British-made speakers?

[admin_exported]

I'm about to get some new speakers, budget up to £1k for the pair.

I listened to some Quad 22L2 floorstanders and they sounded rather lovely - but then I found that they are not only made in China but owned by a Chinese company (as is Mission, Wharfedale, etc.)

I would really like to support UK industry if I can...

So. B&W's CM range, Tannoy's Revolution Signature, can anyone suggest others I should be listening to?
Thanks, Neil

 

[d_a_n1979]

What amp and CDP/turntabe would you be matching with the speakers and also; what music do you listen to?

I can whole heartedly reccomend the B&W CM7's. Theyre superb speakers with a great soundstage; good solid bass, a smooth & detailed midrange and lush treble.

 

[Anonymous]

Good for you mate, I would like to support british made industry to but unfortunately it means you are so limited in choice that I end up buying chinese EDITED BY MODS products instead, don't you just love globalisation!

 

[drummerman]

hi fi newbie:

Good for you mate, I would like to support british made industry to but unfortunately it means you are so limited in choice that I end up buying chinese slave products instead, don't you just love globalisation!

Hi hi fi newbie

EDITED BY MODS AS REFERENCED POST MODERATED Perhaps you find that many of the chinese manufacturers create fairly decent working conditions and above average wages for their workers. I can't be sure that's the case for each and every one of course but from what I've read in hifi publications, written by site visiting reviewers, many are workplaces that are ahead of others in different industries.

Plus of course you are still supporting people and companies in britain, whether they are foreign owned and manufacture abroad or not.

Regards

 

[Anonymous]

ProAc!!

Still made in the UK, still amazing speakers. Not cheap though. If you have to have a floorstand speaker the Studio 130 could be an option at your price point. Otherwise you could go for one of their rather lovely bookshelf speakers.

Highly recommend an audition, though careful system matching is recommended to get the best out of them.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Don't forget Mordaunt-Short. Established in 1967, Mordaunt-ShortT is responsible for the development of some of the world's most critically acclaimed loudspeakers. With a dedicated team of ten engineers and a purpose-built research and development centre in London, Mordaunt-Short has some of the best resources in the industry.

 

[drummerman]

liujol,

I would be surprised if MS products are made here with the Audio Partnerships (RS) relationship to chinese manufacturing though I'm not sure.

Regards

 

[Anonymous]

I think you'll find that nearly all the loudspeaker manufacturers use parts sourced from the Far East and even if they buy Danish drive units, the likelihood is that they were made in China. I was speaking to our cabinet makers in Yorkshire this week and they are laying off another 8 people because they can't compete.

I may be wrong but isn't Mordaunt-Short a Chinese company?

It not just wages that are cheaper in China it is everything, so people don't need to earn as much money to be as rich. Britain particularly and Europe in general is the most expensive place in the world and it's doing tremendous damage to manufacturing.

Ashley

 

[Anonymous]

Ah I am not going to allow myself to become engaged in a debate about this but EDITED BY MODS

 

[Anonymous]

Ashley James:I may be wrong but isn't Mordaunt-Short a Chinese company?

Its a UK PLC that sits half in, half out of bed with the Richer Group. Builds in China but operates here.

EDITED BY MODS AS REFERENCED POST MODERATED The business I've seen mentioned here (not by Ashley I add) is damaging guff and shows the same slow witted jingoism that was shown to Japanese product thirty years ago. Wages in China are lower but so are prices of commodities that people buy. An interesting aside is that the new Chinese labour laws are in many regards (hiring and firing especially) actually tougher than some EU ones. Quite apart from this is the subject we tiptoe around is that many British made products had the longevity of a sandwich and appalling ergonomics- the companies failed because they were rubbish.

 

[drummerman]

Neil,

Perhaps add spendor to the list too. I believe (but not entirely sure) they too are made entirely in the UK if that is of importance to you.

To be honest though, I kind of feel you are narrowing your options unneccesseraly. Even if you buy Quad you are still supporting people here in the UK.

regards

 

[Anonymous]

B & W are still a British company, but there speakers are made in china. A shame because i can understand were your coming from, and i want to buy all British but unfortunately for me my budget wouldn't stretch that far.

 

[Anonymous]

Presenting the Mordaunt-Short team!

http://www.mordauntshort.com/assets/documents/Team-shot-08.jpg

If my eyes are clear enough I can only see one Chinese looking associate. Or perhaps the rest are in China?

I have the Avant series of M-S and at the back it says "Made in Great Britain" not "Made in China" as some British brand speakers have.

 

[Anonymous]

As DM points out, Spendor manufacture their speakers here. I think the only part that is bought in is the tweeter.

 

[Anonymous]

Whats wrong with supporting British made products, in the present economic climate I see nothing wrong with protecting British jobs.

I also think that the British Hi Fi industry is equel to any foreign made products in the world if not better, Most of my kit is Naim an excellent company with its service and after sales service is the envy of many and its only in Salisbury not halfway round the world..........

 

[Anonymous]

Mm. Along with Tannoy and others, B&W do make many speakers in China. However, they also make their higher end lines in the UK (CM, XT range etc.)

If I don't like the UK options though I will opt for B&W's 6 series. Save me some money too.

 

[Anonymous]

EDITED BY MODS AS REFERRED POST MODERATED

Chinese wages are low if you tried to live on them in Hammersmith but work fine if you live in Shenzen. Even with the current economic slowdown, factory workers that can populate a PCB are in high demand (to say nothing of wood veneering technicians and CAD trained personell) so can pretty much pick and choose where they work- do you really think they would elect to work for peanuts? Your entire argument is based around factless fearmongering.

Lets take as an example Cambridge Audio. A 1987 UK built CD2 cost £600 and sounded pretty good, but was ugly, fragile and produced in limited quantities. A 2008 China built 840C will sonically destroy it whilst being at the same time nicely built, easy to use, seemingly quite reliable, mass produced and when inflation is taken into account, considerably cheaper.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, I'll try Spendor too. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you - I'll have a listen to ProAc too.

Turns out there's a stockist not far from me.

 

[chebby]

Supporting 'UK plc' and our home economy has been but one factor in my buying decisions past and present. It is one of the factors for me buying Rega speakers and a Rega turntable this year, but if they weren't any good and the best price/performance came from a Chinese product then I would buy it.

Turns out that my Arcam Mini-Solo is assembled in China. When I found this out (from the back panel) it did NOT make me want to rush out and sell it to buy a UK assembled Arcam product instead!
(Arcam have some products made in the UK and some in China.)

All of my systems back to 1979 have had some element of Japanese (and now Chinese) design and/or manufacture. (All those old NAD amps and Technics cassette decks/VCRs/televsions/DVD players etc.)

My old Akai 4000D was conspicuously Japanese. (It was pointless trying to buy a British made Neal Ferrograph!)

Even our iMac is made in China. (Although my Dell claims to be 'made' in Ireland.)

My latest addition (the little Fubar II USB DAC) is from an American company (Firestone Audio) whose products are made in Taiwan.

As others have advised, buying a product that is from a British company but made/partly made in China is still helping our economy.

However, if you are passionate about maximising the British 'input' to your speaker's company ownership, design and build, then the new Rega RS3 (£698 per pair) should be auditioned. (Or the RS5's as you say your budget goes to £1000)

This Rega website 'factory tour' (despite being a few years old) shows that they keep as much production in-house as possible even making some of their own speaker drivers....

http://www.rega.co.uk/html/factory%20four.htm

 

[Anonymous]

There is still a lot of excellent British made kit including speakers, ignore the doom and gloom merchants, Britain still makes top notch hi-fi, for Speakers we Have also Kudos, Neat, Revolver, Spendor, Pro-ac, Monitor Audio, B&W, Rega, god, the list is endless, and the same for electronics, hundreds of them are still designed and assembled in the UK!!!!

I know a lot of Chinese guys, my business partner is Chinese,

EDITED BY MODS

 

[coolaboola]

There is nothing wrong with buying british however there is nothing wrong with buying chinese.

All the successful british hi-fi companies will have made multiple site inspections to the factories that manufacture and put their brand name on their products.Apart from the moral reasons it would be a P.R ticking time bomb for a british brand to be associated with slave labour.From a quality control point of view no company wants disgruntled unhappy staff on their production line.Quality of working enviroment adds greatly to quality of end product.We here in the west have known that for years and it is a huge consideration when the tenders come back from manufacturers bidding for the work.

The textile industry is a different matter altogether but hi end electronics....

 

[Anonymous]

ProAc, Spendor, Harbeth, Audio Note.

But I don't see any problem in buying Chinese made speakers, or Chinese owned brands. Wharfedale, Mission and Castle designers are still in the UK, and these brands still sound British to me.

If one doesn't particularly like a Chinese made speaker, I think it has more to do with the acoustic design than Chinese manufacturing. If I don't like Tannoy Sensys and KEF iQ and C Series, the designers are to blame, not the factory in China.

 

[Anonymous]

My whole point is this, comparitively they will have a higher standard of living compared to other factory workers in China but since you mentioned CAD, I will go back to the point I illustrated before, an r&d worker gets a tenth of what a western r&d worker gets. Even taking into account that living costs will of course be cheaper over in China, it does not equate to getting ten times less!.

Incidentally, are Monitor Audio a british company?

 

[Anonymous]

Noggin:
I would really like to support UK industry if I can...

If you buy a Quad (or any other speaker from the IAG) you will still be supporting British workers. They have a huge warehouse in the UK, with sales admin people, etc. And of course the designers are British.