For me:
Apogee Acoustics - U.S
SoundCare - Norway
BAT - U.S
Audiolab - UK
MHDT Labs - Taiwan
BlueSound - U.S
Symo - Swiss
Silnote Audio - U.S
Wireworld - U.S
Made in USA
I love to support USA products as much as I can. Even if it costs more. Id say 2nd choice Europe or Japan. Last place China.
So USA made HiFi products I have are... Magnepan, Odyssey, Geshelli, Rythmik, Schitt, Bluejean, Belden, Analog Productions( vinyl). Musichall & Monitor Audio (UK), Nagaoka, Magomi(Japan),
Other USA made HiFi I know of.. Kilpsch (high end speakers), Jeff Rowland, P.S. Audio, Emotiva?
Im sure there are more. Please continue list and lets support our own.
Main system Turntable - Swiss Tonearm - England Cartridge - Danish Phono Pre - US (power supply China) CD - France DAC - US Streamer - China Pre amp(s) - US (Both upgraded with parts from around the world) Amp(s) - DIY and US (Both upgraded with parts from around the world) Integrated Amp - US Speakers - DIY with parts and drivers from around the world. Also Speakers from US and England Second System Receiver - Japan Turntable - Scotland Tonearm - Japan Cartridge - Denmark Speakers - Denmark Desktop Integrated - Serbia Speakers - Japan DAC/Player - China
It’s a global thing…
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Japanese integrated amp, Japanese preamp, American turntable, American speakers, American power conditioner. I’m not exactly the patriotic type, and haven’t bought an American car since the late 60’s. But just as "Made in Japan" used to stand for junk, Chinese manufacturing has taken over that catagory. Low prices coincide with an endemic lack of manufacuring quality control. Compare a simple item you can visually inspect like an American or German made tool compared to a Chinese equivalent. The difference is obvious if you look at the castings. I laughed when I read (I think it was) baseball great Ichiro Suzuki’s farewell interview when he retired and was going back home to Japan. Out of the blue, he observed, "everything breaks in America". No wonder, everything here is Chinese made junk anymore. That’s not to say American cars weren’t made like garbage until Toyota and their ilke cleaned American carmaker’s clock with their excellent later 20th century Japanese quality control standards. But buying Chinese audio equipment and hoping to avoid the quality control quagmire over there is a risk not worth taking until they clean up their manufacturing act. Until then there’s lots of dependable quality merchandise including audio equipment coming out of Europe, Japan, the U.S. and Canada and these are all free world counties where your consumer dollar isn’t supporting dictators and massive concentration camps like the Chinese treat the Uighar population to on the side. Peace, love, good music, and do the right thing, Mike |
I, too, have bits 'n pieces from basically all the major players, 'cause that's the world we now live on. As long as it all 'gets along nicely', can't complain. Open your fridge....tell me what you can't find elsewhere than somewhere else. Imported alcohols, mexican tomatoes (seasonal items, air freighted), olives from Spain, Italy...Caviar is a bit harder to get, I'll assume... Our world has become dependent on all of it, and we have become essential to make it 'run' in the way we count on it. This tribal stuff is getting in the way, and may be the death of us to continue. Just saying, mho... |
Matrix Audio Element X into Willsenton R800i for me. Wish I could try this one out https://doge.audio/product/doge-10-padc/ , but alas, not today. |
I am British and live in England. I buy the components I think are best and suitable for my needs. My amplifiers have been all Audio Research and (old) Krell. I had Naim in their glory days in the 1980s. Martin Logan CLX Anniversary. So far, all American. Phono pre-amp is van den Hul The Grail, so Dutch. Record player Simon Yorke, English but he moved to Spain before he built my S10. Cartridges Dutch, Danish, German. |
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@fpomposo 👍👍 |
Wow, didnt think this would be such an edgey topic. First off, of course USA companys use some globally made parts just as with cars. Yes, some very good products are made abroad. Sorry for the "not exact" title. It is still nice to see the many hifi companys whose products are "somewhat" made or designed in "merica". By the way the balloon is a trivial compared to satellites, hacking, and moles that suck info out of this country daily.Its nothing new. Can we just stick to audio topics here.
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I buy American made products when I can but it's not because I'm patriotic or feel the need to cover myself or my window shield in flag decals. I buy American made products to support local companies and manufacturing. I like to make & fix my own things and so I appreciate the skill and craftsmanship involved in making things...regardless of where they are made. Mass-made electronics are very different than bespoke equipment as we all know but even then a good majority of components & materials are sourced globally. I used to make custom residential light fixtures. The components I used came from all over - US, Italy, China, Mexico. The price point was set by my labor, skill and designs not necessarily the parts used. People paid accordingly for bespoke light fixtures and it was a 2 person shop which meant low volume. I have a mixed bag of US, Japan, German, Taiwan, Korea and UK made A/V equipment and none of it is bespoke. I have Normcore companies like Adcom, Schitt, Marantz, Rega, Cambridge Audio, Boston Acoustics, Polk & Audio Technica. And for now, that's ok. I'll upgrade as I go along with build & sound quality, future FI features, reliability and price will determine what I get.
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You didn’t think this would be "edgey" but your initial post is blatantly proof that it is meant to be just that...have you read through similar threads like this one you started? Probably not because they get removed as they go straight to Chinese products suck, Communist regime, USA USA is superior...
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@jcoehler many people don’t think their racist, antiX, proY posts are edgy. They just think it’s free, open, peaceful discussion, thinking out loud, expression, exchanging ideas. But as soon as someone says: "hey you’re intolerant" they call it unacceptable. |
@grislybutter spot on! |
No manufacturer builds in China because they want to (unless they are Chinese). They build there because they have to to be cost competitive. Low wages certainly has a lot to do with that. Lax controls over everything but your politics also contributes to that. Lower ethical standards does as well which is where quality issues arise from. Let be realistic, it is not an equal partnership. They can buy our companies, we can't but there's. Tiktok is still here. Google, Facebook are still blocked. Unofficial state support for companies is significant. People talk about the "benefit" that low wages in China has had on the buying power of Americans. That statement may be true for the people on this forum, but the average IQ is 100, and everyone under that needs to earn a living too and is still American (or European, or Canadian, etc.). If we want to be modelling ourselves, we should at least look to Korea who has at least maintained a good amount of manufacturing. Saying this is not Xenophobic, or racist, etc. Facts can't be racist. China is not just a financial competitor but an ideological competitor and their idea of how humans should be governed is not how most of us feel. That does not mean we could not learn something from them. I would like to see a whole lot more meritocracy when it comes to picking who our political leaders are. China has a 5 year plan. Ours can't seem to play out more than 6 months. Our parties seem more interested in empire building for themselves than running effective government. So yes, I do buy American, Canadian, Mexican, European, Japanese, Korean, Taiwan when I can. It is often not a choice for me. Don't blame the factory worker for not being willing to work for $4.00/hour for that. It all starts with politicians. |
Well said! How can anyone think it’s racist to be proud of your own country and want to support the people living here. I’m sure other countries think the same thing about their own country. China spent decades building cheap junk so how could they not have that reputation yet today. I am a machinist and we build high precision plastic injection molds. Occasionally a China built mold will come in we have to fix it because the quality is terrible. Yes they are getting better but that bad quality stigma is a tough nut to crack. I have nothing against Chinese people I’m just scared to buy their stuff when I have the choice to buy elsewhere. |
@bigtwin And for all the China haters out there, I suppose the irony is lost on those who typed out the messge on their I-Phone 🤣 HAHAHAHA! |
The whole "let's support our own" seems a bit paranoid. Look, Ive happily bought local (Herron, Decware, Schiit, Maggie, and others) when appropriate, but as many people have already pointed out, nationalism and economy is a dinosaur paradigm. Besides, if it sounds good and you like it, then who cares where it was made? I mean, if you want to support your own, then but only in season fruit from now on. And @fpomposo 's post is the reason why threads like this get deleted. When someone starts spouting propaganda talking points, the argument is purposeless (and by the way, Robert Lee of Acoustic Zen is first generation Chinese - are you sure you want his products in your system?) |
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@fpomposo This is an audio forum. Please stick to audio topics and leave your politics at home. |
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The west has an exceptional historical track record of treating its labor force equitably. Its record on those with different shades of skin pigmentation has been pretty poor as well.
To those who think Chinese built goods are poorly made, I seem to recall South Korea and Japan had a similar reputation...until they didn’t. The world is pretty small, free market capital flows where it flows.
Main System: Amp(s) - UK, UK Dac - French Speakers - USA Cables - USA, UK, Germany Acoustical treatment - USA Server/Streamer - Denmark
Second System: Amp - USA Dac - USA Speakers - USA Cables - USA
Office System: Amp - UK Dac/Streamer - So Korea Speakers - USA Cables - USA, UK Server - USA
All power products - USA All Power cables - UK
I just buy the product that fits my needs, through a USA based dealer whenever possible. |
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