Home Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Cable Asylum ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

In a global economy

you rail against American companies farming production overseas, and yet you ignore some very basic facts. The vast majority of knobs and such are made in China these days. Elaborate faceplates are also largely made in China ( one notable exception is the one inch thick aluminum knurled faceplates of Rowland). In fact, the former head of Audio Alchemy has a company devoted to making a liaison between Chinese manufacturers and "custom" American companies. When asked as to his client list, of course, he demurs citing client privilege, but makes rather sweeping hints. ( or did so when I last spoke to him 5 years ago, I'm no manufacturer so I had no need of maintaining contact).

Check out Voice Coil magazine, the newsletter for the speaker industry. You see European and American equipment manufacturers but primarily they are machinery manufacturers (voice coil winders and such) and suppliers of supplies (Locktite is a frequent advertiser). Almost every company advertising cones, voice coils, magnet structures, even cabinets, are Chinese. An industry insider I know of whose designs are made in China and advertised as such, claims that 95+% of speaker components are made in China. Those that claim made in Denmark and such are usually simply subcontracted Chinese parts finally assembled in those particular countries. Even Mirage, a division of API, the largest speaker company in the world, has their cabinets being made in China, as does TAD.

While stuffed circuit boards are still often assembled in the US, much of the cosmetic items are subcontracted and manufactured abroad. Maybe when you pay 6 digits or so, there is enough in the profit to justify a made in Europe or America appellation. But increasingly, when you closely examine the components on the boards, you will find Chinese made resistors and capacitors and transistors themselves. Tube sockets are almost entirely dominated by Chinese manufacture these days.

Your attitude would make all purchasers buy from China.

Stu

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Analog Engineering Associates  

Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
FAQ

Post a Message!

 Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]