Nationalism in Audio Products?

Audio Consulting in Switzerland build tube amps and phono stages, whilst being better known as the source RAM use for some of the components fitted to their CD player upgrades.

I have two observationss to add to the debate on nationalism in audio products.

First, we are all influenced by the influence of consumer marketing. In the major markets, the home brands will have built a dominant position - prominence in dealers, share of advertising in the audio magazines, significant word of mouth presence on discussion boards, etc.

Most audio magazines understand their symbiotic relationship with dealers (who are significante advertisers) and will review (usually favorably) products launched by the home brands. Occasionally an importer of high end gear has sufficient advertising power to buy a seat at the top table. Often we don't have the opportunity to hear imported products and dealers can be skilled in guiding customers to the home brands.

Being in the UK, I use "brands" rather than "manufacturers" quite deliberately because many of the well known British brands e.g. Quad, are owned by the Chinese and made there.

Secondly, I think it's dangerous to generalizea about anything in audio - not all belt drives sound better than all direct drive tabls, not all SET amps sound great, not all CD players are harsh and bright, etc. Likewise, it's not true that all British turntables or speakers are best.

Speaking as a Brit, we have a rich history as merchant adventurers and have the ability to be decisive without being in full possession of all the facts. As a nation we are tenacious and don't know when to quit. In sporting endeavor we tend to over-estimate how good we are in relation to the competition and then be disappointed with our results - ask any Australian about cricket for confirmation! :(

I am sure the same holds true in audio! :) If you read some of the UK audio boards you will find these characteristics manifest as an inverted snobbery, in which posters take great delight in boasting how good their inexpensive equipment sounds (without ever hearing the kind of gear we here would regard as references). This behavior may well account for the inflated reputation enjoyed by the Linn Sondek LP12 and SME tonearms. :) Ymmv!

Thom, a thought...
The 17% VAT is not applied unequally to imported products. There may be other import duties I am unaware of but the VAT by itself is embedded in the price of the local products already, the way your products will have the VAT in the price when your new customers buy boatloads of them :^) There is no home field advantage there... There may be increased shipping costs, and because imported products tend to have distributor layers more often than do domestic products, one could generalize that this indeed adds a cost (in general; though because distributors in many cases cover light warranty work, it's like they take care of the 'insurance deductible', making those units more profitable for the home country manufacturer assuming similar cost to distributor as to dealer who wouldn't cover that 'deductible').

I agree with the idea of the possibility of cultural tilts. Some of these manifest themselves with style of listening, taste in sound reproduction colorations, and some even in taste in listening material. But I as I think about it, I realize that there may not be enough samples to actually determine whether those tilts are really there or not. An example: Jadis owners might disagree with the assertion that the French tend towards 'etched' sound.

And on the subject of GTOs and Camaros, look what's happening these days... A early high-spec GTOs and Camaros are going for ridiculous bucks these days and as more baby-boomers become affluent and yearn to relive their youth, the bubble could spread to their TTs. Get your US-made mid 60s TTs now while they're cheap (load up on wooden consoles and record-stackers?)!

Cheers,
Travis

Hi Travis, Flyingred

Thanks for clarifying what I meant to say - that VAT is applied equally, but that there are added VAT charges for exporters - with VAT being applied to shipping, insurance, and handling.

More significant is the distribution layer, which taken in combination with this can come close to doubling a product's price on a foreign shore. This is not to debate the role that a good distributor plays, as they may well earn their money in support, etc. It still has an influence on price however.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

I expect that a lot of the mark-up when moving across borders has to do with distributors, or of manufacturers doing the same job. I am not sure, and I am sure that there are many different ways of pricing to different avenues, but it could be that manufacturers may charge domestic dealers and international distributors the same price. This could lead to distortions in international pricing for a few reasons; 1) in the domestic market, the mfr may take care of routine servicing/warranty work, advertising & promotion (CES & equivalent), set-up in customers' homes for high-end items on his own dime whereas in international markets, the distributor usually takes care of all this, which certainly adds a cost. 2) foreign exchange volatility/drift means that prices may have to be set higher than 'normal' simply to avoid having to raise them 3% every time the dollar take a tumble, 2a) there is a mark-up based on cross-currency forwards when US mfrs sell in most overseas markets where short- to medium-term interest rates are lower than U.S. interest rates. In some countries this can turn into a decent mark-up when considered over the life-cycle of the product (discussed by me in a previous thread), 3) distributors may have to finance inventory (and shipping to get it there).

That said, there may be some mark-up simply because the market will bear it.