Sony closing its Japan factory for MD, CD players

[Happy Hopping]

Breaking news today:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060125/sony_walkman.html?.v=2

So much for NH1 made in Japan, my NH1 is now officially a collector's item

[tekdroid]

Excellent linkage.

They gotta do what they gotta do. It would be great to see pics or something of the last stuff rolling off the line. All their higher-end stuff was Made In Japan and that label itself tends to be synonomous with quality.

I guess the new motto is save some yen

[pauljones52]

i noticed my old gumstick batteries said made in japan, but the battery that came with my HIMD said made in china. I guess they will eventually move all their construction plants to china.

[tommypeters]

Or maybe not. Some companies are now finding it too expensive with higher salaries and even demands for decent factory facilities in China and are moving out, to other countries like Vietnam with 3-4 times lower salaries than in China...

[Tiesto]

my NH1 is now officially a collector's item

you could say that. A couple of days ago I was ready to order an EH1 from Audiocubes but it looks like they had gone... it was too late, damn

Edited January 28, 2006 by Tiesto

[ZosoIV]

Looks like I bought my Japanese NH1 at the right time, huh? (And for a song, too).

[sonic_rage]

The topic is misleading.

You had me going there believing that sony killed off the MD production for a moment.

As for moving their factories to china... i think theyre just doing what the entire world has already done to become more profitable.

For me, lesser quality MD devices seems to be better than no new MDs at all.

[Mr.Bootleg]

For me, lesser quality MD devices seems to be better than no new MDs at all.

I'm not sure if I agree. Do you think the quality of the devices will really suffer? Hopefully, the product designers won't limit their work to meet the abilities of Chinese labor. Actually, I suppose they will have to do that now.

Maybe it is time to buy another MD recorder...while there are still some new ones available for sale that have been made in Japan.

[Richard]

I don't think anyone has said that MD's are going to be made in China. As far as I know most will still be made in Malaysia which is where all the 2nd gen Hi-MD models were made also the NH900 if I remember correctly.

[metal]

Is there any reason to doubt the quality when a product is made in China?

Fyi, Denon's 2004/2005 flagship DVD player (can't recall the exact model no, could be AX-1) was made in China while their mid-price player was made in Japan.

Edited January 29, 2006 by metal

[Skradgee]

(Skradgee flips over his MZ-RH10 bought from Japan: MADE IN MALAYSIA) Huh. I knew that the NH1 and many other products were made in Japan, but anyway...

At the risk of putting my foot in my mouth, I'll say this: It's not that I doubt the quality of Chinese workmanship. I would just hate to see the company possibly lose some ambition or control over the production of their products. I understand that many companies are moving their labor overseas, but hopefully the trend will not cause the company's innovation and quality to suffer.

[Top Cat]

All their higher-end stuff was Made In Japan and that label itself tends to be synonomous with quality.

Back in 1999 I had a top-line feature-packed compact-cassette stereo-radio-corder ($170) which was Made in Japan. And the mechanics simply stopped rolling the right way a month before the end of the warranty. Repaired for free and it broke again just after warranty ended completely...

[dytcs]

Breaking news today:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060125/sony_walkman.html?.v=2

So much for NH1 made in Japan, my NH1 is now officially a collector's item

SONY China began manufacturing NH1 long time ago. BTW and FYI, PS2/PSP/NDS/IPOD/Imac/thinkpad are all (at least most of the capacity) made in China now....