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Why Build Quality Matters

There are reports from time to time here about people opening up products to find either shoddy workmanship, cheap parts or little at all inside to warrant the price paid. Companies recently mentioned in this regard are Synergistic Research, QOL and Nordost. They are not the only ones that have been noted over the years.

What are we to make of all this? Some people say they don't care as long as the product delivers what they expected. Point well made. But in many cases these products no not deliver what was expected. In any case, it makes one wonder about makers who charge full price but don't deliver high quality workmanship and parts. Not to mention the "little-inside makers". I have been shocked by high-priced cables that were poorly made (bad soldering, cheap terminations and "hobby-quality" dialectric) and a very high-priced component that contained very cheap parts. In both of these cases the products themselves did not "deliver" either and were sold off.

What do you think about all this?
sabai

Showing 1 response by mechans

mechans
3,048 posts
 
Build quality is absolutely critical and essential. Any product that is to be manufactured is engineered with the notion in mind that those ideas, when translated to a finished manufactured product are done so such that the product function optimally. Most products require careful attention to build qualty is to function for an extended period of time.
I can't even believe we are debating this.
If you mean on the other hand the appearance of a product as industrial art that is understandable. If I see a scuff on something I don't condenm the piece as being a piece of Sh$$ I think there is much to much emphasis on cosmetics than there ought to be.
Those are to completely different things. It is rare whena cosmetic defects actually interferes in some meaningful way with function. It does happen but looks are not the same as build quality.
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