Made in America


I just saw on ABC news a segment about made in america and was curious if made in america meant anything to the audiophiles who live and work in the good ole USA.
wmbode
China is building a Lenovo manufacturing plant somewhere next to Greensboro so some of the Lenovo laptops will be made in US. Which one would you prefer after all?
A lot of my favorite gear I use is by American companies.

OHM, Bel Canto, Audio Research mainly. Logitech Squeezebox also (though theline was recently discontinued...grrrr).

I have two mhdt DACs made by some guy in the far east that are real giant killers though.

I also am fond of the British products I use: DNM Reson ICs, Linn turntable.

Dynaudios from Denmark are gold standard speaker designs IMHO.

LEts not forget France, Triangle speakers can be very good values if you can find them in the US these days.

And of course, from Japan, the DEnon DL103R cart, another giant killer.
I can be just as guilty as the next guy when it comes to buying American made goods. Not always, as I'll seek out the best quality when I'm paying the bill.

Let's face it. Most of American made goods are made overseas (and down south) in factories owned or co-owned by American companies that just sell to themselves here, stateside, increasing the mark up along the way.

Keeping that in mind, you can still put money in the pocket of Americans when buying some "foreign" product. As for actual, foreign made equipment, I'd have no qualms whatsoever (if I could afford it) buying something like a Luxman. Heck, my new plasma is a Samsung and I wouldn't mind driving a Mercedes C class.

We're constantly bombarded with the notion that we live in a global economy when it comes to labor (our declining wages) but told to buy only American made goods to get our vote. Don't fall for the hype: buy American when you can but if you get the itch to try that "other" make, don't feel too bad about it.

All the best,
Nonoise
I prefer to buy American of course, but I think one would be ill advised to not accept the trend towards a more global economy and America's evolving (yet still predominant) place within it. It is happening faster than ever and will hopefully be a good thing for all in the long run, though many will feel the pains of transition in the interim.