HEGEL - Is it really made in Norway ?

Soix you made some very valid points. However I need to respond to your "Where I differ a bit from some here is in the assertion that Hegel is charging too much for a product made in China"

This is highly subjective of course and if for you (as you have demonstrated) the whole package (product, service, build quality, manufacturer origin and price) is worth your hard-earn dollar, then its fine.

This whole thread is NOT about made-in-china quality or even about service.

It is about the customer making his own purchasing mind based on product information that is presented clearly and plainly. And manufacturers (all of them) have a role to play in this. That's all it is really.

China can make some excellent products at great prices, including Hegel, this is not the debate at hand here.

The Absolute Sound staff Kirk Midtskog visited Hegel R&D offices in Oslo and wrote the following article http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/visit-to-hegel-music-systems-in-oslo-norway/
Although he wrote all the details about the facilities and the people working there, with an analytical presentation of Bent Holter the head of the company, he never mentions anything about the factory. There is no word about the most important part of a manufacturing company: the factory.
It is clear that Hegel requested from Bent not to mention the "forbidden" word, China.

Well well guess what? At the end of this article in the Absolute Sound, there is this question asked by a certain question asked by a reader, and this question is 2 years old already: "Hegel is made in China or Norway???"

I guess he is still waiting for an answer.

Well well guess what? At the end of this article in the Absolute Sound, there is this question asked by a certain Derek, and this question is 2 years old already: "Hegel is made in China or Norway???"

I guess he is still waiting for an answer, like many of us.

Vez,

You stated regarding the interview, "Although he wrote all the details about the facilities and the people working there, with an analytical presentation of Bent Holter the head of the company, he never mentions anything about the factory. There is no word about the most important part of a manufacturing company: the factory. It is clear that Hegel requested from Bent not to mention the "forbidden" word, China."

This reinforces the impression that Hegel is deliberately trying to hide an important truth about their products. This begs the question, "Why?".

Soix,

You stated, "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."

This actually happened to me. Without exaggerating, it was shocking -- to the tune of thousands of hard-earned dollars lost to me.

You also stated, "Either way they need to stand behind their products and support their customers or it's a non-starter at least for me."

Needless to say, I would never even think of going near another Hegel product, no matter how good their reputation. They don't have any reputation with me after what I went through with them. This has only happened with a single high end audio company in all the years I have spent building my system. It is unthinkable that any high end audio company will not stand behind their product. But, with Hegel, it is indeed thinkable.