 years since i am here , when he does not know what to answer because the emperor clothes are revealed he attack me through this well chosen avatar ... I pick this avatar for two reasons, i like this russian poet and singer , mythical persona in his country, and i picked it knowing that narrow mind as bull on a red flag will attack ...Then i can recognize the type of person with whom i spoke for who he is... Only children or narrow rageful mind will mock someone about his avatar as a last resort...
😁 Stay in audio... I will stay on this matter too ...
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@audioman58 No that is not true. Was at one time but they moved all manufacturing back to Italy, where the best shoes come from too!
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Every industrial country has or is committing some sort of social injustice. English, French, Dutch and German products come from countries that were steeped in colonial imperialism or outright genocide. US and Canadian products are produced on land stolen from the indigenous peoples with societies built on the backs of slaves and exploited immigrants. Japanese manufacturing grew out of the brutality of their Asian conquests in WWII. S. Korea is highly stratified with throngs of under paid workers. Chinese labor practices have already been covered. Most other manufacturing countries have their warts, too. So what it really comes down to is whether or not the product performs well for the given price. What country it originates from is really a status or culture war issue. |
This may be splitting hairs but "made in China" and "assembled in China" are different in my opinion. I have owned several Hegel amps and loved them all. Manufacturing takes place in China, leaving the Norway HQ for product development, circuit design, parts sourcing, testing, repairs and software coding. I have no issue with a company assembling product where it makes economic sense. We live in a global community. |
If you were shopping for an ICBM would you avoid North Korea because they starve their people? Would you avoid buying goods made in the USA because you have come to realize that 99% of our elected politicians are bought and paid for by big business? If a person were to compose a list of countries that continue human rights violations and only buy from from wonderful people like the Swiss-haha, Israelites, Mexico, Guatemala, you will be kidding yourself. Personally I avoid China made goods and support US companies but not in every case. Why? Well nobody's perfect! |
Any country that keeps 1.3 million Uighurs in concentration camps where mass rape, waterboarding, and sexual abuse are practiced is hardly a "wart" to be overlooked, or being "holier than thou" to notice, or a hypocrite either. It’s pretty cold blooded to do business with those perpetrating those atrocities in China in order to save money on our equipment. It does not come down to being a "status or culture war". It comes down to common decency. The horrors being perpetrated in China are intolerable just like the WW2 era Nazi concentration camps, not a joke, and not be ignored. Many horrors have been perpetrated throughout history throughout the world. Looking the other way on issues this big has not been the answer then or now. Mike |
IAG is an innovative vertically integrated maker, and their Warfedale 85th Anniversary Heritage speaker is an amazing value at $1400 a pair. Hearing is believing. Many say this is the best speaker in world under $2k matching speakers that sell over $5k. I drive them with an amp made in the Midwest US 40 years ago. I love them both. |
Opera Consonance and Music AM make outstanding amplifiers. I tend to avoid products made in America as I am strongly against the foreign policy pursued by that country over the years and its interference in foreign regimes. As you posted, "It comes down to common decency.". I am also boycotting anything made in Israel until that country sees a regime change, |
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Lots of High-End audio equipment is manufactured in China and many people don't even realize it. It all comes down to the quality control of the manufacturing and who is driving it! I own Holo Audio May DAC and Serene preamp from China and I can assure you the quality is first rate and better than that of many high-end companies from other places including the US! I also own Korean made equipment and American made equipment. I remember when I was a kid everyone knew Japanese products were junk! That all changed due to Deming and the US helping them improve the manufacturing process after WW2. China is certainly capable of manufacturing high end audio equipment and a lot cheaper that most countries! |
Back to the OP's question. A company I'm quite familiar with, Vincent Audio, has a lot of their products built in China. All of their products are designed in Germany, and they built their own factory in China and have the control to maintain the build process to their strict standards. I currently own three examples, all hybrid tube/ss, which is something Vincent got into early on. IMHO, their gear bats way above it's price range and the build quality rivals that of western countries. It is also some of the best sounding gear I have owned, and, with several years in, I have yet to experience any problems with my examples. |
The challenge I have with MADE IN CHINA products is the fact that Chinese companies (some are joint ventures with their western counterpart) continue to be opaque in their relationship with or ownership by members of the Chinese Communist Party, as the majority of companies in China have ties with the CCP. Just google the "Construction Cranes Made in China" to see very recent troubling developments there... Having said that, most audio companies are rather SMALL compared to automobile manufacturing companies... and I have my doubts if CCP will exploit audio companies for their political / economic advantage. BUT, I still do not trust the CCP, period. |
In modern times, the U.S. has done more in military aid, economic aid, and humanitarian aid than any other country in the world. The U.S. funds the lions share of NATO, and also offers economic and humanitarian aid during natural disasters in far flung places around the world. The U.S. promotes freedom and democracy around the world. The U.S. militaries play a large roll in insuring freedom of navigation in disputed and contested waters around the world. Terrorism is fought, though based on the current administration’s border “policies,” many middle eastern and Chinese “military-aged-males” have been strolling unopposed right into our country primarily from the south, but also increasingly from the north. It chills me to the core thinking what the results of this administration’s gross negligence on the borders will end up costing us. No, the U.S. is not perfect, most of its inner cities face soaring crime, horrible school attendance and grades, but some crimes are starting to go down, and graduation rates are inching up. Drugs, particularly Chinese sourced ingredients and production equipment for making fentanyl continue to be a problem. More US teens and young adults have died from fentanyl overdoses than died in the Vietnam war. But despite all her shortcomings, on balance the U.S. continues to be among the strongest, most generous and compassionate countries in the world, promoting freedom, peace, democracy, and when needed, a strong military across the globe.
But for those citizens, illegals, and everyone in between, just remember, you can leave whenever you want, can’t do that everywhere. |
The World has always been, and will always be, an imperfect place. If you truly want to keep yourself free of human exploitation you need to live in a monastery, wear a hairshirt and grow your own food. I don’t have the perfect answer but listening to well reproduced music is one the few unadulterated pleasures that I have. |
anotherbob: "The U.S. promotes freedom and democracy around the world". Wow there is a bit of historical revisionism going on there. Whenever I travel to Xieng Khouan and see many limbless kids and adults because they picked up anti personnel weapons dropped by the US - more bombing per head of population than during the whole of WW2 I will think of that comment Bob. |
The best products for a small country is Denmark they make a lot of great products Germany also , North America too is very good . Products from Taiwan ,and Hong Kong are the pretty sound . Several big cable companies have some of their connectors made in Taiwan by their standards . Schiit uses some parts from China inside on a few components. ,I have owned their dacs , the freya + the vast majority is U.S or Europe ,a few parts from China to say made in U.SA I believe as long as over 50 % parts and assembled here then it can be called. That. Your budget too will dictate a lot of this . Many Loudspeaker drivers that are pretty decent are made in Taiwan, Malaysia ,Parasound made in Taiwan . I opened up a friends McIntosh to recommend parts for rebuilding . they were owned by a Audiophile then sold out to a corporation , parts quality for sure should be higher in some areas.when corporations buy them it’s all about cost savings and production , sad but true . The pricing is getting way outof control during coved now prices25% higher . Now it’s more an investment. You have to save for . That’s the way it is . |
@laoman +1 |
I peesonally try to keep my money close to home. North America. Canada makes some really good products. It seems that most gear made in the US is out of my price range. Schiit exclueded. Canada offers the Anthem and Paradigm brands, which i own and really like, at relatively moderate prices for their mid level gear. For the money that was the best i could afford of the North American companies. My sub is a rel. Yes china made but they are just good at what they do and its what Im familiar with. Im not ruling out an American made sub in the future but i think rel is hard to beet in the world of subs. |
