HEGEL - Is it really made in Norway ?

Its not as bad as it looks.

"[Chinese are fully capable of building anything as well as anyone in the world.] Capable is one thing. Doing is another."

That's completely true. There's no question that China is able to manufacture goods at a high level. In many cases, they choose not to. Its not exactly a secret, and China is not the only country to do this. Probably every country has been guilty of doing the same at some time.

"Would you buy a BMW if it was made in China?"

I guess I'm going to have to stop doing this because it blows up in my face every time. I was kidding. If you notice the post above that one, you'll see that it was from Czarivey, who happens to be a big BMW fan and tech. I say stuff like that all the time. No ones ever called me a racist for it.

Just so we don't leave any stones unturned, if you go down a few more posts, you'll see this.

"08-27-15: Zd542
"08-27-15: Wolf_garcia
The horse has left the barn in a BIG way�is the computer you're using made in Detroit?"

No. But how's a computer that's made in Detroit going to help you catch a horse?"

That was a joke as well, just in case anyone was thinking otherwise.

" So its racist if people don't want to buy Chinese goods because of poor build quality?

You won't see too many Chinese cars over here, though. They don't hold up well on the boat ride over. Its just too much of a strain. They can't take that kind on punishment.

Now that the Chinese are making cars, we don't make the worst ones anymore."

Regardless, I can't be one [racist]. I had real Chinese food last night for dinner, made by real Chinese people."

Those 4 quotes are taken out of context. They were in response to my posts being accused of containing a racial element. If you were to go back and read the posts in their entirety, I think you'll see that my intent was the complete opposite. You can cherry pick any statement for words that make that same statement, have a different meaning than was originally intended.

If there was any statement in this entire thread that could be considered racist, it would be this one.

"08-30-15: P59teitel
Now now now Zd, I never claimed I wasn't racist. I only remarked that it wasn't my race being targeted here. And I also use chopsticks, so there."

I'm sure leaving it out was just an oversight.

"The Chinese re-named one of their cities to USA so they could put made in the USA on their products."

I believe I was wrong on that. One of the other posters pointed out it was Japan that did this. He's probably right. It was an article that I read years ago in college as part of a case study.

I want to see Hegel's birth certificate!
(The long form one, not the short form one)

09-01-15: Yogiboy
Add Classe Audio to the list of gear that is made in China and has no mention that it is not made in Canada anymore. They still have the balls to charge premium prices!

09-01-15: Taters
Yogi boy, what a joke that is.

On the flip side, have you ever considered how much more they would charge if not made in China? SUPER premium prices?

While I'd certainly prefer Hegel to be more upfront about where their products are made, ultimately what's more important to me is how well the product is designed and built and how it actually performs. There are good and bad products made in every country, and China is no exception. The key is how well Hegel did its due diligence in finding a good factory and how well they monitor the manufacturing process going forward. Given there have been relatively so few reports of problems with Hegel gear it would seem that they are doing a good job thus far. What is unforgivable, however, is to not stand behind your product when something does go wrong, and what I heard here would definitely give me pause in buying any Hegel product.

Where I differ a bit from some here is in the assertion that Hegel is charging too much for a product made in China. Given the relatively high levels of performance reported by owners and reviewers I'd think Hegel is using some good quality parts in their products, and if they were to build that same product in Norway with those parts they'd have to charge significantly more than they do now. If that's the case, I'd much prefer the stuff be made in China and sound better than be made in Norway and be significantly more expensive or alternatively for Hegel be forced to use cheaper parts and products not sound as good and/or potentially be less reliable. Now, if they're using cheap parts AND charging high prices despite being built in China (i.e. passing on the risk/cache of something made in China without passing on the savings) even if they do achieve good results -- well that would piss me off. But again, given the positive performance reports and relatively low incidence of problems it seems to point to the former rather than the latter. Either way they need to stand behind their products and support their customers or it's a non-starter at least for me. Anyway...

Just for an FYI...I emailed Hegel a few days back on 8-28 about this thread,hoping that they could or would chime in. Their response was...

"Oh, goodness me� Thanks for the link.
Best regards
Hegel � Anders"

I guess they are not intereseted in clearing up the controversy.