Wharfedale Elysian 4 Incredible build quality and sound, but made in China.

Yes, but how do they sound?

If this is Wharfedale's best loudspeaker, then shouldn't we be interested?

Business ethics can only have very little to do with the way the modern world operates. Price and quality come first.

Having said all that I would be most reluctant to ever buy another Apple product again.

As long as there are alternatives.

@arcticdeath,

"apple the biggest,iphones, iPads, pods, etc etc.

they have about 30$ worth of parts, and stuff, yet, they sell em for 1,000$
profit is the ultimate goal. Nothing else matters."


Yes, but this is how they became the biggest company on the planet.

And let’s not even talk about suicide nets outside windows for those poor workers nailed down into doing double shifts all year round.

I’m not usually too bothered about where stuff is made providing it’s made well, and built to last, but I’m drawing the line at suicide nets.

Especially when the company concerned seems totally unwilling to share even the tiniest tiniest portion of its incredibly vast profits with the people that provide the labour.

I’d like to think that the IAG group who are also responsible for Quad, Audiolab, Mission, Luxman, Leak and Castle as well as Wharfedale don’t do business in such a way.

https://www.wharfedalepro.com/about.php?id=76

@webking185 

Yes, the internet age has forever changed consumer behaviour.

Before it, we audiophiles were practically living in the dark ages.

Where once even a little bit of specialised knowledge was scarce, limited to books and journals, now we are practically drowning in it.

We consumers are certainly far better educated today and reading reviews is almost an art form in itself.

 

The most expensive loudspeaker designed by Peter Comeau and we still have no idea how it sounds.

These are several times more expensive than the highly regarded Lintons but are they worth that difference?

I still remember his Heybrook HB1s from way back. I had the Mk2 version and they were excellent all rounders.

The made in China thing doesn't bother me at all as long as the people doing the doing the manual work are treated well.

The real question is how do they sound?

Apart from the odd slightly vague review, there doesn't seem to be a lot of user experience being shared online.

@webking185 

Economies of scale. If it was made in the UK or US. $25K

 

Modern day global business practices often make it a nonsense to judge products by price.

This is all good news for the consumer and it's hardly surprising that many businesses have adopted this method of supply.

This is bad news for startup companies because the competition is not on a level playing field.

 

But then again, wasn't it always like this?

@webking185

One of the iconic and most recognizable brand is Harley Davidson. those bikes are now made in China too.

And no one will care if the quality is the same (or even better).

Collectors/ investors/nostalgia buffs are a different breed, but they are not necessarily buying to use and enjoy.

For most of us, quality is king and the price is queen. Or something like that.

@kokakolia

Your point of view is so problematic at a micro-economic level.

Do you really think that multinational globalist companies care about any of that?

 

You may as well make everyone in the West disappear from existence because there’s cheaper labor somewhere else.

Now, now, don’t give them any more ideas.

 

The end result is de-industrialization, loss of skilled labor, dependence on other countries for essential products, loss of negotiation power, increasing inequality, lower living standards, lower state tax income (public services/utilities getting worse) etc…

Yes, we know.

We’ve seen this happening for decades.

The UK once had a thriving motorcycle industry which disappeared almost overnight.

Hardly anyone misses it now.

 

Besides it’s still possible for small home-grown companies to succeed if they are innovative enough.

Rega are an obvious example of a consistently innovative company that has managed to succeed globally and yet also keep it’s production based in the UK.

On that score it’s a model example to everyone else.

We should also remember that after market back up and care matter too. Especially when you're buying products that might cost half of your annual salary.

I remember when I bought my Rega 3 it came with a lifetime guarantee, but I didn’t realise this also applies to every Rega product!

--------

"So confident are we in our ability, Rega offers a lifetime warranty against manufacture defects on every single product we make."

 

https://www.rega.co.uk/about/history

 

@mahgister

That’s an economics, history and politics lecture I never got at university.

Quite right, despite appearances it’s not a question of us and them.

It’s no longer even the UK v the US, or the US v China, or even Pepsi v Coke, McDonalds v KFC etc.

It’s more of a question of some very big fish swallowing the smaller fish. International borders have little to do with it, and neither do monopoly regulations any more.

 

Nevertheless, today’s consumer is not compelled to buy cheaper or to pay more and buy local, but if it makes them feel better, more patriotic then they can do so.

When I bought my first amplifier, the NAD 3020, I didn’t really have that much choice. It was the only one that I could afford back then. Everything else seemed to cost quite a bit more.

It’s quite remarkable that I could today buy amplifier with all the trimmings, Bluetooth 5, remote control etc for LESS money than I paid for that NAD.

And that’s without adjusting for inflation!

 

So it’s actually gratifying that the consumer has never had as much choice as today.

Okay, it’s mainly all online nowadays...but we can no more uninvent the internet now than we can uninvent the the silicone chip or the transitor or the valve or digital audio etc.

And no amount of nostalgia or living in the past can help either.

In today’s world most of us are small fish desperately trying to swim with the irresistible tide.

@kokakolia 

Absolutely I do. It was one the worst decisions I ever made. I took it to one of one of those cash exchange stores and got back a pittance (£20 I think).

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

It wasn't taking up too much space and owning 2 amps is not particularly excessive.

 

@mahgister 

Eliminate first corporate psychopaths and big monopoly on food energy and pharmas and heaven will come on earth... Not before...

 

For all of your great insight and knowledge you are still a romantic at heart.

Alas, the history of this world clearly suggests something different.

It's true that nothing was ever given without a fight first. However to paraphrase General Georg S Patton, we sometimes fought the wrong fight against the wrong enemy.

@mahgister 

Then i dont know about you but i dont see anything well before the demise of these egoistics monsters...

 

I agree.

Unfortunately the history of our world is full of such people.

I have no problem with Chinese produced goods.

All that I can hope for is that they treat workers with the decency they deserve.

We all know that many many people all over the whole world still work under the most difficult and inhuman conditions imaginable.

I'd like to think that this does not apply to those who work towards producing loudspeakers of the calibre of the Elysians.

It's already a daunting thought that I don't know the exact conditions under which this phone I'm typing on was created.

Should I even care?

 

@tokemon 

Yes, he did. However unlike other Robinson reviews he didn't really give much by way of direct head to head comparisons of the Elysian 4 and its rivals the way he usually does.

Perhaps, at this level of performance, there's really not much in it?

 

Anyway, HiFifreaks have actually conducted a couple of interviews with Peter Comeau directly that shed some light on his philosophy and the peculiarities of the AMT tweeter that's used on the Elysian range.

But still, it would be nice to hear from someone who's got some first hand experience of living with these not inexpensive loudspeakers.

Apart from actually hearing for yourself, there's little to match first hand real world shared experience.

 

@kokakolia 

Yes,  a lot of suffering and perseverance went into the acquisition of some of the basic working rights that we can now enjoy in the West. However I certainly wouldn't call those strike efforts communist.

The emergence of the left in the UK during the late 19th and early 20th century never actually went that far. British people tend to be fairly conservative by nature unlike our French neighbours who have physically let their ruling elites know their feelings on more than one occasion.

Quite a few people here raised an eyebrow at the recent riots in France when their government suggested that their retirement age be raised to 64 from 62.

Ours is currently 66 or higher depending upon when you were born!

Of course we'd like our retirement age lowered but it would seem that there are some in power that would like us to continue working until we die.

 

@mahgister 

You can be quite sure that if your presence here, and not your words, offends someone, then they are not worth responding to.

The rest of us might enjoy the sharing of a little information and experience without having a bout of apoplexy upon encountering a few words that trouble our mental equilibrium.

Politics can be discussed without drawing party lines, and taking sides, and I find that you are far better at this than I am.

Besides, as you implied, how exactly do you talk about Chinese manufactured loudspeakers without also talking about economics and politics?