Will China become the poor man’s dealer for high end audio?

@ghdprentice 

"The performance of these products far exceeds anything from China." Not everything from China. Have you heard of AM? The amplifiers and Dac made by this company match and even surpass the best of US and Japanese valve equipment. Look them up and look up the credentials of the manufacturer.

One day made in China may have the same cachet as made in Japan.

Possible, but right now China under Xi is turning to Mao. Japanese and Chinese work and business ethics are quite different. Very different cultures. Currently, China assembles things … fewer and fewer things.

@laoman 

AM? Better than US and Japanese tube gear? Please elaborate before this thread gets locked down 😂

Why only China, check out offerings from Eastern Europe. So many talented designers with great sounding products at reasonable entry price points. They just need our attention and bit more exposure in the US.

Big +1 @lalitk I neglected to think of Eastern European nations. There is some great stuff coming out of Poland, Estonia, Hungary, etc. I’ve bought some excellent silver cables out of Latvia (LavriCables) that are outstanding for a fraction of the price of silver cables from more established places and that don’t even sound like “traditional” silver cables — time to reset your expectations here people!  I come from finance, and money/capital is like water — it flows to the place of least resistance, and in money’s case where it also can earn the highest return. That’s just what it does, and there’s no stopping it. Good catch lalitk!

Made in Japan used to imply not good quality. Now the Fender guitars made in Japan are near the top of the Fender line, both in quality and price. The cheap ones are now made in Mexico. Is that okay to say? 😉