Are you buying now because you anticipate higher prices?

[PristineSound]

I guess if I were to buy anything else I’d be looking at strictly local new or used.

In this day in age, nearly every product in this world comprise of parts and materials from a global supply chain.

The most common example analyst use are cars, materials and parts crosses the same border multiple times, before it gets assembled in the final factory.

Specific to audio, most capacitors and resistors are from Japan and Korea. In fact, I suspect most of the parts on a PCB aren't made in the US because those are considered low in the value chain and low tech parts. These are parts that the US deemed unworthy to be manufactured in the US decades ago.

 

[Waxx]

I had a chat with a belgian friend selling all over the globe. And his remark was that the shipment from and towards the US from his freight partner went down 60%, In stead of once a week a ship with containers sets of for the US east coast it would be once or twice a month. So his customers will less be able to have suuplies on demand. His buinssness is a very sepcialised mechanical parts one, so specialised that i harly understand what he exactly does... He won't be that affected he says as only a few % of his clients are in the US, he mostly ships to the middle east and china.

And what is also not good. Someone else i know, a PhD in his subject and former professor at several Universaties has been refused entrance in the US because what he said +30 years ago in a student mag while he was 19. He could talk himself out of it so he was not detained, just put back on the plane to Europe. But this seems not to be the first case where fully legit visitors with the right papers and permissions are refused and often detained for weeks because something they did or said in Europe, often years or even decades ago.

This is going arround here now and many who planned to visit the US (including family of mine) won't go because of that. This is killing the reputation of the US massivly and many here see the US in the same bad way like countries like Iran or Russia: a lawless dictatorship. And that is very bad for bussiness, way worse than what was before... If the policy stays like that, the US will become and international paria like Russia is today.

 

[Mort]

Let's get off politics, mentioning politicians.

This is about audio equipment purchasing!

 

[Sokel]

and low tech parts.

US does make some really good stuff, not low tech at all.
Caddock resistors for example.

No cheap by all means but they deserve it.
For general applications though, yes, one should look elsewhere.

 

[Willem]

Buy now or wait. I think most will end up with MORE to spend. Something to love about T's.
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How about sticking to verifiable facts?

 

[Karmacoma]

Buy now or wait. I think most will end up with MORE to spend. Something to love about T's.
View attachment 447359

Companies can't make long-term decisions like building a factory if policies are changed drastically overnight twice a week, that's not rocket science. The rest of the world will just create us-free supply chains.
The good thing is there are very good loudspeakers brands made in USA... wait a minute, I should say ''assembled'' in the USA, so i guess the price of the parts will be passed on the buyers, like everything else. If the working class and the middle class are winners in the end, I'd be pretty amazed in a good sense cos it'd just defy common sense.

 

[Snoopy]

US does make some really good stuff, not low tech at all.
Caddock resistors for example.

No cheap by all means but they deserve it.
For general applications though, yes, one should look elsewhere.

Would the US even be able to manufacture all those low value items without having the cost explode?

 

[Sokel]

Would the US even be able to manufacture all those low value items without having the cost explode?

Difficult to say, most of them are probably produced by robots so cost should be comparable there, scale could do its trick.
But competition would be fierce, so...

 

[Willem]

And production by robots will not bring back jobs to the USA.

 

[Sokel]

And production by robots will not bring back jobs to the USA.

That's true, other than a temporary spike about building the facilities and some personnel to maintain it.
It could be a bet about better QC though, I know for example I would pay the extra dollar for a tighter tolerances - higher quality component (as my example above or Ohmite though those are made in Mexico if I'm not wrong ).

Competition is also strong there though, mainly with Japan and Germany.

Edit: Ohmite factories location.

 

[threni]

I ended up upgrading my Google Pixel 6a to a 9a via the trade-in promotion. The 9a is £499 but I got £267 back for my ~3 year old 6a, plus 10% off my next purchase and £25 credit meaning I could get the nice but way overpriced £30 official case for £1.99 delivered.

A music-related purchase because I use my phone for both UAPP and as a MPD client (moOde at the moment).

 

[PristineSound]

US does make some really good stuff, not low tech at all.
Caddock resistors for example.

No cheap by all means but they deserve it.
For general applications though, yes, one should look elsewhere.

Yes indeed, though Caddock is low volume, high on the value chain manufacturing, perhaps almost "specialty" products.

Starting in the 80's, US companies deemed that the high volume, low on the value chain goods just doesn't make economic and logistical/supply chain sense for companies to manufactured in the US anymore, particularly labor intensive manufacturing. They begin shifting their focus to services like engineering, R&D and professional services, things US companies deemed worthy of US talents and labor. This happen across the board for developed countries, this appears to be the next phase of economic development. The two exceptions are Japan and Germany, they are still manufacturing power houses; I wonder if that is a small part of the reason why their economy has stagnated for decades.

I suspect countries like China, if they ever get out of the middle income trap, will probably start to move away from these high volume, low on the value chain manufacturing as well, probably will move to countries like India, Vietnam and the greater Southeast Asia.

 

[PristineSound]

That's true, other than a temporary spike about building the facilities and some personnel to maintain it.
It could be a bet about better QC though, I know for example I would pay the extra dollar for a tighter tolerances - higher quality component (as my example above or Ohmite though those are made in Mexico if I'm not wrong ).

Competition is also strong there though, mainly with Japan and Germany.

Edit: Ohmite factories location.

Labor intensive manufacturing will simply not come back onshore, that's just not economically possible for developed countries.

The only way low in the value chain and high volume manufacturing can come back onshore is if it becomes low labor intensity, so automation and AI must support that. Even to do that, the initial capital investment is $$$, which will drive up costs of goods in the short term. That's only if you can actually recreate the supply chain on shore as well. All of this will take decades. It will probably tie up resources and may hinder R&D and innovation progress.

Imagine the US manufacturing stuff like forks and spoons, cell phone cases and screen protectors, pens and pencils, mouse pads, cables (I'm not talking about snake oil cables, those believe it or not are consider high on the value chain, specialty products.)?

 

[Timcognito]

Labor intensive manufacturing will simply not come back onshore, that's just not economically possible for developed countries.

Who will pick fruit, change beds in hotels, landscaping, construction, etc, those jobs can't go offshore?

 

[PristineSound]

Who will pick fruit, change beds in hotels, landscaping, construction, etc, those jobs can't go offshore?

I said labor intensive manufacturing, those jobs aren't manufacturing. And all of those examples have location requirement.

Just like the fruits that are grown Mexico, the hotels in France, the lawn of a Canadian home, the construction of a skyscraper in Dubai as an example (although Dubai use foreign labor primarily from India.).

 

[Timcognito]

I said labor intensive manufacturing, those jobs aren't manufacturing.

Lots of autos and large appliances made in USA and manufacturing jobs have been on the rise for sometime, here.

 

[JeffS7444]

I’ve fussed with Caddock resistors, but can’t think of any legit hifi application that could justify the cost.

I’m optimistic that extreme USA tariffs won’t last long, but no promises that things will be exactly the same as before. And if I had holiday gift-buying plans, I might go shopping sooner rather than later, because merchants and manufacturers make plan months in advance.

 

[PristineSound]

Lots of autos and large appliances made in USA and manufacturing jobs have been on the rise for sometime, here.

With the right policies you can bring back some manufacturing. And I do believe it can be a good thing.

I was referring to some combination of labor intensive, high volume, low tech and low in the value chain goods. Those are unlikely to come back onshore, maybe with the exception of strategic needs, such as PPE as evident during COVID.

And if any thing do come back, expect hyper automation. As it should be given where we are with technological advancement in the history of human.

 

[Waxx]

Lots of autos and large appliances made in USA and manufacturing jobs have been on the rise for sometime, here.

But the parts come largely from asia or europe (for the more high tech parts). And even a lot of steel that is used in them comes from Mexico or Canada. The US does not have the right steel factories for that kind of steel anymore.

In Europe we still got them, but they are under high pressure, and largely stay in bussiness because of militairy and naval demand. Rheinmetal is a perfect example of that, the big majority of their bussiness is delivering high quality steel for militairy producton, and making miliitairy products (like the Leopard tanks) themselves. And many others do the same.

 

[Morse]

On the original question of "am I buying to front run the tariffs", YES.

I had a general system overhaul and upgrade in the works for '25, only part way through and I hustled up to get it done. Not planning on any more electronics purchases until Jan 1 '26 at the earliest, and that is only if the tariffs are gone. If the tariffs are still here, I'm planning on waiting them out unless I retire and emigrate first. Probably get back to DIYing my hifi as a hobbyist, have a lifetime of parts stocked up in my electronics workshop, along with a bunch of fresh soldering supplies I just got in.

Current system: Fosi V3 Monoblocks, Fosi P3 preamp w/matched valves, SMSL PL200 CD/DAC, HiBy R6 III & Monoprice Monolith turntable. The upgrade from V3 stereo to V3 monoblocks, along with purchase of a spare monoblock, re-entry into vinyl, and upgrade from HiBy R4 to R6 III were all scheduled for later in the year. Did all of 'em now for better or worse.