Triple Fi Pro made in China?? or mines are fakes...

[KUNFUCHOPSTICKS]

I have nothing against things made in China. Almost everything i own is made there (same for most people.) BUT, you'd expect a pair of $450 headphones to be made somewhere else. Maybe the armatures are made elsewhere?

 

[spyder187]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cankin /img/forum/go_quote.gif The reason why UE(as well as others) make their products in Asia is to ensure that the maximum profit be captured, they aren't trying to lower the price you pay

It could work both ways, the price can be lower and the business can make more money. The price will almost always only be what the market will bear. And running the business isn't cheap either. To make a statement like that would be hard for people to just accept as the truth unless you are part of their company.

 

[KUNFUCHOPSTICKS]

Just a note: i can guaranty you a pair of UE triple Fi 10 cost Less than $50 to make.

 

[lobehold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KUNFUCHOPSTICKS /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have nothing against things made in China. Almost everything i own is made there (same for most people.) BUT, you'd expect a pair of $450 headphones to be made somewhere else. Maybe the armatures are made elsewhere?

Its the same with how Japanese product got started - cheap crappy product at the beginning and once the money's flowing in the companies begin worry about quality and now Japanese product are considered high-tech and well made.

I bet you don't complain about stuff being made in Japan. If quality's there then there shouldn't be any problem.

Edit: I think sometimes this has to do with "pride of ownership" thing. When the majority of the people still has the mental link between China and crappy goods it really doesn't make you feel secure about expensive purchases. Those are the cost of China's (and Japan back then) strategy of using mass-produced cheap (in more ways than one) goods to jump-start the economy. It takes time to build back the trust that have been lost.

 

[omendelovitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyder187 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It could work both ways, the price can be lower and the business can make more money. The price will almost always only be what the market will bear. And running the business isn't cheap either. To make a statement like that would be hard for people to just accept as the truth unless you are part of their company.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif But the price has come down dramatically. They were introduced at $399 and are now selling for $260'ish? I also presume there are HUGE R & D costs to launch a high level IEM. (Just ask Westone about Westone 3) They need to try to recapture these costs THEN make profit after that. It's a VERY small market for these as well. I'd be shocked if they even sold 5,000 a year. I bet they make much more money on the mid-level Super Fi Pro due to volume.

These guys are right. The sum of the cost of any product is more than the sum of its parts. I guarantee you that UE is making a healthy profit from their triple.fis, but that they are also paying more than $50 a pair. Anybody who says different has never taken a cost accounting course AND seen the audited UE financial and income statements...

 

[synaesthetic]

I think a lot of Americans have problems with things being made in China because a lot of us would rather see the jobs the making of those things provide stay within our country.

But on the flipside, then the goods would be that much more expensive. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

 

[Cankin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyder187 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It could work both ways, the price can be lower and the business can make more money. The price will almost always only be what the market will bear. And running the business isn't cheap either. To make a statement like that would be hard for people to just accept as the truth unless you are part of their company.

The price is determined by the market and then the company decide what their margin would be. Unless the company is a non profit organization, one of their most important purposes is to maximize the value to shareholder/equity holder.

No, I don't work for UE, but this is what I learn in every one of my business course. Hope what I learn(or what my school teaches) is correct.

 

[ghzallen]

most of UE items are made in china

 

[NajoBB]

Don't mix up cheap Chinese products and products that are expensive or designed by others and made in China. One example: my ipod 5g is made in china. After 2 years of extreme usage (the last time it fell on the ground i had to pick up the pieces and put the thing together)
works perfectly fine. I personally never had problems with high quality equipment made in China.

 

[Brewmaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KUNFUCHOPSTICKS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just a note: i can guaranty you a pair of UE triple Fi 10 cost Less than $50 to make.

Probably true, but the manufacturing cost is only one component of the overall cost. IEM's aren't like DVD drives where they pump them out by the millions.

For a specialty product like this they are going to have marketing, R&D, administrative overhead, cost of returns, amortized tooling, and a whole whack of other things to cover. I don't know what volumes they expect to sell these things in, but I'm sure it's not enough to minimize the non-incidental costs.

The other aspect is that these companies want to stragically position products and price them for what the market will bear. If there is a market for $400 IEM's, they are going to fill it.

 

[fdhfdy]

267 is the price in Conus only. I hoped I could get one for that price out of US

 

[Aevum]

lets deconstruct the IEM,
the plastic casing, no problem,
the cable, well, order the westone cable,
the control pcb, well, most of todays pcb is made in china
the crossovers, no idea who makes those,
now, the main part, the armatures, these use sonions or knowles ? and since armatures are a closed system, and delivered as closed "black box" component, where are they made ?

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KUNFUCHOPSTICKS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just a note: i can guaranty you a pair of UE triple Fi 10 cost Less than $50 to make.

I'm guessing it is at least twice that (100-150 range) 75% materials, 25% labor. There is also tooling involved in the plastics (strain relief and housing).
Granted we are not talking big tools but when the volume is so low and it gets amortized in, it adds significantly to the price.

This isn't the early 80's. Consumer electronics made in China are of great quality. How often do your TV's or phones or any other electronics gadget sbreakdown these days? Any more so than they did in the 70's? I don't think so.

 

[shigzeo]

im quite sure that giant is an australian company - i think it would never make it as a company from taiwan. there is no good places in taiwan versus other major bicycle producing nations to ride properly. they may be made in taiwan but so are the majority of trek, marinoni etc which are not custom.

i ride opus, made in canada!

as for the ue: yeah, made in china. made in usa has a cooler sound as i can see a group of marines firing guns and saluting the flag of glory under the hood but ultimately, if you have a design and it is unchageable, the manufacturing is going to be same from country to country unless it is a very complicated machine to make.

the problem is naturally that the product does cost so much just to maximise profits. too bad as well. they would be even better phones for under 200$

 

[fdhfdy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NajoBB /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't mix up cheap Chinese products and products that are expensive or designed by others and made in China. One example: my ipod 5g is made in china. After 2 years of extreme usage (the last time it fell on the ground i had to pick up the pieces and put the thing together) works perfectly fine. I personally never had problems with high quality equipment made in China.

Look the old days, japan used to be the place made cheap things, then taiwan, korea, Malysia, now China, next one...? probally