Red Rose : quality drain?


I went to the Red Rose web site: very nice looking products and well informed site. Looking through their products I found the top line M1. It meke me think about why we trust expensive audio systems and why brands are so important when we pay the big bucks. For me the answer is thaat because each employee at these companies have the "spirit" to produce the best quality/performance they can achieve at any price; companies where the management deside what to do with the final product in front of them, not the gross margin. By scrolling down on the pdf file that contains the M1 literature you can se under the Red Rose tags another brand named "Koksun", probably because the device on the picture is the first imported prototype without the final Red Rose logo. Most of the electronic companies today are getting Korean/Taiwanese made products and selling these in the US market under their brands. I wonder if every employee at these overseas companies understands the importance of quality when they build our bucks$$$
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I think it is important to distinguish between companies that simply rebadge equipment-like red rose- and the many other companies that use pacific production on designs that their engineers spec. while that may be a nuanced argument to some, I do value the architecture of the really high end manufacturers and if they support the equipment post sale, I can get over the fact that they no longer produce it in the country of origin. Having said that, Red Rose is a sham of the highest order, and that makes sense given the obvious issues that Mark Levinson-who used to be somebody-has and how desparate he is to be someone again.
It is not unusual for quality to degrade over time, even (or perhaps particularly) for domestic products. The first units are built by the best engineers and technicians, who developed the product. Later units are put together "by hippies and grandmothers" (to quote a very wise chief engineer that I worked with). The engineers and the best technicians have moved on to develop the next product.

Also, people in third world countries sometimes have practical skills which we Americans lack. Case in point is the assembly of small mechanisms by Hispanic women. They have small hands and fingers, and can do work that would drive a red-blooded American crazy.
Does the United States actually make anything these days?
What are some high end audio companies that still make everything here in the U.S.?
Do European audio companies have the same strategy -- pacific rim or 3rd world manufacturing? just curious.
That might be an overstatement. Some US manufacturers do make things in the US, but the whole idea of "Made in the USA" label, has a lot to do with manufacturing or "putting" things together in the US. For example, there are plenty of components used in components that are made in Japan and or other overseas manufacturer, but just because they are part of the circuit, it does not mean that it needs to be called "Made in elsewhere." I have seen plenty of companies that design their gear here and either choose to manufacture the items overseas or they make them here depending of the price they charge for the items....The lower the price of the component, they are usually made overseas, but the higher the price, I guess they need to have them made in the US to convince the higher paying customers that they are getting something made in the country where they purchase the product and live. Of the manufacturers that make the products here in the US, I might name the following:

Rogue
Belles
Mark Levinson
Krell
McIntosh
McCormack
Conrad Johnson
First Sound
Infinity (speakers)
Ayre
Avalon (speakers)
Boulder
Pass Labs
Wilson (speakers)
Bel Canto
Art Audio
VPI
Basis turntables
Innersound
Coda
Threshold (old and new)
Revel (speakers)

and many more that I cannot remember.

There can be a potential of companies deciding to deliberately make their products in the US or in some recognized industrialized countries once again due to the quest of gaining the favor of customers that care more about the image and also the sound than that of price.

Repeat: there is no guarantee that things stamped Made in the USA carry 100% of components sources from US companies.