This is quite an interesting thread, if a little over-hashed. Nonetheless, I'd like to add my 2 cents...
To preface my thoughts, I will give two examples of some recent large purchases that I've made:
I purchased a Huawei Mate 10 Pro (£600) a few months ago. (My previous phones were a Sony Z2 and a couple HTCs). I have zero problem buying a high-end phone, made in China, by a Chinese brand. After all, the Chinese make most smartphones these days.
Around the end of 2017, I designed and bought a new dining table and bench (£2,500), made by a local craftsman in Nottingham where I live, from 300-year-old oak that came from the ceiling beam of an old post office nearby that was being extended. In this case, I am buying as sustainably as possible.
I happen to agree with most of what Sabai has to say. It's not a problem that it's made in China. The problem is that Hegel MARKET their products like they are Norwegian, through-and-through, as if that is reason for it to cost a lot. This seems similar to Apple, who command a premium because they are "the best" in terms of design, brand image, functionality etc. While Apple make their money off this premium image, they do not pretend to be made somewhere they're not, or that the product is something that it's not. On the other hand, Hegel is selling this Norwegian "factor" as something to differentiate it from the market, and to be able to demand a premium. Certainly, their products sound great, but so do other similar products that are manufactured in China but cost less.
On this basis, it does seem somewhat misleading that Hegel make no mention of being manufactured in China, because many customers may feel that they are paying extra for a "local" product, perhaps something with provenance (e.g. this is why Champagne demands a premium). They may want to support the local/regional economy.
Coming back to my purchase examples that I mentioned: I am happy to buy something expensive, no matter where it is made, evidenced by my recent purchases. But I also think companies should be upfront about this. Sony phones may mostly (or completely, I don't know) be made in China, but they don't use "Japan" as a selling point. Similarly, Huawei is obviously Chinese, and they don't try to hide it - they just show how good they are by the quality of their product, and let this quality speak for itself.
In the case of my table, I bought local because I want to support local business, local jobs, and the ability of local people to retain their craft skills, thereby helping the UK and local area to remain competitive in some areas. Also, because they are local, I am able to guarantee the source of the wood, which is important because sustainability is high on my list of priorities. Furthermore, I was able to easily stay in touch during the design and construction process. Lastly, there is provenance, knowing that not only was the table made locally, but the tree was also likely to have grown locally 300ish years ago - it has a story. So, sure, I could have paid £1,000 or so for a similar type of product from somewhere like Oak Furniture Land, but it would not have had any of the aforementioned advantages/benefits. And for that, I was happy to pay £2,500 instead for a bespoke, one-of-a-kind, locally made, sustainable product.
HiFi is expensive. Let's face it, the tech you get for £2,000 in HiFi is generally considerably more basic than what the latest £2,000 television packs in. Thus, if a company like Hegel uses provenance to demand a premium on a product that costs £2,000, I expect that provenance to be there, no matter what the reason I care about it is (e.g. want to buy local, I'm a snob, whatever). In contrast, other similarly expensive companies that provide a similar level of quality audio, such as Chord Electronics, make less of a big deal about provenance, yet they are actually manufactured in the UK.
For the above reason, combined with the evidence from Sabai and a couple others regarding terrible customer service, points toward Hegel being the type of company that I would not want to give my custom to, and for that reason, I will no longer consider their products in my planned upcoming HiFi purchase...
