Raysonic gone belly up, is this a hoax? Read on...

A similar letter was posted on 6 moons a while ago,
http://www.6moons.com/lettersfeedback/negative.html

It's a shame what happened to the workers in that factory.

Regarding the claims of quality, I have no doubt whatsoever as to their validity. That's the thing that a lot of customers don't get to see in regard to the Chinese high-end audio manufacturers.

Several years ago, I imported an even larger Chinese high-end audio brand. The quality of their gear was so poor it defies description. There are just too many examples to list, but a few happen to stick out as noteworthy:
1) In my initial order, I received 10 of one of their CD player models, 8 of which were bad right out of the box
2) One run of their turntable motors ran backwards. I figured they'd be perfect for Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven
3) I once received a pair of their "reference" monoblock amplifiers, where one of the amps not finished, and was missing a bunch of critical internal parts

Beyond this, a friend of mine, who is one of the more well known dealers in the country, and I got together for lunch two weeks ago. He told me an anecdote about what's probably the largest Chinese high-end audio company. He needed a bunch of their DACs, so he visited the importer, who is local to him. The importer always opened each box, as he had to test every unit to see if it worked or not. Anyway, it took them most of the day to round up his order, as more than 50% were defective right out of the box. Scary.

That's why I always say don't buy anything from China.

You know, the prices of the non-trash chinese tube gear has gone up to the point that high-value, domestically built brands like Rogue/Quicksilver/Manley[before their huge price increases]/etc are often more affordable! I know which product I'd rather hook up to my speakers...

I don't ever WANT a product that has to be cherry-picked from a herd of DOA units. That speaks volumes about the (absence of) quality and (lack of) engineering. It belongs in the trash.

Yet audiophiles still buy loads of chinese gear, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of this is based on the assumption that "the HUGE savings in labor costs are being passed on to me, the consumer!". Like with the purportedly huge "we-cut-the-middleman" internet direct companies, when that was the hot new way to do hifi for less. It's only a bargain if they're building something worth keeping...and you might want to do a price check again, while you're at it.

I'm also wary of these "Designed In --nice sounding country--, Built in China" products. What do you think the chances are that this stuff is largely chinese (reverse engineered) design, with custom modifications/tweaks?

I sent them an Email a few days ago and have had no response .