HEGEL - Is it really made in Norway ?

I briefly researched Hegel integrated amps recently when trying to decide which integrated amp would best suit my needs. I don't remember seeing it mentioned anywhere online that they were made in China. As I will not buy audio equipment made in Mainland China, this would have been a deal breaker.

I am amazed no dealer or distributor has commented on the thread yet! Things like this can cost them sales.

Zd542 You must have very high standards when it comes to cats!

With all the great choices out there ethics can make a difference when choosing which components to buy. If given the choice, would you prefer to buy from a Made in U.S.A. company with great ethics or from a Made in China company with questionable ethics?

Obviously some people in this thread care about where a product is made, but it's not clear if that's a major concern for the majority of Americans. Your computer, cell phone, flat screen, clothing, year-round fruits & vegetables etc. are all foreign sourced. Go to a local big box and look for domestically sourced products.

Regrading ethics, you are compromised whatever you buy. It's a global economy. The money and labor are fungible. Even when you buy "Made In America" component you rely upon this.

"09-19-15: Sabai
With all the great choices out there ethics can make a difference when choosing which components to buy. If given the choice, would you prefer to buy from a Made in U.S.A. company with great ethics or from a Made in China company with questionable ethics?"

For the Hegel situation we're discussing on this thread, I can't really fault China. I fault Hegel. The Chinese are just doing what's being asked of them. If Hegel tells them to change the design and put Made in China in big letters on the rear face plate, I'm sure they will.

Zd542, "shipping is not as high as you think. Everything goes into big containers and put on a boat. Its not that expensive to ship that way. Its slower but cheaper."

You're right, and that's the way things SHOULD work.

However, in the case of Consonance, it doesn't. Their sales volumes come in such that they could never dream of a shipping via container on the ocean. Mostly, they come over as a single or low number of items, so shipping costs are exorbitant. Air freight for an order big enough to represent an outlier would lower the cost burden, though still far more than what we mentioned as the ideal.

In the end, the company actually doesn't mind at all when the higher costs get passed on down the line. In fact, their preference lies with their components selling for as much as those produced in these respective home markets.