Hegel - Made In China - Who Cares?

A friend of mine actually talked about this with an Hegel employee. He said that they could NOT produce their products with the same high quality standard in Norway as they do in China. One option would be to make their products in Sweden but that would make them WAY more expensive.

What you have to realize is that Hegel concists of like 7 guys, not more. Comparing them to a mega-brand like McIntosh isn't fair. It's like comparing IBM and Apple back in the 70s.

I hope this makes it clear why Hegel is not manufactured in Norway.
 
I am a huge fan of Hegel and an owner of a Hegel H160. While it doesn't bother me the H160 may be built in China it does bother me that Hegel is not open & transparent on where they manufacture.
 
What is funny is that we usually think China = cheap and bad quality. Look at Apple though, they make maybe the best consumer electronics in the world and no-one ever questions them, and why should they? Their products are amazing. Chinese high tech factories are hard to compete with for Europe and the US today, that´s just facts, add the cheap labor and its a no-brainer for companies to have their production over there. Ethically you could have a problem with it, but thats another thing. Capitalism in it's finest colors.

I agree that it is kind of deceiving not to market Hegel products as made in China. Why not just do as Apple, Designed in Oslo, Norway, assembled in China. I have had the H80 and it was great. Now I have the H300 and it's a power house!
 
kiwi_1282001 said:
When your friend is next talking to the Hegel employee why don't you ask him to pass on that thought? Hegel's current labelling practice is deceiving and should be changed with wording exactly as you have suggested.
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Ok, so I got an official answer from Hegel and here it is translated from norwegian to english:

Hi Markus

Thank you for your inquiry.

Our products have parts of from all over the world, indeed also from Norway . But our products are assembled ​​in China. We have not had any need to write up all of the specific parts origins in our components and therefore has not done so. We are Norwegian and work out of Oslo as it says on the back of our products.

Sincerely / Best regards
Hegel Music System AS
 
little_mac said:
Ok, so I got an official answer from Hegel and here it is translated from norwegian to english:

Hi Markus

Thank you for your inquiry.

Our products have parts of from all over the world, indeed also from Norway . But our products are assembled ​​in China. We have not had any need to write up all of the specific parts origins in our components and therefore has not done so. We are Norwegian and work out of Oslo as it says on the back of our products.

Sincerely / Best regards
Hegel Music System AS
Click to expand...

Regardless, IMHO, their stuff sounds great.
 
I heard the new Hegel integrated amplifier at the Florida Audio Expo yesterday and was impressed. However, after discovering it is made in China, it's a No Sale for me. China has stolen huge amounts of intellectual property from the US and likely other countries as well. Unfortunately, not buying anything made in China is almost impossible. But, when it comes to expensive audio equipment, I'll pass.
 
I only care if the labeling supports the full practice so I can make a decision on what I want to do.

And it’s important to understand what the label means. Products can assume identities of the originating country even if work was done in part overseas and shipped to the originating country for final assembly.
 
I've softened a lot on my stance with high-end audio products made in China. There are companies that take what are essentially Chinese products, designed (if you can call it that) and made by Chinese owned / run factories, and slap their own badge on it. Maybe they get to specify the colors and other superficial aspects, but it's pretty obvious to see through. These are generally very bad products.

Then there are companies that really design their own quality products, and work much more closely with Chinese factories to outsource their production and ensure quality. These can be excellent.

I love Audioquest cables, even though their main assembly is done in China. Can't fault them; they're great cables. But the counterfeiting issue is indeed a side-effect of this. By all accounts companies like Hegel and Prima Luna also do a great job ensuring a quality product.
 
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