Why the probelm with large English brand names?

Easy answer here, It may be made outside the UK But IT Finished off properly here in the UK

 

There's a lot of innovation and hard work in british hifi.

Meridian and Wilson Benesch are world leaders in technology (Meridian in electronics, WB in composite materials and construction).

There's some really hard work going on in the smaller outfits (I still have the scars....).

I think part of the issue is that the british hifi press are rather xenophobic, and this rubs off on a lot of the readership...

 

I think thats the really sad aspect of it all Tony,that the UK is so labour exspensive that it has to made outside the UK,or owned by a foriegn company,but keeping the original name,a shame .But just a sign of the times we currently live in.

 

Rotel, designed in the UK made in China, also Arcam, you also Forgot DCS, even if you hate the stuff, it is good at what it does. Linn are also in bed with Sony
Quad, again China.
I'll tell you a true story now, our sister company what some mountain arms made for a MP mast, there was a company 200 years across the car park Really,, that specialist in the construction of such equipment, yet it was cheaper by 45% to source in China/far east
What I actually ment Adam, was made in the US/Germany refined in England

 

I'm confused , wouldn't that make people more likely to be pro UK manufacturers? Or do you mean people like to disagree with magazines and so go the other way?

 

That sounds like a BIG car park .

UK HiFi companies choosing to get their kit manufactured overseas is sad, but unless consumers are prepared to pay more for it to be made here it's bound to happen. The exception I guess would be smaller, more specialist companies that simply don't make enough units for it to be worthwhile.

 

Oh yes, sorry I forgot you humans suffer from viewing time as a linear prespective (how quaint), for you motals 200 yards

 

the sisco is linear.....

 

Sourcing abroad

Chaps

Do not be too depressed.

I am acting as a Purchasing Consultant to a couple of very large companies with budgets in 100's of millions. Sourcing from China, Poland and eastern countries is a major cost saving strategy that any company would be mad to ignore.

Sourcing from abroad is good because it lowers the cost of the product. This is why you can buy DVD players for £50.00.

However, you must also remember that Honda, Nissan and Toyata build cars in the UK that are exported because they are a quality product. The price is not cheap, but the cars are well designed and reliable.

In Hifi terms, a manufacturer will survive if they are successfully inovative. They must produce leading edge goods and continue to update on a regular basis.

Companys that churn out the same old stuff, year after year, will sink and rightly so.

I can think of one Hifi company that is successful because it brings out new top end equipment on a regular basis. Each new product is a world beater for the price. It takes no brains to guess who they are.

The UK will only survive on intellect and inovation.

Regards

Mick

 

You're quite right - let's hear it for B&W, everyone.

 

didn't honda, toyota and nissan get huge subsidies and tax breaks for setting up their factories in depressed areas? also it's is / was a dodge to get round import quotas. i'm all for better products at cheaper prices and the way to do that seems to be with design done in the uk and manufacture done in the east. there are some very good bits of kit comming from china these days but i personally still have a soft spot for british design and manufacture.
cheers

julian

 

Yes,I'm sure everyone wants a cheaper product,but with sourcing from abroad and cheaper products also has its own negative effects on the UK economy.

 

isnt Swindon a depressed area?

 

Not as depressed as cheltenham following that meadowlark review

 

ah, your just jelous mate

Lend me your speakers for a weekend and i will make a reasoned comparison

edit> now fitted the new binding posts and got them on some penance made spikes, a worthwile effort

 

Honda never received a penny in grants when locating in Swindon but I cannot answer for the others.

The original idea of building plants in the UK was a means to side step the 11% import rule but that now no longer applies.

The truth is that these factories produce good cars at fair price and thats why they sell.

Pennance....Swindon is an architectural dump but it is a relatively wealthy area.

Regards

Mick

 

Mick
I know, it was humour.

 

Very nearly, Penance, very nearly, 6/10

 

*must try harder

 

Well it sure as hell isn't Naim!

There's really only one (UK) company that fits that bill and it's Musical Fidelity - whatever people's opinion's here about them may be.

Michael.