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.

Madisound has a retrofit program. With Vandys, Thiels and Maggies, I'd buy American in the 1st place.

Do what I did with my Spica's in 1989 - if you're really planning on having the speakers that long. If you're buying new, tell the dealer that you will purchase the speakers ONLY if they include a replacement set of drivers up front - at or near cost. If they're sourced from China, it shouldn't be all that much. This is not a bad idea with any manufacturer, regardless of location, if the drivers are not stock from one of the majors. Seal 'em up in plastic.

I've used one pair of tweets, which were still replaceable at the time, and still have a full set in the closet (along with the speakers)!