Patrick Turner wrote:

Keith G wrote:

-snip-

OK if it sounds better than this:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/jaau...aaudio300b.htm

and looks as good, I'll order one - 400 quid OK with you (with valves)...???


I don't think Ian could buy the parts and materials for less than 400quid,
or about usd $700.
I doubt Sowter could do the 2 OPTs and PT and a choke for less than the 400
quid.

But unless otherwise proven, the OPTs and power trannys are probably not great
quality.

Nice paint on the outside though.

Ppl in the know would chuck away the chinese valves and use WE 300B........


Send a thankyou note to the Chinese Communist Party who
controls worker wages and conditions.

And if wages are usd $2 per day, and half the price is for chinese labour,
there is 250 man hours per amp, that's 5 weeks at 50 hrs per week of labour for
1 man.
But that just sounds way too much labour in a grimy noisy dirty mass production
chinese factory, and I bet no more than 2 man weeks of labour is involved.

The rest goes where? CCP? BMW for the boss?


I think that's the essence - you really don't know. UK built - a
*significant proportion of anything* goes into a regressive taxation
regime (direct and indirect) and the pockets of owners. I suspect China
has low taxation (at least, plenty of workarounds), low capital and
revenue costs and large post production markup. The wage figures you
give are meaningful if relative wages are high.

I'm not saying any of this is 'good' - I just think an open mind helps
before damning one against the shoddy yardstick of another. On which(!),
I'm off to China in a couple of months looking at regeneration in
Shanghai - I'll let y'all know :-)

Rob