Difference in quality in products made in China?

Quality can be found in China but their labor market is shrinking fast, lowering the level of skilled labor available. Those who are already established in Chinese markets have the pick of the labor.

China is also based on a very old system of local "rulers" who have more control over the provinces they live in than the local authorities do. Nissan calls these local elites "little emperors" who must be appeased (by design and features) if sales are to continue at an acceptable rate. It's a different way of doing things.

All the best,
Nonoise

I got Audio Space el34 Nova (upgraded caps) for over 5 years and I use it for everything, AV, HI FI 8 everyday.It has been rock solid reliable, not like my other 2 Audio Research VT100 that blows all the time! They actually sounded more natural then the VT. I kept the Chinese amp at the end.

Additional info..KEF speakers is owned by a Chinese Company, GP Acoustics, based in Hong Kong. KEF's top line speakers are made in the U.K. but their mid and low line speakers are made in China. GP Acoustics also owns Arcam and Celestion.

Why are there so many Asians in western conservatories: because Asians have a physiological advantage. Their hands and fingers are strong and nimble. Their bone structure is considerably different from that of people from European decent. This advantage can carry over into the area of electronics. Look at some of the Japanese products from the 1960's and early 1970's.
As far as intelligence, work ethic and skill is concerned, the Chinese could build and sell Hubble telescopes if it made financial sense for them to do so. By the way, my Quad 2905's sound great and they're built to higher standard than the previous Quads (in my humble opinion). The biggest problem with poorly made Chinese products is that those manufacturers who make cra$ just don't care.

Because of the huge manufacturing "ability" in China, there are many products that are designed in the west but built in China. Some western companies take quality control seriously and others do not.

It's exactly the same with Chinese companies.

Problem is right now the WWW lets us buy from companies that have a web pressesnce, but no real reputation.

Their products initially look good, but ultimately longevity is not their main goal.

Also, many dealers looking to tempt us in to their stores, provide less than stellar quality products sourced form China. It's easy for them to stop selling that product once quality becomes an issue, with the age old line "Oh yes, we stopped selling that brand due to quality issues".

From what I've read on Agon, Pangea is one company that does provide quality products - and I'm sure there are many more.

But it is very much a case of buyer beware :-(

A little old Italian man once told me...

" to trust is good - not to trust is better!"