300b lovers

Japan is interesting. Unlike the USA, it looks outward to the world (Americans by and large don’t know or care), but any kind of immigration is nearly impossible. Visit, yes, but don’t stay. This is a demographic problem with a rapidly declining population and no effective guest-worker program.

What makes the USA unique is that it only imports 12% of its economy, less than nearly any other nation, and half of that are imports from Mexico and Canada, which are effectively domestic markets. Get rid of those two and it is 6% or less.

It is self-sufficient in energy for the foreseeable future, and for the history of the country has always exported food to the rest of the world. The USA has never had a food famine in its entire history, which is unique as far as I know. So Americans are pretty insular compared to most other nations, and only the larger companies have any awareness of the ins and outs of selling to non-North American markets.

In the rest of the world, it is Export Or Die, and governments are tightly focused on this, every day. Because essential inputs, like food or oil, come from elsewhere, and are critical to the survival of the population. In the USA, there’s always more. It’s always been that way. Our economic problems are self-inflicted. The idea of HAVING to export is very foreign to Americans, but is no joke in the UK, the EU, China, Japan, and much of the rest of the world.

My son lives in Japan and has worked and lived there for the last 4 years. ?? 

but any kind of immigration is nearly impossible. Visit, yes, but don’t stay. This is a demographic problem with a rapidly declining population and no effective guest-worker program.

About 12,000 naturalized immigrants a year, it turns out, out of a population of 123 million. Not enough to offset a population loss of about a half-million to a million a year.

Returning to the original question, Asian companies are a lot more export-oriented than US companies. They have far more experience exporting to North America and the EU, and are expert in making "localized" versions.

Japan is also interesting because half the country is 50 Hz (Tokyo), and the other half (Kobe/Osaka) is 60 Hz. Asynchronous 50/60 Hz Grids. In a sense, even the internal market is an export market, since there are two power frequencies.

I saw Kurobe Dam while it was under construction by Kansai Electric. The underground power station, deep under the mountain, is like sometime out of a Bond movie set. Two of the generators were running while the third was suspended from a crane. The fourth was an immense concrete pit.

Very interesting discussion about gear sold on one side of the Atlantic and that sold on the other side.  Reading the British hifi magazines, I have always been curious why they and the Europeans fancy such different gear than we do in the US.  Naim and Hegel are two EU brands that have deeply penetrated the US audio market, as well as the venerable Linn TT's.  With Lynn's erudition, I now understand why that is the case. 

As I am sure Don can attest after his renovation of lots of vintage HK and Marantz gear, a boatload, literally, of these vintage tube amps made their way to Japanese audiophiles for decades.  Don't flame me for saying this, but the Japanese have a purist view of a lot of things, including architecture, gardening, city planning, vital mass transit, delicate and inventive cuisine, etc etc.  It comes as no surprise to me that the Japanese clamor for the best audio gear on this side of the pond.  Kondo Audio Note is a prime example of their aesthetic.  We all learn from one another.