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Difference in quality in products made in China?

There is a belief among many audiophiles that electronics assembled in China or Korea are not as well made as products assembled in the USA and England. This has nothing to do,(I believe) with the "technical abilities" of workers, as it has to do with standards of quality control, and the sourcing of less quality parts throughout Asia

This may be all hogwash and just biased opinion, but this question comes up to often to be quickly dismissed. From my own experience which is limited compared to other members, the products(amps. pre-amps CD players) I have owned that were made in the USA, or UK, and Canada, have been solid in terms of long term reliability. I would like to hear others opinions on this issue.
sunnyjim
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Csontos, you're talking about Chinese companies. What about US or UK companies manufacturing in China (including Apple)?
sunnyjim OP
927 posts
 
Thanks to all who have responded so far. In a global economy, my question may actually be irrelevant. Everybody borrows( or is it steals??) from everybody else. Unfortunately, the days of economic nationalism are long gone. I say unfortunately because in the 1950's 60's and most of the 70's, American goods were in great demand because of the quality of American made products.
csontos
1,311 posts
 
I also have a MacBook Air with no issues. I replaced my MacBook with it which was 6 years old when it finally died. So I don't think quality control is an issue with foreign companies in China who care about their reputation.
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
Been there - done that - got the repair bills

Won't ever buy components or wire from china EVER!,

Some iec connectors/plugs seem to be OK.

Since most stuff is built there these days its probably the same as with everything else - buy brand names!
photonman
96 posts
 
I worked as field engineer for a company that built power plants. We sourced main steam valves (valves that feed the turbine lines) to a Chinese oompany because of price. These valves have to be forged high strength steel alloys. Long story short, we discovered that the valves we installed were two piece welded. That was a disaster waiting to happen.

Ever since then, I shy away from made in china for everything. Every new baby food story etc reinforces the feeling.
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