JBL/Harman location

[sonofagun]

So just where is all (or most) of Harman/JBL operations and manufacturing now being done?

[4313B]

Besides Harman Audio de Mexico

http://www.harman.com/EN-US/Newscenter/Pages/DandongOpening.aspx (http://www.harman.com/EN-US/Newscenter/Pages/DandongOpening.aspx)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-06/harman-considers-third-factory-in-china-amid-europe-auto-slump.html (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-06/harman-considers-third-factory-in-china-amid-europe-auto-slump.html)

There might still be some activity in Elkhart, IN

[NickH]

Well that really jives with the history of the company. But I guess that's your market driven company. I'll try to contain my disdain.

Life of the American business.

[Oldmics]

Jose Can You See by Dandong"s Early Light :crying:

So much for American companys. :dont-know:

Oldmics

[Maron Horonzakz]

Even KRELL is doing bussniss over there....Emovita merged with Carver,,soon his stuff will succum,to China,,,So why not JBL ????:bouncy:

[4313B]

China and India are completely unsustainable societies. They're a non-issue in the long term. We are merely exploiting them for as long as we can, "we" being the 1 percent (regardless of nationality). The other 99 percent will have to figure out something else to do with their day. :rotfl:

[RedCoat23]

Even KRELL is doing bussniss over there....Emovita merged with Carver,,soon his stuff will succum,to China,,,So why not JBL ????:bouncy:

Yes indeed they did merge with Carver, but according to the forum's they're bringing their manufacturing back home to the States - Bob's stuff is staying US made as well.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2013/06/20/audio-news-roundup-6-20-13

see paragraph 4.

[Maron Horonzakz]

REDCOAT,,, And how long do you think that will last..?

[4313B]

"I want to be one fo the first guys who brings it [large-scale electronics manufacturing] back here," he said. "Not everyone can work at Starbucks."

No way! Someone is actually seeing the big picture? :rotfl:

[RedCoat23]

REDCOAT,,, And how long do you think that will last..?

I'm not jinxing it. I'll take it for as long as I can. I have a lot of respect for what they do at Emotiva and this is just adding to my support. If they can make the cheaper end of the hi-fi scale work with home-grown manufacturing, then there's no reason (other than corporate greed) for anyone else not to do the same.

One last soapbox point and I'll jump down. There are ancillary benefits to bringing manufacturing home. All those suppliers who suddenly get local orders also start employing more people. Those staff working in the main factories who perhaps wouldn't have been working before are now living, working and spending money locally. Everyone benefits.

Emotiva works because they're family run, so their needs are not the same as a whole bunch of faceless shareholders only out for a fatter dividend. I for one have no problem supporting their products - which I happen to like. Its a win, win for me.

[Maron Horonzakz]

I own a Emovita 7 channel amp,,,Use it for triamping,,, Works fine,,,But dont count on:bouncy: Carver units staying in the colonys...:bouncy:

[RedCoat23]

I own a Emovita 7 channel amp,,,Use it for triamping,,, Works fine,,,But dont count on:bouncy: Carver units staying in the colonys...:bouncy:

Who knows for sure what will happen over time. I take Dan at his word until I read otherwise. As for the colonies...if they move it to Hong Kong does that still count? :p

[boputnam]

Hey, Oldmics! :wave:

[4313B]

I'm not jinxing it. I'll take it for as long as I can. I have a lot of respect for what they do at Emotiva and this is just adding to my support. If they can make the cheaper end of the hi-fi scale work with home-grown manufacturing, then there's no reason (other than corporate greed) for anyone else not to do the same.

One last soapbox point and I'll jump down. There are ancillary benefits to bringing manufacturing home. All those suppliers who suddenly get local orders also start employing more people. Those staff working in the main factories who perhaps wouldn't have been working before are now living, working and spending money locally. Everyone benefits.

Emotiva works because they're family run, so their needs are not the same as a whole bunch of faceless shareholders only out for a fatter dividend. I for one have no problem supporting their products - which I happen to like. Its a win, win for me.I thought this article was interesting:

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/06/27/workers-release-u-s-factory-executive-from-captivity/?mod=WSJ__MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop


I'm looking at giving the Emotiva XPA-1L and XSP-1 a try.

[RedCoat23]

I now own 4 XPA-1's (not the 1L). For the price I paid and how they've made my performance series sound so much better than the AVR amp I was using (Onkyo NR-818). I really couldn't be happier.

If you do get it, let me know what you think of the XSP-1, its on my list to pick up in the future.

I've traveled to China many times - I ran outsourcing for a previous employer - its the wild west of business practices. The companies I worked with employed both locals and imported Westerners. All the staff were aware of the salary discrepancies between the two 'classes' of employee. They acted far more stoically to the situation than I know I would have in similar circumstances. Or perhaps they were just better at hiding it...

Anyway you can't fail to notice the increasing westernization of the country - certainly in the big cities. That drive for material acquisition from the populace at large is going to have exactly this effect on businesses. In order to have a better standard of living they're going to want higher pay and better conditions.

It might be a communist country but this kind of movement is ultimately not going to be stopped. At some point in time either costs and/or a lack of objective governmental infrastructure is going to mean these plant owners look to other countries to continue the status quo.

Personally I hope more companies reach the conclusion that Emotiva has, that it is possible to keep some or all of your product home grown.

My apologies, I got back on my soapbox again... :D

[Maron Horonzakz]

Good soapbox and great insite...

[Robh3606]

I'm looking at giving the Emotiva XPA-1L and XSP-1 a try.


Hello 4313B

I have the XSP-1 and use it with an EMO XPA-2. Give it a shot it's a nice preamp.

Rob:)

[BMWCCA]

I'm looking at giving the Emotiva XPA-1L and XSP-1 a try.

I see they're having a Summer Sale, so I pulled the trigger on the XDA-2 USB DAC/Digital Pre-amp.

It looks like all the teething problems are behind them now!

(I had a pretty good month and deserve a treat!)

[4313B]

I see they're having a Summer SaleI missed it. They sold out of the amps already. I'll have to wait until they make more. :rotfl:

[Robh3606]

I see they're having a Summer Sale, so I pulled the trigger on the XDA-2 USB DAC/Digital Pre-amp.

Very nice I have the XDA-1 and it's very good.

Rob:)

[BMWCCA]

Very nice I have the XDA-1 and it's very good.

Rob:)
Got the order confirmation today. $335 including shipping and no tax. First new piece of audio equipment I've purchased in years, other than my Squeezebox Touch.

[BMWCCA]

Got the order confirmation today. $335 including shipping and no tax.

Got it today. I'll share my initial reaction and comments here since it's probably not worthy of a thread elsewhere on this forum:

Well packed, double boxed, with a re-cycled mesh material like a purchased grocery tote covering the DAC complete with a screened Emotiva logo. Quality of the remote construction is impressive even if that point has been beaten to death. The quality of the DAC, too, was impressive, even the labeling and the hardware and studs on the bottom of the case are beautifully finished and fitted.

Connection was easy. I was using this to replace a Musical Fidelity V-DAC and a Muse Mini-DAC to give me a digital hub. I'm not quite ready for USB (though now I'm prepared) but I wanted to control multiple digital inputs and volume remotely and this does it very well. Sounds lovely but I haven't done any real serious listening yet and, of course, now have no way of comparing it to what I replaced it with!

Negatives? Well, for some reason I had to re-configure my CD transport (Sony DVD changer) to output only Stereo PCM audio. Even though the V-DAC had no problem reading with the same coax from the same transport, the Emotiva made not a sound. This was not an easy step on the Sony, requiring loading a DVD to get the on-screen menu, then stopping it, then going into Setup to Advanced to configure the audio output. Then it worked great. There are probably ten different spots in the Emotiva manual that mentions this but it was still startling to hook it all up and have no sound! I can't begin to speculate why this would be the case on the Emotiva but not on the older Musical Fidelity.

One thing the manual is absolutely clueless about is the remote's power source. No mention of batteries or replacing them. Or, which is really frustrating, how to remove the battery insulator to make the darn thing even work! I'm not kidding. I had to go on the Internet and look up the previous model's manual to find that you had to remove SIX screws from the back of the lovely aluminum remote to access the batteries. On my later, improved model, that was reduced to four screws, and there I found a piece of paper intended to keep the batteries from dying enroute from China. Now don't you suppose there could have been some mention of that somewhere in the manual or a sticker on the remote? One on-line complaint said the previous model had a sticker on the remote and I found one post from someone who had to call Emotiva Customer Service to figure it out. That's pretty lame, if you ask me!

Anyway, the Emotiva products seem to be beautifully made of quality materials, packed well, shipped quickly, and on sale right now! So far, so good on sound quality, too, but then DAC differences are not my speciality. I could say Van Morrison sounds a little smoother and more full on "Born to Sing" but I'd have to plug in all the old stuff to know for sure.

All in all, a welcome addition to a legacy two-channel system that offers some needed versatility in hooking up multiple digital sources, and controlling them remotely. Just what I was looking for.