HOW MUCH DO NON-AUDIO FACTORS INFLUENCE YOUR AUDIO PURCHASES?

+1 P8 @yespsb. Phenomenal value, great arm, perfect dust cover, design. Put it on a wall shelf and it would be tough to beat at multiple times the cost.

@danvignau   Please read what I wrote.  I said I won't buy any products made by a company owned by the GOVERNMENT of the PRC.  This would be companies like Cayin which is entirely owned by the Chinese government or Prima Luna which manufactures their gear in factories owned by the Chinese government.  Buying from the Chinese government increases the chances that you are buying something made by slave or forced labor.

It is not true that all audio components must contain Chinese parts.  It takes a bit of research-and yes, a bit more money sometimes-but there are plenty of companies that make good, affordable stuff that don't don't take the China road.  It is a personal decision based on my experience of the world.  I was just answering the question posed by the OP.  I know from past discussions that others have very different outlooks on the subject.

Sometimes, Chinese-made doesn't even seem less expensive.  If I'm not mistaken, Harmon builds some expensive JBL and Revel models there.  I suppose they might be even higher otherwise, though.

This would be companies like Cayin which is entirely owned by the Chinese government or Prima Luna which manufactures their gear in factories owned by the Chinese government. Buying from the Chinese government increases the chances that you are buying something made by slave or forced labor.

Oh, so you can list the contract manufacturers that Prima Luna is using? No?  I thought not.   Most plants in China are not government owned, nor do they use slave or forced labor.  Then again, Prima Luna claims they are using 5 different CMs in China and they are the "bigger" ones. I think that is a real stretching of the truth. Big CMs generally won't touch their low volume, especially if split between 5 locations, and the truly big CMs don't play the games that Prima Luna noted.

audio2design   What part of the news programs that reported on catch bets being placed on the ground below multi-floor factories in China did you miss?  I can't imagine that workers are jumping out of windows to end their lives if their labor is not forced.