Driver replacement China

I agree, excellent question! Still, if you look at a Stereophile magazing from 10 - 15 years ago, you'll notice that probably half of the North American companies advertising are no longer with us.

But, all is not lost when a speaker company goes under and the drivers are no longer working right. You can almost always have them repaired...

Its not just the drivers. Alot of hi end makes use off the shelf, Chinese sourced circuit boards, CD drives and other components and have been doing so for many years. I've read where Korsun is OEM for alot of Mark Levenson and Krell has used common, Chinese sourced circuit boards for some of their stuff. Its just another example of our global economy: everyone is looking for cheaper labor costs. It shouldn't mean a cheaper build. I know this is not what you implied but unless you're blasting your rig the drivers should last quite some time. Also, alot of the drivers that can be bought for DIYs and such come from the same place as the drivers in the speakers that concern you. Replacing one with the same, if not better drivers should not present a problem.

i know i always say this, but manufacturers of high end equipment should share the origin of parts and assembly with consumers. they prefer to have you imagine, this stuff is not made in china, but by the factories who made it historically. the automobile and other big ticket industries are required to do this because the consumer (spending a great deal of money) has the right to know.