Does DK Design actually design and manufacture?

Uppermidfi:

I most certainly do not have the answer, which is what occasioned this thread.

DK Design puts out really splendid looking components. Friends of mine have told me how great these products sound, too. I've even heard one of the DK amps and thought it sounded quite good.

Intrigued by this brand, I searched around the posts in Audio Asylum, where I
came across the hint (or rumor or inuendo) that DK products were rebadges of existing products designed and manufactured in China (Taiwan, to be extact). I have no idea if this is true, but wanted to find out; hence this post.

If this, in fact, is true, it does not detract from the sound or design quality of these products. However, given that DK Design makes no mention of the true (?) provenance of its products on its website, this would cast this company in a somewhat negative light for me.

So: does DK design these products (ie, the electronics) themselves? Or not? What's the answer, boys?

Shamburg

I know of only one Agon member who can definitively answer your question. Send an E-mail to "Lrsky", I'm sure he will be most happy to accommodate you.

best

http://www.cav-audio.com/Products.asp?Pid=7&id=54

Check out this link to CAV Audio, a chinese company. The shot of one of their amplifiers, especially of the innards, will look familiar to you DK owners. And check Audio Asylum for DK discussions that are already old news, it seems.

DK never made any secret of the origin of their amplifier. My VS-1 says "Made in China" on the rear of the unit. In fact, their initial campaign was promoting that they have a factory in China where most of the assembly is done and this was the way they could pass on substantial savings to the consumer. So because in China labor is like $1 per hour they can make an amplifier that would cost about $10K in the US to MSRP for only $3K.

So DK has a factory in China that ships the main components chassis with the sub-assembly. Then final modifications are made here in the USA. These modifications are also a very important part of the final design.

You guys should also check out this link:

http://www.shengya-audio.com/en_product.asp?id=695

Looks suspiciously like Gryphon from Denmark doesn't it? The fact is, there are all kinds of products being offered in China, especially with China having so little respect for intellectual property and copyrights. And yes it is true that there is a lot of crap being made in China these days. But in the hands of capable American company and with proper management it is possible to produce top notch products that compete with the best.