What current China import sounds like a CJ??

Fatparrot, was that supposed to be a reply to my specific questions? Cause it's not. We all know how bad the Chinese government is. But I don't think mass production plant managers anywhere else are any more free to flout their quotas and keep their jobs, for whatever that's worth. And how is it "unfortunate" that, as you say, "there are legitimate and VERY dedicated Chinese manufacturers who turn out quality equipment at a very reasonable price"? Personally, I have a tough time putting the blame for exploitive overseas manufacturing and exporting practices on the domestic firms and consumers who take advantage of the cheaper prices -- as long as our goverment policies permit and even encourage this behavior, market forces will dictate that consumers and manufacturers follow this path. The whole process probably *could* be managed so that pros outweigh cons long-term all the way around, but I very much doubt that this is the situation today -- I assume the benefits flowing from the arrangement are imbalanced and shorter-term, and don't necessarily outweigh the cons. So it's up to individual consumers if they want to boycott products they think could hurt the interests of labor (in both countries), or the environment, etc.

Albertporter, I guess that I'm Dean Martin to your Jerry Lewis ;-)

why would anyone be concerned that an amplifier assembled in China sounds like a CJ ? is it possible that there are amps assembled in the US which also sound like a CJ ?

most tube amps of a given wattage sound similar and most of them sound like solid state. who needs them ? who cares ? sounds like a tempest in a teapot to me ?

why not answer a more important question, such as why do so many of current production amps and preamps sound so bad ?

Sorry to digress, but is there a short list of worthwhile chinese components to check out if my best friend has just moved to Shanghai?

Shanling?

Any others?

Quality control in the global economy is vital to success, and ISO certification is the way to assure it. When I was working for General Dynamics we went through several stages of ISO certification, and at the time we thought it was a bit of a joke because the requirements were all things that we had been doing for years, but with a mountain of new documention and procedures. However, I now realize that these formal process controls really do have a role in assuring the quality of products made by small companies around the world.

Mr Wong, and his company, would not last long in today's world, although we westerners like to think that what he does is typical in China. First, one must realize that quality control is no longer about inspecting the final product. It is about making the design of the product and its manufacturing process so well controlled that no final inspection of the product is necessary. (Actually, a few items of final products are inspected, but only to keep a check on the manufacturing process. If a fault is found you fix the process, not the particular item of product).

Modern quality control was developed in the East, Japan, where engineers like Tagushi took concepts put forward by an American, Demming, and used them to dominate the market for electronics and autos.