As of December 2007 where are Klipsch speakers manufactured?

[ThomasB]

Are Klipsch home theater speakers USA made or made elsewhere? I'm going to be purchasing 6 speakers for a home theater system 5.1 expecting to pay in the $1500-3500 price range. If I wish to buy Klipsch speakers, must I accept Made in China or some other foreign made product? Or are they still made in USA?

I did search this forum about this question, but most responses were from 2002 or earlier and at that time I saw some posts that indicated Klipsch was still US made. Other posts disputed that.

I'm not here to make a political statement so I'll just make a flat statement and leave it at that. I refuse to buy Chinese made products that will cost our country today and my children tomorrow in many ways, just so I can save a couple of bucks with inferior products short term. My dollars will not be going to China if I can help it until Chinese trade is balanced and fair to US workers, their products made safely and with quality, and their workers not treated like slaves.

[jacksonbart]

Are Klipsch home theater speakers USA made or made elsewhere? I'm going to be purchasing 6 speakers for a home theater system 5.1 expecting to pay in the $1500-3500 price range. If I wish to buy Klipsch speakers, must I accept Made in China or some other foreign made product? Or are they still made in USA?

I did search this forum about this question, but most responses were from 2002 or earlier and at that time I saw some posts that indicated Klipsch was still US made. Other posts disputed that.

I'm not here to make a political statement so I'll just make a flat statement and leave it at that. I refuse to buy Chinese made products that will cost our country today and my children tomorrow in many ways, just so I can save a couple of bucks with inferior products short term. My dollars will not be going to China if I can help it until Chinese trade is balanced and fair to US workers, their products made safely and with quality, and their workers not treated like slaves.

ThomasB

Flip over your keyboard that you just used to type your post and tell us where it was made?

[Arky]

They are made in Hope, Arkansas & Indianapolis, Indiana. I have been to the Hope manufacturing facility & all appeared to be Americans except for one engineer who I think was from Texas, but we love him anyway.

[Marvel]

Where is a Klipsch employee when you need him/her? The Heritage line is certainly made in the U.S. The Cinema line is also, unless it is split somewhere along the way (The Jubilees are from the cinema line, and they are certainly made here).

Just because something may be made 'there' as opposed to 'here' doesn't mean it is an inferior product. Trade imbalance is a whole 'nuther story.

JB is correct, though. Will you not use an HP laser printer? Oops, sorry, made in China, or Indonesia, Philippines...

It's tough.

Bruce

[whatever55]

Sometimes you don't have a reasonable choice.... but when you do ....

We just can't give up.

[T2K]

Welcome to the forum Thomas. I applaud your patriotism. I cannot answer your question but you might get an answer to your question by calling 1-800-KLIPSCH and choosing from the option menu. Good luck !

Keith

[Amy]

I'm apologize, I deleted one political post, and many of them disappeared. That was not my intent!

All of our wood veneer product is made in Hope, which includes our larger Reference models, all of our Heritage products, and coming soon the Palladium P-39F.

I'm sorry if you were told something different by our customer service. I'll send them a note.

Thanks!

[Daddy Dee]

I applaud Klipsch for the Hope factory!

[ThomasB]

Thank you Amy for the info. It appears then that those Klipsch home theater products made within my budget of 1500-3500 are made in China. That would include the systems as described on this page http://www.klipsch.com/products/lists/floorstanding-systems.aspx from the XF-48 system on down. Are the RF-83 and RF-63 made in Arkansas/USA?

I would like to suggest that Klipsch (and all manufacturers btw) include the country of origin as part of the item specifications info on their webpage. This would benefit those who use the web to do preliminary product selection and those of us who consider country of origin as a major factor in that process. If manufacturers consider "made in China" as a product attribute, then proudly provide consumers with a convenient web source for that information. Please don't relegate it to only a physical Made in China sticker pasted on an obscure location on the product.

[jimmy4300]

The RF-83 and RF-63 are in fact made in the USA (Hope). The RF-82 on down are made overseas. My RF-82s do in fact say Made in China on the back.

Lou

[Amy]

Are the RF-83 and RF-63 made in Arkansas/USA?

Yes.

I would like to suggest that Klipsch (and all manufacturers btw) include the country of origin as part of the item specifications info on their webpage.

"Made in China" doesn't accurately represent our products, IMO. All of our speakers are designed, engineered, and tested for quality control in the US, or Canada (Energy and Mirage), and Denmark (Jamo), so calling out "Made in China" really doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Our products are a global effort, which does makes sense because they are sold all over the world, including to our customers in China. I believe we have discussed doing call outs in the future such as "Engineered in the US, Manufactured in China" or something similar.

[scott0527]

Thank you Amy for the info. It appears then that those Klipsch home theater products made within my budget of 1500-3500 are made in China. That would include the systems as described on this page http://www.klipsch.com/products/lists/floorstanding-systems.aspx from the XF-48 system on down. Are the RF-83 and RF-63 made in Arkansas/USA?

So you can't afford the Klipsch products that are made in the U.S.A.? A light bulb should be going on about now.

[T2K]

My opinion is that the country of origin does make a difference as relates to quality of product. I'll give an example: I have a ball cap that someone gave me and upon receipt of cap I, as usual, immediately looked for a label. Looking inside at the band I immediately saw a tag in the shape and color of the American Flag. I flipped the cap on my head only to find that the bill of the cap was sewn onto the backside of the cap. I took the cap off and again looked at the sham American Flag label, flipping the label up. There it said in plain english 'Make In Vietnam'. I know that this is not unique. I see people all the time actually wearing ball caps that have the bills sewn on the back, sides and everywhere else. Usually these same people are also victims of imported incorrectly sized pants, as evidenced by the fact that their pants are hanging halfway down their a$$es. What a sham, err shame.

Keith

[jimmy4300]

On the flip side of that coin. My wife has a Toyota Camry. Camry's are made in the USA and Japan. If you were buying one, what would your choice of origin be? Both models are designed in the same place and are supposed to be the same. Well, I chose the one made in Japan. I just believe the quality's better. The Japanese are teaching us how to build cars. There is one visual difference, the Japanese model has a cover for a tow hook in the front bumper, the one made in the USA doesn't.

Back in 1993, I as helping my brother buy a car for his wife, a new Honda Accord. We had the same choice. We chose the Japanese car. She's still driving it today.

So, IMO, things can be made to any quality level you desire, if you have the money. This means the proper facilities, proper design, proper management, properly trained workers and etc.

Amy, I disagree with you. A product should be labeled with the company of manufacture not with the country that design's or tests the product.

BTW, I am very happy with my Chinese RF-82s

Lou

[oldtimer]

It is good to hear you are happy with the RF-82 product. Time will tell how they hold up, and I hope they do hold up a long time. My Forte II's made in Hope are 18 years old without a thing ever going wrong and they still look great too.

As an aside, it was the US that taught the Japanese how to manufacture, the US auto industry forgot what the Japanese learned, now they teach us what we once knew...

[Frzninvt]

The solution is simple save your money and purchase the US made Klipsch product, I can assure you most all other manufacturer's speakers in your price range will be made in China as well. Why don't you just build your own since you are a patriot after all you must have some craftsman skills as well I suppose. You could get all Heritage parts and build your own cabinets with the sweat of your brow like our ancestors of yore.

That is why things are made in China so people with limited budgets can afford household goods otherwise you would be paying triple for the Unionized labor costs instead, unless you are willing to work for a bowl of rice krispies each day.

Try the used market your hard earned American dollar will go alot further and the Heritage line has always been "Made in the USA"

[Mr. RF62]

That is why things are made in China so folks like you with limited budgets can afford household goods otherwise you would be paying triple for the Unionized labor costs instead, unless you are willing to work for a bowl of rice krispies each day.

Somehow, I don't think that was very nice..

Maybe I took it wrong.

[Guest srobak]

T2K - you do realize this has nothing to do with country of mfg, right?

Jimmy - I agree with you. The product quality is not always based upon where it is manufactured. My company manufactures in the USA, Mexico and China. Our lowest number of bad product comes from the plants in Mexico. The best quality components for the completed products come from China. Yet the best molded parts and molds themselves come from our locations in the US. It is a global environment, for sure.

Here is something fun - anyone here have a BMW Z4 or X5? The only part in it that comes from Germany is the motor. It is imported to South Carolina, where the rest of the car (frame, seats, suspension, drivetrain, you name it) is manufactured. The rest of the car is assembled and tested there. Please note this INCLUDES all models of these vehicles - both US and abroad, including Germany.

[oldtimer]

I would love to have a Z7 I know that. I do own 2 bmw cars that were made in germany. They are old and still kicking, unlike most US cars from the same years. Yeah they need repairs from time to time, but what 19 yr and 27 yr cars wouldn't?

[T2K]

Here is something fun too. China is rapidly working on another product to send to the US. Can you guess what it is?

The persistent assertion by the Chinese leadership to their political cadre and military officers that America is the ‘main enemy’ and that war with the United States is ‘inevitable.’

"The report also details China’s programs to upgrade its intercontinental ballistic missile force with new solid-fuel, road-mobile missiles and new sea-based, submarine-launched systems. The net effect will be a more survivable, more accurate, and more lethal nuclear strategic capability – aimed primarily at the United States. As General Zhu Chenghu, dean of China’s National Defense University, not so subtly reminded American visitors recently: Should the United States intervene in a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘the Americans will have to be prepared that hundreds … of [their] cities will be destroyed by the Chinese’ nuclear weapons."

They'll probably be high-quality too!

Keith