Are you buying now because you anticipate higher prices?

[PristineSound]

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.

Not an easy thing to do. We are only going into the summer. I would say for any big purchases do it now if it's not already too late. Small purchases, don't buy or just accept getting ripped off.

I'm glad I got my new speakers right before all of this BS

 

[Groove01]

Exporters are saying eff that, I don't need to deal with this cluster f*ck drama. I'm better off not doing business with US at all. So this tariff BS might just turn into an embargo?

Well . . .I better laugh this off before other emotions sets in.

That would be kind of like cutting off your nose to spite your face. It would be a really bad business decision - lol.

 

[Timcognito]

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.

Those kind of jobs left in the 80s and that's old news as there is nothing to come back to since then. The latest undisciplined approach to Geo-economic relations will have one of it's biggest impact on goods and services that rely on immigrant work force in the US, which is the same as those unskilled sewing or non-automated assembly abroad. In 2019 my small medical device start up was purchased by a Chinese conglomerate and I saw first hand how things were made there. They are decades behind us in tech and quality, in that industry anyway. Electronics is more mature and high tech manufacturing equipment can be purchased from outside their borders. Another thing that happened is the fees on our large patent portfolio and pending applications were abandoned. I agree with the comments on high tech materials, materials, subs and products from our once called eastern and western allies.

 

[PristineSound]

In 2019 my small medical device start up was purchased by a Chinese conglomerate and I saw first hand how things were made there. They are decades behind us in tech and quality, in that industry anyway. Electronics is more mature and high tech manufacturing equipment can be purchased from outside their borders.

I don't know if you can say quality control is a huge issue today, 30 years ago, absolutely. As you pointed out, not all industries are the same, and the example you used, electronics, is spot on. I was told their heavy industries aren't bad at all, for example, they make CNC machines and constructions machines that are fairly high quality. If they too can send men to space and keep an active space station, I supposed it depends on the specific industry that they want to mature in.

I do believe this tariff is just a bluff and ultimately will go away, but let's hope with little damage and some valuable learning in geo-economics.

 

[Timcognito]

I don't know if you can say quality control is a huge issue today, 30 years ago, absolutely. As you pointed out, not all industries are the same, and the example you used, electronics, is spot on. I was told their heavy industries aren't bad at all, for example, they make CNC machines and constructions machines that are fairly high quality. If they too can send men to space and keep an active space station, I supposed it depends on the specific industry that they want to mature in.

I do believe this tariff is just a bluff and ultimately will go away, but let's hope with little damage and some valuable learning in geo-economics.

Don't want to bash them too much as I saw many good things there too, but I was in the modern urban newly built areas. Not much unsanctioned R&D and lot of fast following on the engineering side. Most of the engineers in the company I worked with got degrees in the west.

 

[PristineSound]

Most of the engineers in the company I worked with got degrees in the west.

US universities, research and scientific institutions are America's biggest asset. There is a reason why so much innovation comes out of the US; there is a reason why US dominate the high tech section, because of our universities, research and scientific institutions. That is our superpower.

Even more reason to leave these remedial manufacturing with developing and middle income countries, put our resources in the next generation of innovations that defines the 21st century not make the stuff of the 19th century.

 

[NADKEF listener]

 

[threni]

View attachment 448238

"Price adjustment" lol!
Yes, we're not raising prices - we're adjusting them. In fact, in some circumstances they could be lower than before!

 

[Salt]

View attachment 448238

For the Great Britain it's like the ham in a burger ... EU or US, they compress from both sides now ... while one side did not have to have happened ...

 

[Philbo King]

We bought an extra $40 of canned goods last time at the grocery. Tariffs & whatnot...

 

[Robbo99999]

View attachment 448238

That's quite a good way to have your products seemingly be "on sale" until 5th May, a good way to stimulate short term demand without lowering your prices which would happen in a proper sale. I mean I don't blame them for increasing their prices, but it's a good way to get a sales boost before 5th May.

 

[goat76]

I would like to know if the price increase by KEF will affect the EU countries as well. If so, I will boycott them as well as I do with Sony after they raised the price of the Playstation 5 in EU thanks to the tariffs in US. I will definitely not pay for the choices made by the US government.

 

[Sokel]

I would like to know if the price increase by KEF will affect the EU countries as well. If so, I will boycott them as well as I do with Sony after they raised the price of the Playstation 5 in EU thanks to the tariffs in US. I will definitely not pay for the choices made by the US government.

I respect Kef even if they're not my cup of tea but I find the way they underlined the design team location rather than the one they actually construct most of their speakers rather dubious.

No wonder schemes will be applied to get gear in US avoiding the Chinese tariffs, that's business. But...

 

[Behrelec 37]

He flip side of China HiFi is that all audio fairs, which are attended by a lot of older men, most of whom presumably have quite large wallets/bank accounts, are followed by new generations, i.e. young adults, who are horrified by the current high prices of top-of-the-line equipment, speakers and other peripherals.Which creates a thought pattern for quite a few young people that as adults, when they already have that money, this chosen path is the """only right way""" to rise to the highest level of sound reproduction. Because others, why shouldn't I get to taste it too.No adult at an audio fair questions the price-quality ratio HARD, because weakness is a million percent unconditionally in one's own flesh and in the shame of the gazes of other representatives of the same age generation as a conscious character element, even if they are completely right and the sound of the stereo does not match the price-quality ratio and the expensive equipment/setup of the presenter would sound cheap.

So Chinese hi-fi copying other manufacturers may be the factor that eats away the credibility of these top-class people, because its mass power only grows over time in relation to the future (of course I understand the anger and envy in part). High-end distances itself and strengthens its own narrow-minded brainwashing marketing, where the ABSOLUTE top religion based on advertising has taken over the souls of thousands of men like an inexhaustible glossy glue. When prices must always and all the time go up. Prices go up all the time, because the salaries of the company's staff are already astronomical and they want more money and pleasures in their own lives. I will not take any further position on this.

Chinese hi-fi does not follow the Western way of thinking, where the price is formed by maximizing the customer, falling into a trap, and when they get them to believe, they are taken maximum money with pompous praise and exaggerated phrases. Of course not all manufacturers are like this!!!Copying Chinese hi-fi is of course a cheap and unfair practice towards other countries. But if you are honest with yourself as a human being, that is exactly what many animals and insects in the animal kingdom do to survive against their time and life. Often it is beneficial for both sides of the hi-fi buyer when competition intensifies quality and price comparisons.I expect more real competition and a war of the titans of comparisons in terms of product comparisons. But I fear that the distancing will only grow further, which will lead to major unpleasant changes for these companies in the West.

 

[Sokel]

Chinese hi-fi does not follow the Western way of thinking, where the price is formed by maximizing the customer, falling into a trap, and when they get them to believe, they are taken maximum money with pompous praise and exaggerated phrases.

Dragon System

Six ways with ten units, all field coil units with carbon fiber big horns, such super speaker flagship system is what Stereophile magazine commented as “the biggest, most relaxed, most natural, uncolored sound I heard in any room”. The Super Dragon system is a culmination of all the cutting-edge...

esdacoustic.store

No one is immune to money, none.

(by the way they were horrible at Munich)

Edit: update to "improved" one for only half a million.

 

[Behrelec 37]

Terrible in Munich. Yeah. But no one dared to say it out loud there, or did they? Does it work with all music, or with some very very very limited ones perhaps?So there are always exceptions of course. The Chinese have obviously had image marketing in such models. A large product palette is beautiful in our Chinese opinion, it would be sold if a big expensive fish were to hit the hook in the West.

 

[Sokel]

Terrible in Munich. Yeah. But no one dared to say it out loud there, or did they? Does it work with all music, or with some very very very limited ones perhaps?So there are always exceptions of course. The Chinese have obviously had image marketing in such models. A large product palette is beautiful in our Chinese opinion, it would be sold if a big expensive fish were to hit the hook in the West.

Some said it straight to the reps, they replied that the room was massive (true) and these were prototypes.

Nope. They had all the sins people moan about the horns without the advantages.
And any hint of mid-bass heavy stuff demolished them.

For a mil and a half I would expect to demolish the room along with having all the other elements which make big speakers great.

 

[Marc v E]

Is the 2nd hand market affected by tarrifs? If not, that might be a loophole.

 

[PristineSound]

Is the 2nd hand market affected by tarrifs? If not, that might be a loophole.

If it's already in the US, no. Otherwise, I believe it's the value you declare on the item that is being shipped in.

I'm expecting the used market price to also go up. So if you got gear to sell, maybe hold on to it for a while, the value may go up.

 

[knownothing]

Is anyone already having difficulty purchasing products from outside the U.S.? I am.

In early April I ordered an r-core power supply along with a DC supply cable and a USB cable from China. The cables arrived on time as expected. The information on shipping for the power supply was sketchy. I was notified shortly after purchase that it would arrive between April 18-25. There was no further update on tracking so on 4/15 I contacted the seller on Aliexpress. This is what they said:

“Hello,

So sorry.

This power supply has not been sent yet. It will take about 3 more days.

Best Regards”

On 4/18 the tracking information indicated the product had shipped. The order information was not updated and still stated it would arrive between April 18 and 25. April 25 came and went, no power supply, no tracking update. On 4/27 I contacted the seller and asked for an update. This is what they said:

”Hello

Sorry, due to the new US tariff policy, we were unable to send this package.

We currently do not have suitable logistics transportation to the United States, and packages arriving in the United States will incur huge tariffs.

You can apply for a refund.

Sorry again

Thank you for your understanding and support

Best Regards”

There you have it. The heavier power supply probably had to be sent by marine transportation and the timing was such it would land in the U.S. after the tariffs went into full effect. The lighter cables on the other hand probably shipped via air freight and arrived ahead of the tariffs. Imagine how this is now playing across all the components and finished electronics products across the market today. There will be disruptions. Likely very large disruptions.

During covid I started a hobby assembling my own power cables from parts. That is when I stumbled onto Aliexpress. Covid disruptions of shipping meant very long arrival times for products, up to six weeks or more. This feels very different, and if not resolved the current situation is likely to significantly raise prices or essentially eliminate access for many products in the audio industry.

In the meantime, does anyone know where I can buy a U.S. made 5V r-core external power supply with quality parts for $115 including all sales taxes and shipping? Or for two or three times that much? If you find out, please let me know.

Thanks,

kn