Thankfully hi fi is one area where it is very easy to boycott Chinese goods.
Kensalriser, this isn’t aimed at you, just a observation…
It’s just as easy to avoid Chinese white goods or iPhones, clothes and TVs etc as it is to avoid a Chinese audio product, plenty of people pontificate over how awful it is to use Chinese DACs or other audio products and are happy to point out their moral stance on human rights, minority persecution whilst having a iPhone to hand, if not posting from one with a straight face….
It’s all well and good going on forums and letting everyone who’ll listen know our high moralistic stance but when you don’t pay attention to what is in front of you (phone/tv/white goods) it’s just lip service.
There are plenty of other options available……
https://notochina.org/best-cell-phones-not-made-in-china/
A quote from the list.
What about Apple?
“Sorry Apple fans, but all iPhones are made in China. You’ve heard the horror stories of Foxconn manufacturing plants where workers are locked inside under sweatshop conditions (some even driven to suicide). But Chinese citizens still stand on line to get those jobs and American citizens still stand on line to get those phones, so Apple executives and their shareholders are happy.
But let’s put the human considerations aside. Even though Apple has a reputation for excellent craftsmanship, let’s think about something. Apple phones are well engineered, but not well manufactured. How can I say this? Here’s a list of Apple products I’ve owned, and things to go wrong with them.
* MacBook Pro 13 2018 – Battery swelled up and Keyboard keys repeat. Apple said they would fix the keyboard for free–but only after I paid $200 to fix the battery. Thanks “Geniuses”.
* Apple iPhone X – Lightning port stopped working completely after warranty expired
* Apple iPhone 6 – Became unusable after it constantly crashed, despite purportedly being supported.
* Apple iPhone 4S – The last iPhone I ever owned that was perfect from beginning to end. Also happens to be the last iPhone where Steve Jobs saw through production from beginning to end. Coincidence?
Apple’s recent success is largely due to the legacy that Steve Jobs left behind, but sadly, Apple is showing cracks in the armor. I have had nothing but negative experiences with Apple Store “Geniuses”, who increasingly are smug in their polo shirts but devoid of any real technical knowledge. They’re not trained to fix problems, they’re trained to use every defect as an excuse to sell AppleCare. “Hey! You know your Apple product is going to break, so why not pay us an extra $200 now so that you don’t have to pay us $600 later? Unless we say the problem is your fault, which we will most of the time”.
Sadly, Apple is doing its best to lose me after being a customer of their for 40 years. And their continued reliance on China manufacturing may be just the thing to get me to switch. Love or hate the last presidential administration, but they did the right thing in establishing harsher tariffs on China–reportedly Google and Apple have started to look more towards India and Vietnam to diversify its manufacturing base. Let’s hope the current administration holds the line so that this positive trend can continue.”