Why China Isnt Happening Yet

There's crap made in the U.S. and there's great stuff made in the U.S. There's crap made in China and there's great stuff made in China. As a consumer, you get to wade through it all and figure out which is which. I've been using a Jungson integrated that I paid $325 for about 7-8 months ago and I'd put it up against anything in the $1200-$2000 range (it replaced an Audiolab 8000A which retailed for about $800 in the early 90's and the Jungson is far superior); I'm a happy guy. But I'd be wary of cheap knock-offs with little information available on them. Even the great stuff coming out of China receives little press, probably because that press will do nothing but serve to put European and domestic manufacturers of high end gear (and subsequently their advertising budgets) under great pressure. Think about it.

I have lost faith in the ability of the modern Press and Media to accurately portray "truth in advertising" at many levels, so as you indicate, no surprises there. An despite what reviewers in the two big audio mags will maintain, advertising $$$ speak and determine what get's positively aired, and what gets no air time, always has been that way and always will.

That's why this is one of the last venues for honest discourse and why those publications are uncomfortable by our presence.

Cwlondon:
Interesting post....from many points of view that are much larger than simply the audiophile marketplace.

I am one who is going to agree with your colleague as regards the looming issues that are very real and will cause major disruptions in our society. To say, as a society, that we have been decieved and mislead is IMO not stretching the truth. I believe that the fear of "flight of capital" is very real. By the same token, right now, that capital really has nowhere else to go if it is seeking both safety and return. If it is seeking primarily safety, than there are other choices.

By the same token, it seems to me that the really big lesson in all of this is that it is our society that has, since WW2, sowed the seeds of our own dilemna. It is we who have shown the world a better quality of life, and sold them our products (and our syndicated television re-reruns) with this quality of life as a lure. Now, to our dismay, they have decided that they want it for themselves and in many ways are willing to work harder for it than we are. Should we blame them?

But we are not alone in this. Right now, the emerging world NEEDS access to our consumption. If all of the worlds drug users stop cold turkey, all of the worlds dealers stop cold turkey as well. Without the American consuption, the Chinese manufacturing machine (which already suffers from a dramatic lack of pricing power...observe the changes currently going on in their internal policies) will cease to have sufficient customers to justify its existence.

This is not to minimize our own problems. Our leaders have done a miserable job of taking care of business, and we as voters have done an even poorer job of our duty of choosing appropriate leaders.

When Japanese products first appeared in the market after WW2, they suffered from all of the same problems that you have so accurately described. Look at them now.

In the bigger global picture, we are all in this together. We all need each other...rich and poor...and we need to take care of each other...rich and poor.

Funny... I drive a '98 Malibu and other than the AC button turning itself off on occasion (just reach down and hit it again) the thing hasn't had a single problem.

Just goes to show that within any segment/brand, people will have good and bad experiences.

When Japan first began selling sports cars they were knock-offs of classic British cars like the MG...just cheaper.
The next generation were their own designs, and ran circles around the competition. They sold on the basis of quality, not cost. China is just beginning to get into the audio business, manufacturing designs by US and European companies, and making designs based on existing technology. But soon China will put forth their own innovative technology, and our audio companies better get their act together or they will face the same kind of crisis that overcame our auto industry. Chinese engineers are the equal or better than ours, and there are ten times as many of them.