Since I don't expect a company to actually possess a conscience, I am not at all surprised that so many have moved their production to China.

However individuals who have one can decide to listen to their conscience, and not just their wallets, and choose to buy from elsewhere.

I really don't consider "listening to my wallet" as a reason for purchasing the BDP-83. The Oppo replaced a Sony BDP-S550 in my main system that was about 1/2 the price of the Oppo. Both perform well, but the additional features made the Oppo a no brainer for me.

While I will agree that I try not to purchase products manufactured in China, there are a few exceptions that I will make, and the 997 will be one of those exceptions.

Trying not to buy from China is becoming increasingly hard to do. Where the finished product is built hardly accounts for origin of all the component pieces. With more and more of the piece parts being built in China, it's becoming almost impossible not to buy a product that doesn't have some Chinese content. Having a budget for higher priced items could reduce Chinese content, but there's a strong likelihood that at least some of the electronic devices are from China, as that's fast becoming the only source. So, unless you only own vintage stuff, or you do without, you're likely to have something made in China. In my case, and I'm sure this applies to others, staying within budget requires accepting Chinese products whether we like it or not or doing without.

As for products that are announced well before they're actually available for sale, I believe this is the result of the fierce competition in consumer technology products. Companies announce the latest new technology "coming soon" to distract consumers from buying already available products from competitors. And once one company makes a "coming soon" announcement, the others risk customers jumping to another brand that seems to be moving forward to the next generation first unless they also announce. Personally, I've learned to be patient and never expect the new technology anytime close to when the announcements say it will be available. And, those products that are the first releases are usually not everything the later releases turn out to be. So, many that jump on the first new technology product on the market find they made a bad choice and are back in line for the later product when it finally does come to market. I've found patience pays off in only having to buy once and getting the better performing and/or better value product in the long run.

In all this discussion of whether to avoid Chinese-made products and whether that's even possible, I have not yet seen any mention of working conditions in Chinese factories. I also haven't seen very much anywhere to suggest that such conditions are acceptable by western standards.

It just occurred to me to wonder how our (including mine with my Yaqin tube buffer) moral position in this area differs from that of happy 19th-century wearers of cotton clothing they could afford because the cotton for it was produced by slave labor.

Casuistry time!

Concerning not buying products from China there is a very interesting book, "A Year Without "MADE IN CHINA": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy" by Sara Bongiorni. She and her family had an extremely difficult time doint that. Here is a link to an article she wrote:

Not Buying from China

Interesting article. My personal choice is to avoid products made in China, but as the article's author pointed out that is becoming almost impossible. I am in the market for some casual shoes and I've found that most of the major brands I've bought from in the past are now made in China. It's becoming pervasive with almost all consumer goods.

Another factor is content. I had a conference call this morning to discuss a potential LEED project (the USGBC's certification system for sustainable buildings). Part of the materials & resources aspect of LEED looks are regional content, or building materials that are completely sourced from within 500 miles of the jobsite. That doesn't just mean where it's "made" - that means where the constituent parts come from. For concrete, that means documenting where the sand, gravel, and cement all come from. For wood, that means where the tree came from and where it was processed. They exclude mechanical and electrical systems from these credits because it is simply impossible to document all the hundreds of pieces of steel, copper, plastic, and electronics that go into our systems. If you did succeed in such a documentation process, though, I bet it would be an interesting read. How much steel was recycled content and how far the steel traveled from recycling bin to jobsite; how much steel was new material and how far it traveled from the ground to the site; same for copper tubing and wiring; and even where all the various printed circuit boards, components, and miscellaneous bits and pieces came from...

So, if they every were to unionize the labor force in China, we'd be SOL if they went on strike.

International unions . . . an idea whose time has come - again. But I fear we're moving away from the entertainment hardware world and perilously close to the - dare I write the word? - real world.

Major American and European hardware manufacturers have made a big deal out of ensuring that their manufacturing facilities in China treat their employees well, and because of the media coverage, the plants try to comply and we're told things are "peachy". The problem is, it ends there - all of the subcontracting manufacturers that make the ICs, boards, etc (not to mention every other thing made in China) are free from scrutiny and the abuse is rampant. Amazing how cheaply things can be made with slave labor (see Dubai as well).