We have just shipped the December issue of Stereophile to the printer, which includes the magazine's annual "Products of the Year" feature.
While I was compiling the list of winning products from the votes submitted by the magazine's writers, something struck me: of the 63 contenders (chosen by the writers from what we have reviewed in our November 2004 thru October 2005 issues), the majority were manufactured outside the USA.
Specifically, 21 of the products were designed and manufactured in the USA, 2 were designed in the USA but manufactured in China or Taiwan, and 40 were designed and manufactured outside the US (with Canada, Italy, Great Britain, China, and Taiwan most represented).
We don't deliberately pick foreign-made products for review, nor do we boycott domestic companies. So why this imbalance?
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile
We have just shipped the December issue of Stereophile to the printer, which includes the magazine's annual "Products of the Year" feature.
While I was compiling the list of winning products from the votes submitted by the magazine's writers, something struck me: of the 63 contenders (chosen by the writers from what we have reviewed in our November 2004 thru October 2005 issues), the majority were manufactured outside the USA.
Specifically, 21 of the products were designed and manufactured in the USA, 2 were designed in the USA but manufactured in China or Taiwan, and 40 were designed and manufactured outside the US (with Canada, Italy, Great Britain, China, and Taiwan most represented).
We don't deliberately pick foreign-made products for review, nor do we boycott domestic companies. So why this imbalance?
John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile