Well, thanks for all the thoughts and advice. A local dealer offered me the Cyrus CD6S - the old model, but new in box, at US$1,100. I went ahead and ordered it, knowing it can be upgraded to the latest model if needed. I'll report on it here later. It is made in England.
I don't think there's any doubt that some countries use children and/or unskilled labor to assemble products. QA process or not, you're bound to have poorer quality when using assemblers who are either underage, unskilled, or uneducated.
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