What current China import sounds like a CJ??

Who supports most Chinese equipment today, tomorrow, or 35 years from now like Conrad Johnson or Audio Research ? In addition, there is a reason why Asia remains a large portion of the CJ and ARC's market. Sound (priority one) and rock solid support (a very close second).

Politics does matter including the reality of the political stability of the country, the financial stability of companies in the rush to the bottom environment of Chinese manufacturing, dramatic pollution exceeding any other place on the planet that is forcing companies to leave one part of the country, effectively irreversibly polluted, and move on to another place to start the process again. That fast paced industrial build up needed to support billions of people and a government seeking #1 status is rapidly producing long term negative consequences that Business Week, Wall Street Journal and others regularly comment on. Your wallet is probably the strongest political statement you make on a daily basis and how you want the world to look in the future. ISO 9000 quality standards and others supporting sustainable development can make China a great place for manufacturing and sustainability of the products you buy and the country in which they are made. But unfortunately, at least, the current environment in China is too often not looking past today or even yesterday.

Isn't GATT the reason we are operating at such an enormous trade deficit? Our laws used to make this kind of competition impossible but we did this to ourselves. Little political gestures like Ferrari's stand against Asian products are symbolically important but all of the high end audio sold in the next century wouldn't approach what Wal Mart brings in this week.

there are 5 "well known" brands of audio gear from china, namely, consonance, shanling, minimax, cayin and antique sound lab. there may be a few more.

as far as i am aware, the distribution of these products is relatively stable. these products have a following. i believe you can purchase some models from each company, used on audiogon.

what say you, china bashers ?

History: Lets see if these Chinese companies are around in the year 2037 assuming they got started in the year 2000. Nearly all of their operating premises is all out of wack relative to the passion, research, and support that ARC and CJ originally brought and continue to bring to the Audiophile World. I strongly suspect some, most, or all of the current Chinese companies will not be around into the next decade, some not long enough to honor warranties and even if they could where is the service network. Cheap price comes with both short term and long term consequences, most of which are not good. "The High Cost of (seemingly) Low Prices".

Audio Research started in 1970 to revive tube electronics as a direct result of mass marketing pushing transistors on us as a cheaper way to great sound. Lets see what happens to the value in the Chinese used products when there is no support for them. Another in a long list of throw away life styles.

My personal feeling is: if you want the sound of a CJ, buy a CJ. Pretty simple.

Although quite a few posts ran a little off topic, I can appreciate the views expressed. I agree that our trade relationship is unbalanced in favor of China. Witness our current trade deficit. Unfortunately this is reality. Hopefully something will be done to address this inequality to create a more level playing field.

And, although the price of Chinese goods in our market is generally low, the price of everything else in the world (oil and other natural resources, even scrap) is rising to fill the demand of Chinese economic growth. So one way or another we are paying for the "cheap" goods.

I'm a firm believer in the adage; "There is no free lunch".