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...
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...