Sonus Faber is going to be producing a line of budget speakers built in China to be sold by Best Buy. As far back as I can remember Sonus Faber has been recognized as a high-end speaker manufacturer. By producing a line of speakers in China doesn't this hurt there Image. I can't Imagine a company like Ferrari building a budget car in China. Maybe this is just a sign of the times but I personally don't like it.
Sonus Faber to build speakers in China
- Thread starter taters
- Start date
For years, Sonus Faber was sold at Magnolia Hi-fi, a big box store. Didn't seem to hurt their image then!
I know they have been sold at Magnolia. That is not what I am talking about. I'm talking about them building a cheaper line of speakers made in China. I feel that hurts their Image. Just Imagine If a company like Wilson audio starting making speakers in China. Do you think anyone would buy their high-end models. People want exclusitivity with high-end audio. Just like they want it with high-end cars. Sure Ferrari could sell a lot more cars than they do if they made cheaper models but they know in the long run it would kill the company.
Ferrari does make an 'entry' level car- it's called a Maserati, and except for the Jersey wives who drive them, it's a giant anchor around FIAT's neck. Although they were smart by separately 'branding' the car and forcing dealers to display them in separate showrooms.
Porsche did it too with the 944 and then the Boxsters. All the 911 guys were calling foul..... Hummer did it with the H3 as well.
But the Maserati is still made in Italy. I have no problem with Sonus Faber making a less expensive speaker. Just make it in Italy and not China.
taters,
The writing was on the wall, ever since Franco Serblin left.
When the new speakers came out, like the Amati Futura, they dropped ScanSpeak in favour of some drivers of unknown origin, with a very cheap look/finish.
Not to mention that when I decided to upgrade my old Amati to the Futuras, I ended with with not one but two defective pairs. So quality control is out the window as well.
alexandre
The writing was on the wall, ever since Franco Serblin left.
When the new speakers came out, like the Amati Futura, they dropped ScanSpeak in favour of some drivers of unknown origin, with a very cheap look/finish.
Not to mention that when I decided to upgrade my old Amati to the Futuras, I ended with with not one but two defective pairs. So quality control is out the window as well.
alexandre
What is it to you?
Are you planning to buy a higher end Sonus Faber product? Are you a shareholder? If not, honestly, what do you care? The fact is that they are doing this because nobody wants to pay for made in Italy. You want a made in Italy product? Cough up the dough.
Marantz Reference gear is absolutely as good as anything out there, but they make no bones about the fact they build their home theater and cheaper lines in China. So what? You want it made in Japan? Then pay.
Are you planning to buy a higher end Sonus Faber product? Are you a shareholder? If not, honestly, what do you care? The fact is that they are doing this because nobody wants to pay for made in Italy. You want a made in Italy product? Cough up the dough.
Marantz Reference gear is absolutely as good as anything out there, but they make no bones about the fact they build their home theater and cheaper lines in China. So what? You want it made in Japan? Then pay.
The Masterati starts at $200K. As Mikey Fremer says, you pay, you get.
You want want a made in Italy speaker? So they should make it in Italy, so you don't buy it, and they go out of business. Sounds like a great plan.
First off it's Maserati not Masterati. And the cars start out at 132k not 200k like you quoted. If you want to buy Chinese made products that's up to you. I'll stick with products made in the U.S. and Europe.
Taters: you are right -it is an unfair comparison with respect to outsourcing, but i was addressing how some companies deal with making 'entry' level products without diluting the brand. Italy- I've spent time there, and around the cars. The manufacturing skills are amazing- and it isn't just the bigger factories, there are still skilled craftspeople there that can 'beat' panels and do incredible mechanical work. Labor costs have to be sky high, though. When I did the Targa Florio there a few years ago, I contemplated buying an old Alfa to run in the event, and the cars were more expensive there than here. In the midst of running that event, a local mechanic rewound the magneto in the car i was driving. Try to find somebody to do that in a few hours!
And, what they consider 'restored' in Italy is not to Pebble Beach standards- more that it runs and that the sheet metal and engine are sound. The car analogy only goes so far.
I don't really have a problem with outsourcing to China as a quality matter, if the manufacturer stays on top of it. The Chinese have proven to be able to create (or recreate, depending on your perspective), all sorts of goods at a high level.
Disclaimer: No political message is intended or implied by the foregoing, and I am not taking a position on "outsourcing to China" in connection with the upcoming U.S. election, or otherwise.
And, what they consider 'restored' in Italy is not to Pebble Beach standards- more that it runs and that the sheet metal and engine are sound. The car analogy only goes so far.
I don't really have a problem with outsourcing to China as a quality matter, if the manufacturer stays on top of it. The Chinese have proven to be able to create (or recreate, depending on your perspective), all sorts of goods at a high level.
Disclaimer: No political message is intended or implied by the foregoing, and I am not taking a position on "outsourcing to China" in connection with the upcoming U.S. election, or otherwise.
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Taters, there are many manufacturers out there [High-end, mid-fi and consumer grade] that outsource their product(s) to China. This is not news to anybody in the industry. Whether it be parts, drivers, internal components or the entire thing, this is and has been common business practice for many manufactures. Whether they choose to advertise this fact or keep it secret is up to the manufacturer. From a business standpoint, it just makes sense for some companies. Especially in today's economic climate.
Tom
Tom
So are you saying American made companies like Mc Intosh, Audio Research, Ayre, and Rowland are having products made in China.
Maybe not the entire finished product but I would not be surprised in the least if any or all of them have parts, pieces, drivers, labels, fabric, wires and a slew of other things that are manufactured in China or other countries. I can not definitively answer your question with regards to each manufacturer but with the industry leaders I have been privy too talking with? I could almost say with complete certainty that their products have some things that were outsourced to, perhaps, China. Like I said, this is nothing new. They may be completely engineered and built in their respective country of origin but that does not necessarily mean that every single part was manufactured in that same country of origin. This is common practice.
Tom
Tom
I'm wondering when the last time an American made audio component was entirely
made in this country. I'm guessing 50 years ago.
Just out of idle curiosity, I did a quick bit of web research. McIntosh was purchased from Clarion by a Japanese holding company that owns a number of prestige audio brands, DM Global Holdings. If you read the public info on the McIntosh site about the parent company, they talk about their worldwide facilities in manufacturing, distribution, marketing and sales, and the sharing economies of scale in things like back-office and research. This does not suggest that McIntosh products are 'made' anywhere but the good ol' US of A, but it does point to the globalization of business. I'm not xenophobic about it either, subject to my nonpolitical disclaimer above. Taters, fwiw, i recently upgraded my phono stage to a unit made in South Korea. The build quality, design and ultimately, the sonics, are all first rate. While I wouldn't have thought of Korea as a source for first rate audio componentry, the proof is tangible, and it is hardly a step down from what I owned before, which was made in a place called California.
Taters, fwiw, i recently upgraded my phono stage to a unit made in South Korea. The build quality, design and ultimately, the sonics, are all first rate. While I wouldn't have thought of Korea as a source for first rate audio componentry, the proof is tangible, and it is hardly a step down from what I owned before, which was made in a place called California.
Another thing that one must realize is that even if something is made in China, yet engineered and assembled in whatever country, the specifications do not change [*if they did not insult the company of the winning bid or company that was awarded the contract to produce said product(s).....culture related thing which will change end product if insulted*]. In other words, if a particular company specs out a particular manufacturing product to be built and they did not insult the company to manufacture said product, that product will be the same thing. The quality control division of each respective company should catch any abnormalities or deviations from the original design, correct or search for another company to do it correctly. So, if a company is ran correctly and the possible cutting of corners are caught abruptly, there should be no difference between a product made in China verses one made in any other country. It's just a business decision made in a global economy that *can* lower the cost to the consumer and at the very least, offer a higher percentage of profit to the manufacturer of any particular product.
Tom
Tom
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