My Chinese made Quads are better than the old UK built Quads. But Grado makes some good stuff, can't deny that.
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.
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Since we are talking about the importance of where our precious audio equipment is from in the world, I find this a good time to remember how lucky we are to be concerned over such mondane things while a cataclismic size hearthquake on the Turkey Syria border has already claimed over 6,300 lives. Absolutely horrendous time over there, and Ukraine too. My gosh, what a dark time for that part of the world. |
@panzrwagn … “All my equipment is made on Earth, by humans. Beyond that it gets very complicated, and kinda pointless.”
Yes… one world… what will it take?
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@westcoastaudiophile Agreed. That's why this topic should be called, "Who wants to thump their chest about 'merica?" |
@hilde45 "Not many American made products with nothing but American made parts" +1 - zero to be precise
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AC Delco makes nothing. They are a marketing and fulfillment company for GM aftermarket products. Denso and Bosch make the majority of their parts. Nice try @czarivey |
i just bought a Denafrips Pontus, made in China. best DAC i have heard. Chinese products are great for us who can not afford to be extorted by some of these American companies. i also have a place near the beach overseas that cost $400 a month. America is a rip off. also Chinese girls beat American girls hands down. |
Not at all -- just using current knowledge about current automotive business. Check where being built the original AC DELCO GM parts. Also check how FAST GM vehicles depreciate. 5...7 years old GM is already junk. The only good GM vehicles having actually Japanese engines. Some having Mazda engine (Malibu) and some having Honda engines (Spark) |
@czarivey I believe you are confusing the Chevys made in China for the Chinese market with the Chevy vehicles made in the US ? Or maybe it's just good old China bashing. Hard to tell these days. |
I have a 'melting pot' system; if only the world could get along as well as my components! Poland (Circle Labs A200 Integrated amp) Germany (FinkTeam KIM speakers) Japan (CEC TL-15 Cd transport) Italy (Aqua La Scala DAC) U.S. (Audience speaker cables and interconnect; Shunyata power cord) Denmark (Ansuz power distributor and cord)
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besides where it's made, there is where it's designed, where it's owned, where it pays taxes/avoids to pay taxes, where patents are owned, where the parts are made, where the source of the parts are mined, etc. Being from a country that has sunk to the "assembly country" level from the highest Noble prizes per capita era, I feel it yields much better dividends to invent, design and own products than to lego them together while your eyes are falling out. (and yes I know little about the manufacturing process) Also quantity-wise, the brands of 98% of audio products sold today are never mentioned in this forum. I doubt they are made anywhere outside southeast Asia |
All true.. globalization is a fact and I doubt that anyone really believes that all components within their amplifiers come from the country of origin declared on the box. Buy American is an imperfect notion. I don’t believe it is so much jingoistic as it is a suggestion to support employment for your neighbor. Regarding Chinese hate…. I don’t believe that rational individuals hate Chinese. The anti-Chinese is mostly anti-CCP. Do we make a distinction between Apple and Huawei? I do…. In the past I avoided Huawei phones. I sure hope that Apple proves to be a better employer upon moving operations to India. I don’t view my purchase of Holo equipment any different than the purchase of Audionet, or MSL. That said, if purchasing today, I would have given the PS Audio Perfectwave DAC II a try, rather than ordering a Holo May DAC. Again, an imperfect choice. PS Audio has postponed their Airlens launch and I believe it is due to inability to source components and as mentioned above, it is doubtful that the components are US sourced. I want my local business community to thrive, so I choose to dine at restaurants in my small town. Does this mean that I don’t eat elsewhere…no. |
Huge topic, I’ll chime in, not going to argue after this, just a point of view. I take the long view: One World. The history of Nationalism ain’t good. Tarrifs!!!!!! Protect OUR businesses! How things change. Age 6, 1954, We all had cheap toys, the kind with thin soft metal parts with slots and tabs. You assembled the toy by putting the tabs thru the slots and bending the metal over to keep it in the slot. Eventually you had a car, truck, star, whatever. A small gang of young men walked by one day and said: Those toys are made by the enemy! 6 yrs old, huh? 1959, impressionable age 11, living in McClean VA., lots of military lived in towns near Wash. DC. Any time a Volkswagen drove by, someone a bit older would mutter, made by the enemy! Or, someone my age, having been influenced by their parents. And now, many prefer made in Japan and made in Germany to made China. Read the long history of China, Hawaii, Cuba, Vietnam, Panama, Philippines ...., Religious Zealots, Sugar, Bananas, Coaling Stations, Sponsorship of Coups, You might consider the inter-relationships of European Monarchs to the Organization of the Mafia. And European Wars to Mafia Wars. What England and USA did to China in the Opium Wars, in the name of: you guessed it: Markets for our goods! At that time, who were the enemy of the Chinese? They sure trade with the enemy! Who created North/South Korea? North/South Vietnam? How were so many country’s future FOREVER changed by our actions? Who got the Chinese population off opium? Not a debate, just a point of view, I'll say no more.
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Turntable-UK Cartridge-UK Phono Preamp-S. Korea Digital-Italy Digital Vintage-Japan Tape Vintage-Japan Preamp-Japan Poweramp-Japan Loudspeakers-Canada Power Conditioner-USA Cables-USA/Italy/Netherlands Rack-Sweden Outlets-Japan/USA What humors me is the CHIFI fanboys (don't?) realize the profit margin(percentage) is higher on PRC made products. The discount on a B&W 702 Signature is $2500 a pair, what discount will Magnepan offer when the 3.7i is replaced? |
@bikefi10 It's been mentioned but I'll say it again. Your statement should be "I like to buy things assembled in the USA". Like it or not, we are living in a global economy. Take a look inside any amp and tell me where all the parts were actually made. It's why countries sign Free Trade Agreements. As an aside, we wouldn't be able to affort most of the equipment we enjoy today if it had actually been 100% made and assembled in the USA. 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 🤣 |
My linestage and amplifier are custom made by a one-person operation in Italy, but he uses primarily vintage parts made in the USA (including Western Electric caps and transformers). My streamer/DAC is made in England, my headphone and phono cartridges are Japanese-made, the headphone amp/energizer is US made, the turntable/tonearm/vacuum clamp/motor controller are US-made, my phono stage is Italian as are most of my speaker (the midrange horn/compression drivers are US Western Electric parts). My power conditions are made by an English company (don't know where they are built), and I have no idea about the manufacturing source of my cabling. All of my tubes are vintage US and German tubes. |
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I try to buy US made. Amp, Preamp, Speakers, Turntable, made in USA. DAC , Greece, Tuner #1 Canada, Tuner #2 USA, Streamer, S Korea. Country of Origin has less to do with it than getting the best for the money, but generally speaking I avoid Made in China whenever possible. Blu-ray and Vault 2 are made in China but they are decent products but not on the same level as other gear in the system. |
I would start with Audio Research, Pass, Magico, Conrad Johnson, VAC (as @tomcy6 mentioned). Boulder, Wilson… many of the most respected high end names are American.
I have to throw in Sonus Faber (Italy) and Koetsu (Japan). Dcs and Linn… the UK.
If you are putting together a cost effective high end system… you do not have to pay more… you are going to be buying primarily American, you do not have to pay more.
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A lot of my gear is Made in USA.
The rest of my gear is Canadian, Japanese, and Chinese. (3 tuners and 1 DAC) I was not really considering country of origin, but it looks like most of my gear has some N. America origin. |
