Why I prefer gear that is made domestically

I never thought about the repairs angle. I guess it’s never been much of an issue for me until recently. My Schiit Saga concerned me after I inserted the tube the wrong way(!!) and I caught a little whiff of electronics letting out the magic smoke while my speakers emitted this loud hum. Didn’t see any smoke, and I was kneeling in front of the audio rack(and the Saga) at the time.  I immediately turned it off and then sat there ashamed of my sins.

I didn’t think it was possible to insert it wrong, it has the tab, and I was in a hurry...oops. Anyway, after becoming hyper alert about any perceived sound degradation, it seemed like the soundstage had shifted to the right a little. A couple of months went by, I bought a new tube hoping for joy, but no difference.

So I sent the Saga in, explaining everything, and although they could find nothing wrong with it during a week of testing, they replaced the main(only) board at my request. Under warranty, although it was completely my fault. Now that’s a company I would recommend to anybody, and their stuff is also made domestically.

Anyway, while the Saga was gone, I found the source of the channel imbalance. 2 pairs of Audioquest Sydney RCA’s that I had bought used. I didn’t have the heart to tell Schiit this, <sigh>. Now I wonder if I have counterfeit cables from China.

Which had been my main concern with foreign(actually mostly China) made gear. In the early 90’s they started welcoming American companies into China to build factories and set up manufacturing, and everybody involved made tons of money, and you had to ask yourself, why was China suddenly allowing this? And was Clinton a genius?

Fast forward 20 years, and it becomes clear that China was allowing this so that they could appropriate all kinds of tech, manufacturing know-how, and industry for themselves without actually having to develop it out of nothing like the rest of the world did.

Oh, and by the way, looks like they are going to get a "better grip" on Hong Kong, is Taiwan next? Also, in their tariff response to the US, they are specifically targeting swing states that Trump could lose. How’s that for interfering in an election? If we didn’t like Russian interference, we shouldn’t like this, or else we are hypocrites.

No thank you, I’m not interested in foreign made gear anymore, whenever I can avoid it.

This is the same reason for me why most of my equipment is either, US or Canadian built, with the exception sometimes for speakers. Seems like around $3k - 4k is the breaking point that many of the "high end" speaker manufactures quit manufacturing in Asian countries. Many of the under $3k speakers by B&W, Revel, Paradigm, KEF etc. are outsourced but are still excellent quality, and I’ve owned quite a few. Wharfedale for example has one of the largest manufacturing facilities in the world, in China. They make their own drivers, wire, crossovers, cabinets, grills, everything, they just do it in China to save labor and maybe have some other advantages that I don’t know about, I’m not an economics expert. I just recently sold a pair of JBL 4312E’s that were made in Mexico and they were nothing compared to the older, US manufactured ones.

Great stories guys-

Wow i did not know that!!

I do prefer Made in USA for most things that I buy in general. It’s tough to buy USA made gear without shelling out some big bucks as only the high end is still made here for the most part. Even Krell, Wadia, and Cary are making gear in China.

My amps and preamp are made here and they’ve fortunately not needed any repair but support from both companies has been great. One component that has surpassed my expectations is the OPPO 103d universal player that I just picked up.....it’s awesome, and supposedly their support is great. Made in China but nothing comes close unless you spend a lot more.

I’ve also had terrible service from companies here in the states. I do agree with Don c55 about factory service, they’re the only guys I want fixing my equipment even if it is a pain in the a-- to ship it to them.

With electronics, speakers and even some trucks agree.
With cars big no.

I hear you bdp24.
I ’m not an AVA kool-aid drinker but AVA is most bang for the buck made in USA .
If I win the lottery my new dedicated listing room will sport a T+A system
driving Anavantgarde DUO’s .
The new AVA phono stage is a real deal at $ 500. Tremendous dynamic range and better than anything I’ve heard below $1200 or so and I haven't  missed many .

It's ARC and Magnepan all the way for me--AVA for you--all good for MN. 

Schubert, I became a fan of Frank Van Alstine when he had the temerity to offer a mod for the ARC SP-3 at a time when Bill Johnson's design talents were considered unimpeachable. How dare he! The fact was, Franks mod "corrected" a few flaws in the design of the SP-3, making it more linear, with less distortion and more accurate RIAA equalization. I sent him a Dynaco PAS2 to put his tube pre-amp design of the 80's into, and it was a good one, at a bargain price. 

Considering AR is MUCH more expensive I should think so.
AVA works for me .

Schubert, you also live about 30 minutes from Audio Research.  No plastic binding posts over there, and I've delivered and picked up my amps for mod at their loading dock.  (Been down that other road you mentioned--not such a bargain, IMO).  

The best service experience I've had in turn around time was courtesy of Bryston. Shipped out on Monday- my amp was back on Friday! 

helps that I live in the northeast 

I prefer service and repairs to be only done by the same people that built the gear in the first place.

Factory service only.  I do not trust dealers working on my gear.

I live 15-20 minutes from Deja Vu speaking of convenience plus they always are willing to lend me a loaner if I have work being done. Certainly a huge plus!

though how many American made speakers use Dynaudio drivers...so much depends on the company's customer service policies not just place of manufacture...

I concur w/ taters. (Knowingly) I would never buy any gear from china!

That sounds like the ideal situation, a manufacturer just down the road.  If something goes wrong you can just drop it off on your way back and forth to Starbucks.

I bought a Van Alstine Synergy 450 amp because it sounds like a big modern tube amp and is far better than the Odyssey amp I was using,at least on the classical music I listen to.
The fact I live 15 minutes from his place played a role too.
I took it in to have loose speaker terminals fixed, my fault from using death grip locking SC connections, and in a half-hour was good to go.And got to listen to Mozart on his new Janzen  "stats while I waited !

Sounds like that should be part of your due diligence if availability of parts is important to you.  It is very true that a local manufacturer is more likely to have parts more readily available, but w the global supply chain now in force, that's no guarantee.  I've gotten good service and bad in terms of parts availability from US and offshore companies. 

nonoise my pleasure ;) and taters no insult intended whatsoever just marveling.

I've had really great luck dealing with domestic audio. Firms like Cary Audio, Soundscience, PS Audio, VPI, Many US cable manufacturers. Even Canadian  Coincident Audio. It is absolutely great to  call  and talk to the designer of the equipment you are using. I think thats worth half the price of the equipment you purchase. 

Taters your are a navel gazing factory my man!

It's been a long time since I've guffawed. 

Taters you are like a navel gazing factory my man! But as always, as with most of your posts, it depends. Some domestic manufacturers offer great service and some don't. Ditto imports and it can certainly equalize things when an imported product as a legit and responsible US importer. Another plus is to have gear, usually tubes fit this bill best, that uses simple circuits, and widely available parts, gear like that is super easy to fix if it ever breaks down. As they always say though YMMV.