4 weeks ago we saw the new Classe line. It looked very cheap from the outside. The material they use gives it more a cheap look. It was still not possible to hear it.
This is the new ’highend’ these days. It is like the investment group who owns brands like: Sonus Faber, Mcintosh, AudioResearch and Wadia.
They want these companies to use cheaper parts so they will make more profit. B&W brought it to China to have lower costs.
What we see is that many of these brands use cheaper parts these days. I had a client with a brand new Audioresearch poweramp. In a few months he got 2 new amps. And still had the same problem. At the end he got his money back.