American-made integrated tube amplifiers

I doubt whether a company in the U.S. (or any Western European country for that matter) could possibly produce a good integrated amp for $1500 retail simply because of the cost of labor and parts, as well as running a business of that scale in this country. Plenty of distributor/companies that are based in the U.S. that outsource products in that range, so I suppose if you are looking to support a US company you'd have to be satisfied with supporting a company that outsources or is a distributor, or pay more towards your support and choose a company charging a fair rate for the price of producing the product here. At least I can't think of any company doing that short of DIY, class T and D and SET stuff. Quicksilver's Mini-Mites are made here by hand and are around $1k/pair. They are excellent amps - fun, punchy and engaging, as well as versatile. I've owned two pairs over the years. Mike Sanders offers excellent customer service as well. You'd just need a preamp to go with them, which you could find used for $500 - Quicksilver's own linestage matches great and comes up used for a bit more than that, but that combination would handily outclass many Asian integrated offerings at the same price. My friend, Ellery, started this similar thread a while back, though not exactly the same question, it is the same general subject. Beyond that There's a good review in Stereophile (FWIW) of the SV-236 hybrid integrated by Vincent for just under $2k...sorry, made in the Fatherland...or rather the company is in Germany...I would bet big $ that they produce the amp in China though.

I'll second the Rogue Cronus...plenty of reviews on line.

Dave

I wonder how the Cronus fares up against Cayin , Prima Luna or Ming Da. At least these makes are mentioned in A-gon forums. Hard to find much discussion on Rogue. Why no hype? I know, I know,...DON'T BELEIVE THE HYPE.

Thanks Jax 2. I took a look at Ellery's thread and found it very informative. The Quicksilver products, at that price, look interesting. I understand your point regarding manufacturing costs completely. Having just watched my little Chinese EL34 int. amp literally go up in smoke, I am just feeling frustrated with the reality that American products if they are manufactured here, are priced 35 - 40% more than products that have to be shipped from the other side of the world. It just seems sad to me that one of the perks we used be able to enjoy as Americans was affordably priced, well-made products. How do we get the trend back in this direction?

Here's why I like Rogue products: American made with excellent build quality, you can call the factory and speak to the people who design and build the products, and you can easily send in your piece for upgrades/mods. Their level of customer service is outstanding and I feel the products represent a great value too. I am a happy owner of a modded Magnum 99 pre and speak to Mark O'Brien frequently about my system and changes I'd like to make. He's more than happy to take whatever time is necessary to answer all my questions, a lot of them not even concerning his products.