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Apple: Made in China - 549 USD, no thanks. If I need something that is "Max" I will buy this - made in Germany. https://www.amazon.de/beyerdynamic-Amiron-Over-E

by nbzso 6y ago

Apple: Made in China - 549 USD, no thanks. If I need something that is "Max" I will buy this - made in Germany. https://www.amazon.de/beyerdynamic-Amiron-Over-Ear-Kopfh%C3%B6rer-Klang-Personalisierung-Akkulaufzeit-anthrazit/dp/B079P4348N/ref=pd_vtp_23_1/260-5043884-4896613?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B079P4348N&pd_rd_r=a787d80b-f29b-43c7-9c89-9da3c0871748&pd_rd_w=96G2M&pd_rd_wg=De6Pm&pf_rd_p=b82fdab5-714d-44f8-bd2d-596f98bc21e4&pf_rd_r=6ZFZR8QB38EHNK1PZEMC&psc=1&refRID=6ZFZR8QB38EHNK1PZEMC https://www.amazon.de/beyerdynamic-Amiron-Over-Ear-Kopfh%C3%... People still don't get this thing. Its simple : Big Corporations are taking big profit by using China as manufacturing, China is not a democracy, China is not free market economy, buying products completely made abroad is killing off a middle class and financing oppressive regime of CCP. Big companies have enough cash to relocate manufacturing in democratic countries. As a consumer, you can search for products that are made locally or with minimum Chinese parts.

m000 6y ago
Practically, not choosing China at this moment is impractical, to say the least. But I would applaud sites doing teardowns if they started cataloging the provenance of the major components used in each product. This would be a first step to allow consumers make more informed purchases in the future.
bserge 6y ago
Sadly, I think many people get it, they just don't care.
cactus2093 6y ago
I guess it might surprise you to learn that China is a big place capable of manufacturing both high quality and cheaper, low quality products, There’s a really interesting Netflix documentary American Factory that depicts one particular example, and puts on display a lot of the complicated factors you’re talking about. But the interesting thing is after like 2 years of training and tweaking processes, the American location of this auto glass factory just can’t for the life of them produce a product as high quality as the Chinese factory. See also: most other Apple products, for more examples of high quality things manufactured in China. Also, call me crazy but why should I care about random Midwestern Americans any more than random Chinese people I’ve never met? Globalization has raised an astounding number of people in China out of poverty in the past 20 years which is an amazing feat. Not wanting to support the country because of the governments human rights abuses is totally fair, but you seem to be mixing that in as just one reason among all the other protectionist rhetoric. Lastly, to pretend that companies are giant infinite pools of money that are choosing to hold out on everyone is just silly. If they were to manufacture things in more expensive places, then you’d be looking at $700 headphones instead of $550. If you’d rather support other companies, then great, do that! That’s the beauty of having so many choices.
- nbzso 6y ago
  Yep you are right, I have a consumer choice. I just linked to high end audio product manufactured in Germany, where you cant use slaves to build for you on a thin cost margin and then sell on high profit. And to be more pro consumer choice, here you can see competitive products with prices: https://heavy.com/tech/best-high-end-headphones/ https://heavy.com/tech/best-high-end-headphones/
  - cactus2093 6y ago
    If you think this list of high-end headphones, many of them even open-backed, are good alternatives to wireless, noise canceling headphones, then I can't really relate. One is for sitting alone in a quiet room listening to music, the other is for travel, work, commuting, etc. in noisy environments where you still want decent sound quality. The only real alternatives to these new Airpods are things like the Bose QC3 and similar Sony model, and based on the pricing I would say Apple is confident theirs sound significantly better.
    - nbzso 6y ago
      https://uk.pcmag.com/headphones/3341/the-best-noise-cancelling-headphones https://uk.pcmag.com/headphones/3341/the-best-noise-cancelli... Lots of alternatives and with not so heavy price tag. But reading comments here I regret posting my reaction. Obviously the new age Apple users deserve everything that they get. I am happy that this company has nothing to do with me, and my office macs are not T2 and will run Linux for years to come. Enjoy your overpriced vertically integrated shiny nonsense and don't forget to buy collectable ear cushions, only 70 bucks. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ0E3ZM/A/airpods-max-ear-cushions-silver?fnode=18d5a86b87e7d9e904bc73c5c7d13abccaf02344ee73b94cb5e53f456807e6286033f5735f142ba64ba5893dd7ef1542448b3a196fd9ccf3e3dd70513b9e41444202e804f68ece709af9837dea2bd5b7bb8eec70b25e972809b736e0b55c3dfc https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ0E3ZM/A/airpods-max-ear...

by nbzso 6y ago

m000 6y ago

Practically, not choosing China at this moment is impractical, to say the least. But I would applaud sites doing teardowns if they started cataloging the provenance of the major components used in each product. This would be a first step to allow consumers make more informed purchases in the future.

bserge 6y ago

Sadly, I think many people get it, they just don't care.

cactus2093 6y ago

I guess it might surprise you to learn that China is a big place capable of manufacturing both high quality and cheaper, low quality products, There’s a really interesting Netflix documentary American Factory that depicts one particular example, and puts on display a lot of the complicated factors you’re talking about. But the interesting thing is after like 2 years of training and tweaking processes, the American location of this auto glass factory just can’t for the life of them produce a product as high quality as the Chinese factory. See also: most other Apple products, for more examples of high quality things manufactured in China. Also, call me crazy but why should I care about random Midwestern Americans any more than random Chinese people I’ve never met? Globalization has raised an astounding number of people in China out of poverty in the past 20 years which is an amazing feat. Not wanting to support the country because of the governments human rights abuses is totally fair, but you seem to be mixing that in as just one reason among all the other protectionist rhetoric. Lastly, to pretend that companies are giant infinite pools of money that are choosing to hold out on everyone is just silly. If they were to manufacture things in more expensive places, then you’d be looking at $700 headphones instead of $550. If you’d rather support other companies, then great, do that! That’s the beauty of having so many choices.

nbzso 6y ago
Yep you are right, I have a consumer choice. I just linked to high end audio product manufactured in Germany, where you cant use slaves to build for you on a thin cost margin and then sell on high profit. And to be more pro consumer choice, here you can see competitive products with prices: https://heavy.com/tech/best-high-end-headphones/ https://heavy.com/tech/best-high-end-headphones/
- cactus2093 6y ago
  If you think this list of high-end headphones, many of them even open-backed, are good alternatives to wireless, noise canceling headphones, then I can't really relate. One is for sitting alone in a quiet room listening to music, the other is for travel, work, commuting, etc. in noisy environments where you still want decent sound quality. The only real alternatives to these new Airpods are things like the Bose QC3 and similar Sony model, and based on the pricing I would say Apple is confident theirs sound significantly better.
  - nbzso 6y ago
    https://uk.pcmag.com/headphones/3341/the-best-noise-cancelling-headphones https://uk.pcmag.com/headphones/3341/the-best-noise-cancelli... Lots of alternatives and with not so heavy price tag. But reading comments here I regret posting my reaction. Obviously the new age Apple users deserve everything that they get. I am happy that this company has nothing to do with me, and my office macs are not T2 and will run Linux for years to come. Enjoy your overpriced vertically integrated shiny nonsense and don't forget to buy collectable ear cushions, only 70 bucks. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ0E3ZM/A/airpods-max-ear-cushions-silver?fnode=18d5a86b87e7d9e904bc73c5c7d13abccaf02344ee73b94cb5e53f456807e6286033f5735f142ba64ba5893dd7ef1542448b3a196fd9ccf3e3dd70513b9e41444202e804f68ece709af9837dea2bd5b7bb8eec70b25e972809b736e0b55c3dfc https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ0E3ZM/A/airpods-max-ear...