HEGEL - Is it really made in Norway ?

I have a Chinese integrated tube amp which is designed and built by Cayin.  I think it retails for a little over $3500.  In any case, I have had it for 6-7 years. I have yet to see any European, American, or Japanese built gear at anywhere near this price point that has the same build quality.  It is 95% point-to-point wired (the only circuit board is for the remote control).  The solder joints look like silver jewels and the layout is superb.  The case, aluminum work, and potted transformers are just lovely to look at. I am not sure any non-Chinese manufacturer can afford to build like this.  I have seen point-to-point construction in boutique hand made gear.  But those pieces were not even close to the build quality of this Cayin.  The signal-to-noise is outstanding.  It has great features (like the remote whose volume control by itself is cost-prohibitive for most manufacturers, and the triode/pentode switch which allows for sound-shaping depending on the type of music you are listening to.)   It makes the some of the older ARC and Mac gear look cheap by comparison.

I know several people who design and build amps in the USA.  They have all commented that they could not afford to build at the same quality level as this Cayin.

And talk about bullet-proof design - this amp has survived two KT88 meltdowns and all I had to do was replace the tube - and a fuse, in one case.  By contrast, I have a British amp (whose sound I love) that seriously wiped out some power supply resistors when an EL34 failed.  The sound of resistor ceramic exploding and the concomitant stench was impressive.  It was not insignificant work to repair it.

Not all Cayin stuff is great quality though.  I have two Cayin SACD players that are problematic even though the sound is superb.  The mechanical noise from the transport is sometimes more than noticeable on one of them.  The other player shorted out somewhere so that the only sound it produces is digital noise.  

All of this is to say that you should not harbor anti-Chinese bigotry regarding China's high-end audio manufacturing capability.  The build quality of Hegel and Ayon is probably better than it would have been if it were built in Europe.   By manufacturing in China, they can spec a much better build quality and keep cost down so that you, the purchaser, get the best product possible.

Further, do not think that Chinese engineers can't do great designs.  Ayon and Hegel  confer legitimacy on their products because the designs is done by Europeans.  But good design engineering knows no borders.    

I am so disappointed, but glad, I happened to stumbe across this thread. I was all set and excited to plunk down $6000 dolllars on a Hegel H360 integrated amp this week.

Unfortunately my and many others experience with Chinese-made products on the whole is they are made with poor, if not any, quality control in their manufacturing plants. The Chinese products of many varieties I’ve owned have almost all ended up needing repairs or in in the dumpster in an inordinately short period of time due to this endemic issue.

For just a random non-audio example, how many more times am I going to have to replace the Chinese made carburetor on my ostensibly German manufactured Stihl weed-eater? The list off defective products acquired went on and on before I realized I needed to stop throwing away money on Chinese junk carrying formerly reputable brand names. I can’t afford to turn a blind eye to this ongoing issue and to potentially throw away $6000. I’ve been burned too many times before to do that. Maybe Hegel products are the exception to the rule, but I’m not going to chance it. 

I would have been terribly disturbed to have found out Hegels were Chinese manufactured after a purchase of this magnitude had been made. So thank you so much soniqmike for starting this thread.

And shame on Hegel for being deceptive. Their web site looks like an ad by the Norwegian tourist industry. I’m disgusted. And I'm not a big fan either of companies poorly compensating workers in China to keep prices down just because they can. That's another reason not to buy Chinese. I've got no problem with purchasing Japanese Toyotas and I have a Korean Kioti tractor, but China is a no-go until they clean up their act.

Mike

I don’t think you can categorize all Chinese made audio equipment into one basket full of rotten apples. I own the PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium preamp which is also made in China and with full disclosure about it from P-L. It is a superb product in all facets of sound and build quality and I would recommend it highly to anyone looking to add a great value to an already overpriced audio market as of late.
As always,it’s good to do your research and apply it to any purchase decision whether it be Chinese made or whom-ever made. I certainly do not agree with Hegel’s policy of hiding the fact that it manufactures in China,but to there defense,they do seem to have a decent track record.

One of my former work buddies, who is thinking of buying a stereo receiver in the $500-800 price range to drive his $500 pair of Elac stand mounts was horrified to see that all the brands he was considering (Marantz, NAD, Cambridge, Denon, etc.) were not made in the U.S.  I let him know that, in that price range, I didn't know of any brand assembled in the U.S., but that McIntosh may still have a MAC6700 receiver available for $6500!