Any good amp that is not made in China?

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

No, they are Zenon (Korea) built. They have been solid though.



Are you sure it's not just their entry level line that is made in China? Many companies still manufacture their premium lines in house.

Z line top shelf is Korea. Lowers are china. But they seem to be doing good under Atrend

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Z line top shelf is Korea. Lowers are china. But they seem to be doing good under Atrend

If even Zapco can't afford to build an amp in the USA anymore it's really time to consider how over-regulated and over-taxed businesses are in this country.

I wonder if, as automation improves we will start seeing that sort of thing return?

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

If even Zapco can't afford to build an amp in the USA anymore it's really time to consider how over-regulated and over-taxed businesses are in this country.
I wonder if, as automation improves we will start seeing that sort of thing return?

Im sure they can afford to. I know RF can. But there's no giant profit in it. It's not the regulations it's greed.

 

[Boominburban 10+ year member]

He's not as bad as linear power. But he preaches the same snake oil BS. There can't be enough people left that still fall for that crap to get his business off the ground.

So, whats this "snake oil" BS you are saying Ray and Bernie preaches??

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

So, whats this "snake oil" BS you are saying Ray and Bernie preaches??

Let's start with how everything not designed 20 years ago is junk.

Bernie isnt as bad as Ray. Ray sells damping factor. Which is proven to not matter until it reaches single digits.

He preachs to the DSP and class D amps are the devil crowd. The so called purist. The ones that think the more you pay the better the sound quality.

Btw a few years ago Ray got questioned about his questionable tatics and he started calling everybody a monkey.

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

Those purist people are the worst.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Let's start with how everything not designed 20 years ago is junk. Bernie isnt as bad as Ray. Ray sells damping factor. Which is proven to not matter until it reaches single digits.

He preachs to the DSP and class D amps are the devil crowd. The so called purist. The ones that think the more you pay the better the sound quality.

Btw a few years ago Ray got questioned about his questionable tatics and he started calling everybody a monkey.

They really didn't say a whole lot in their website apart from using faster switching frequency in their (supposedly over-built) power supply.

There's no innovation to be seen there, basically slight improvements (by using modern components) on 30 year old circuits.

It's cool to see some of the old pioneers in the industry want to throw their hat in the game, but relying on such blatant appeal to nostalgia is rather shameless. If these guys used their powers to create say better protection circuits, smaller more efficient class D, or something else that's an actual improvement or innovation I'd say they could almost justify their pricing, but 2 grand for what's basically an Orion The Beast with some more modern semiconductors is hard to justify.