Ayon - where is it REALLY manufactured ?

Certainly the country of origin conveys a sense of quality but the real question is what is the real quality that you are getting at the end of the day. LM Audio is a Chinese based manufacturer and builds damn fine products with very high quality parts and construction. From a marketing standpoint, it may be advantageous to insinuate that it is made in Austria but from an overall standpoint it may be in the best interest of both the consumer and the company to build things somewhere else in the world to get the quality for price ratio needed. If that is the reality the company should be straight up with its customers and be able to communicate that to its customers rather than hide it. I have been wary of Ayon just because of how they market their products here, seeming to purposely bend and stretch the truth.

Hi Keith, I did own an Orion integrated, original model.

I think that Ayon offers fabulous sound for the money, and if it is partly (or wholly) manufactured in China, I'm ok with that as long as I am informed before spending my hard-earned cash.

However, I think that in the upper echelons of high-end audio, the more you spend the more OTHER criteria come into play, such as looks, prestige, pride of ownership and more. And some are willing to pay for near-legendary brands that still are manufactured in their country of origin. They are becoming rare of course.

I was sorry to learn for example, that the entry-level speakers from Sonus Faber are no longer made in Italy. I happen to own a pair of Domus Grand Piano. Handmade in Italy. You know what? There are probably many speakers that sound better for the price just in the Usher line-up.

But since audio toys are expensive, and since my systen is just sitting there except when I can actually sit down and enjoy the music, I find it comforting (not to nention a visual treat) to know that my speakers were handcrafted in Italy. I think that the Domus was the last project supervised by Franco Serblin himself before he sold the company but not sure 100% about this.

Back to Ayon, the Orion remains my all-time favorite sound for a full-tube integrated. It has been replaced by a worthy successor. It has the country of origin thing covered and sounds exquisite. Not bad in the looks department either - Pathos Logos, another Italian beauty.

Bill_k, understood. May I ask in the future you no longer make the "Made in Norway" claim regarding Hegel?

Trelja, I never explicitly made such a statement since I don't know the definitive answer. Others were speculating about it, so I just stated what I found in an online review and clearly identified it as such. I was only trying to be helpful. That's it, I'm out.

@ sonicbeauty, thanks, That was an awsome post you did!, very interesting to say the least!, well said, cheers.