Asia is a vast and varied continent. What is important is the manufacturing quality track record of the country. If the speaker is made in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, HK or Singapour, and to a certain extent, China nowadays, then it's fine. But if it's made in a country with lesser track record, then I would have more reticence.
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Do you care where your speakers are manufactured?
- Thread starter sigbergaudio
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No, I'm not worried.
In addition to the value of the product, I am interested in having nearby and national assistance (I don't want to have to ship the product outside Europe with high shipping costs and the risk of also having to pay customs).
So make your product wherever you want but don't leave me alone in case of problems.
In addition to the value of the product, I am interested in having nearby and national assistance (I don't want to have to ship the product outside Europe with high shipping costs and the risk of also having to pay customs).
So make your product wherever you want but don't leave me alone in case of problems.
I go for sound first and pretend not care by not investigating about the IP, environment, child labor, health and safety, or living wage. Is that not that what everyone does?
Interesting.
I absolutely care about how workers are treated, but if I'm going to be honest with myself, I rarely think about it when making a purchase.
I probably think about the environmental impacts of the manufacturing process even more than I do the workers. Both are important.
digitalfrost
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I like what you are doing and I kinda want to throw money in your face, but it needs to be cheaper than your current offerings. 105dB peak would be good enough for me. If that is only possible with manufacturing in China, go for it, but I'm willing to pay a premium for Norway or EU.
thewas
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My answer would be a bit different
I always prefer local manufacturing and manufacturing in countries with high social standards, working safety and sustainable materials and production, but only if the price premium is reasonable, as for example Genelec, and not something more than double price as seen in some IAD loudspeakers when are they just assembled in UK vs China.
I always prefer local manufacturing and manufacturing in countries with high social standards, working safety and sustainable materials and production, but only if the price premium is reasonable, as for example Genelec, and not something more than double price as seen in some IAD loudspeakers when are they just assembled in UK vs China.
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On my very modest retirement budget, I really have no choice but to ultimately go by price/performance ratio.
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Even self-congratulating "high end" suppliers resort to manufacturing in low-wage countries, e.g. PS Audio's entire pricey "Aspen" speaker line is shipped in from China.
Count Arthur
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Please let’s not allow this thread to become about politics. Tariffs have existed for decades and decades and are used by all Administrations. Trade wars have also existed across the full spectrum of products and goods. That said should be sufficient to say import and export duties are what they are and will be reflected in the final price. Regardless of what administration is or will do, let’s say no more on this specific matter please.
Sorry, but leaving politics completely outside is impossible, if I want to give an honest answer to op. There are certain types of governments, ideologies and behaviours that I don't want to support with my money, if I can avoid it. I will rather pay a premium to do business with a company that I can respect.
The problem with questions like "A or B" is that there is always an implied "all other things being equal...", yet all other things are never equal and the people asking and responding usually don't think about it.
I see there being two primary considerations behind this question: whom do I wish to financially support? And do I think building "here" will increase quality?
For the financial aspect: All other things being equal, yes, I would prefer to buy speakers (or anything) built "here", if not "here" then by a friend(ly country).
For quality aspect, where you outsource to doesn't matter nearly as much as how much oversight you provide and how much insight your engineers have into manufacturing so that they can tweak designs to remove manufacturing pain points. Throwing it over the wall and wiping your hands of it will fail, whether you go outsource to China or Sweden or USA.
Apple is an example of building in China but being very hands on in the manufacturing process, and getting great quality. Boeing is a great example of made in the USA but thanks to being completely disconnected their quality has gone downhill.
I see there being two primary considerations behind this question: whom do I wish to financially support? And do I think building "here" will increase quality?
For the financial aspect: All other things being equal, yes, I would prefer to buy speakers (or anything) built "here", if not "here" then by a friend(ly country).
For quality aspect, where you outsource to doesn't matter nearly as much as how much oversight you provide and how much insight your engineers have into manufacturing so that they can tweak designs to remove manufacturing pain points. Throwing it over the wall and wiping your hands of it will fail, whether you go outsource to China or Sweden or USA.
Apple is an example of building in China but being very hands on in the manufacturing process, and getting great quality. Boeing is a great example of made in the USA but thanks to being completely disconnected their quality has gone downhill.
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kemmler3D
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I voted "prefer local at a small premium" but my real answer is I care most about QC / tolerances / reliability relative to where it's manufactured. Similar to @ChrisG it's about my level of confidence - that the gear will meet spec and/or not have too much inter-sample variation, so I know what I'm getting and don't have to worry too much about it failing.
That said if the price premium is small I definitely gravitate toward local. I'm a fan of JDS simply for nationalistic (you might generously call it patriotic) reasons - because they're made in the US, but if they performed worse or cost a lot more they wouldn't be on my radar.
I guess all else held equal I will lean domestic for sure.
That said if the price premium is small I definitely gravitate toward local. I'm a fan of JDS simply for nationalistic (you might generously call it patriotic) reasons - because they're made in the US, but if they performed worse or cost a lot more they wouldn't be on my radar.
I guess all else held equal I will lean domestic for sure.
Please try. I think you can find a way to make your point/argument without coloring your message with Politics.
My personal views in practice are reflected in my choices. We consider COI for our purchases, but it isn't the most important factor compared to things like performance and price. Here's what we did for recent speakers (all replacing models which were old enough from when lots of speakers were made in the US).
In our main system, we went with the KEF Reference Meta for the LCR. The surrounds and overheads are other KEF models. I like the UK manufacturing of the main speakers, but I did not want to pay that premium for surrounds. COI wasn't the main reason we bought these speakers, but I am thrilled to support a company that still maintains some local manufacturing.
In the home office corner of the bedroom, I have a Neumann sub/sat system. Again, I like that they are made in Europe.
Why do I care about COI? Spending money is one of the choices we make. There are geopolitical and military relationships worldwide. I factor my own views into spending choices, but lots of things are not substitutable or carry a price premium that isn't worth it to me. For things which are durable or premium products, we more strongly consider COI.
In our main system, we went with the KEF Reference Meta for the LCR. The surrounds and overheads are other KEF models. I like the UK manufacturing of the main speakers, but I did not want to pay that premium for surrounds. COI wasn't the main reason we bought these speakers, but I am thrilled to support a company that still maintains some local manufacturing.
In the home office corner of the bedroom, I have a Neumann sub/sat system. Again, I like that they are made in Europe.
Why do I care about COI? Spending money is one of the choices we make. There are geopolitical and military relationships worldwide. I factor my own views into spending choices, but lots of things are not substitutable or carry a price premium that isn't worth it to me. For things which are durable or premium products, we more strongly consider COI.
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Depends on what story you wish to tell with your brand. Your current products are not inexpensive, and I think buyers may have certain expectations when they are paying 12K-22K USD for a speaker system.
"Made in PRC" may work splendidly if you wish to offer lower-cost products, where buyers are less concerned about brand image, and more concerned about good value. With a few exceptions, PRC brands aren't so strong on emotional appeal, so they're sold more like commodities, where features and price are top priorities.
OTOH, if you are McIntosh Laboratory, "Made in Binghamton, New York, USA" is an important part of the appeal, and while it's ownership has changed more than once, overseas owners have never dared to offshore the bulk of the manufacturing.
"Made in PRC" may work splendidly if you wish to offer lower-cost products, where buyers are less concerned about brand image, and more concerned about good value. With a few exceptions, PRC brands aren't so strong on emotional appeal, so they're sold more like commodities, where features and price are top priorities.
OTOH, if you are McIntosh Laboratory, "Made in Binghamton, New York, USA" is an important part of the appeal, and while it's ownership has changed more than once, overseas owners have never dared to offshore the bulk of the manufacturing.
Genelec is expensive but not super expensive and manage to do their stuff in Finland a good example if you can control the mfg process in a rational way and manufacture at scale it might even be better for the QC and brand to do it closer to home .
Do they manage with all circuit boards and components ? for good or bad the world is kind of interdependent and specialized manufacturing are mostly in other countries .
So i think china is unavoidable if the product contains atoms . But it can be be Malaysia or Taiwan or Mexico .
So I don't think you can really know , where are parts sourced for your made in XX product . I think you can for example call stuff made in US if >50% of the value/price is added in local plants . So you can just assemble boards and boxes mfg elsewhere and hike the price
A couple of years ago some shifty brand sold ground beef locally in Sweden as made in Sweden , it was true they made ground beef here but the cow/meat was sourced elsewhere
if you can control the mfg process in a rational way and manufacture at scale it might even be better for the QC and brand to do it closer to home .Do they manage with all circuit boards and components ? for good or bad the world is kind of interdependent and specialized manufacturing are mostly in other countries .
So i think china is unavoidable if the product contains atoms . But it can be be Malaysia or Taiwan or Mexico .
So I don't think you can really know , where are parts sourced for your made in XX product . I think you can for example call stuff made in US if >50% of the value/price is added in local plants . So you can just assemble boards and boxes mfg elsewhere and hike the price
A couple of years ago some shifty brand sold ground beef locally in Sweden as made in Sweden , it was true they made ground beef here but the cow/meat was sourced elsewhere
Btw my UK made products has always had the worst quality even the ones where mfg was outsourced ofshoree go figure ...
And i also think we lost the know how , into the 60's 70's there where local mass market hifi and TV brands made even in my small country .
Our Norwegian friend can only look at the fate of Tandberg
And i also think we lost the know how , into the 60's 70's there where local mass market hifi and TV brands made even in my small country .
Our Norwegian friend can only look at the fate of Tandberg
This is my philosophy as well. I fear though I don't always act like this, but I try hard to buy only stuff which lives longer than the warranty period.
Needs and wants are two different things. It’s hard to pay extra for the same thing, but there is something to be said about locally manufactured products offering something inherently different from a repair/serviceability standpoint when the majority of production is local.
I want local manufacturing AND cost effective products. Knowing that there is a premium to be paid, it will translate into how much is actually made locally versus not.
Everyone is savvy that there is no such thing something made entirely locally. The famed SR-71 Blackbird used Soviet titanium but is arguably a U.S. made product. Along those lines, McIntosh is made in USA even though components are sourced globally. The iPhone is designed in the U.S. but is not U.S. manufactured.
For a loudspeaker, if you merely assembled it from a premade enclosure that was arriving on a container boat from overseas, that doesn’t count for local manufacturing. Independent of geopolitics, it’s a lot of carbon footprint to ship that heavy enclosure across the globe when it can be done locally.
The drivers and crossovers are different. Carbon footprint is less to ship and I can imagine big economies of scales using mass produced drivers instead of artisan level products. Still, if you needed a repair, I trust companies like Magico or Meyer Sound to be able to rebuild cones and spiders, etc.
I want local manufacturing AND cost effective products. Knowing that there is a premium to be paid, it will translate into how much is actually made locally versus not.
Everyone is savvy that there is no such thing something made entirely locally. The famed SR-71 Blackbird used Soviet titanium but is arguably a U.S. made product. Along those lines, McIntosh is made in USA even though components are sourced globally. The iPhone is designed in the U.S. but is not U.S. manufactured.
For a loudspeaker, if you merely assembled it from a premade enclosure that was arriving on a container boat from overseas, that doesn’t count for local manufacturing. Independent of geopolitics, it’s a lot of carbon footprint to ship that heavy enclosure across the globe when it can be done locally.
The drivers and crossovers are different. Carbon footprint is less to ship and I can imagine big economies of scales using mass produced drivers instead of artisan level products. Still, if you needed a repair, I trust companies like Magico or Meyer Sound to be able to rebuild cones and spiders, etc.
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