Hmmmmm...........OK a little verbal dribble...........
There was a time when we didn't have the range of cheaper mics/gear available, a time when forums such as HR were in their infancy and as a result it was a time when we were relatively uneducated in regard to manufacturers, their products, etc., etc. It was a time when some companies/individuals saw an opportunity to start sourcing from China..........
Rode were probably one of the first to make a success of marketing a Chinese made product while deliberately avoiding telling people or misleading the marketplace as to the origin of the mics they were selling......selling at obscene levels of profit. They were that successful that they almost made an art form out of it and were able to build the business to it's current levels based on those deceptions. Even in more recent times trying to discuss this issue with Rode was akin to pulling teeth.
Others followed Rodes' example...........one (there were more), from Europe that was marketing mics, alledgedly had a manufacturing plant and other infrastucture in Europe and his US distributor happened to be PMI/Alan Hyatt. As time went by, PMI started asking more questions of the "manufacturer" which were usually avoided or deflected, finally PMI were told the truth......there was no European facility, the mics were coming from China, it was all a deception and PMI had been distributing mics which they genuinely believed were made in Europe.
It was from this background that the Studio Projects line emerged and from the very first, Alan made a point of never hiding the origin of his products even going so far as having "797 Audio" printed on the mics. Also from this background is Alan's habit of jumping in at times when he's seen other individuals appearing to deliberately make claims about gear that from his experience Alan either knows or suspects to be untrue or incorrect................this habit would appear to stem from Alan having once been "burnt" himself and his desire to not see it happen to others..............no, he's not perfect BUT he's also not what some of you seem to be thinking either, in his own words from way back he's a "brash NY'er".
As an aside...........along with Studio Projects, we saw the emergence of a number of other "new" companies, amongst them.......MXL, who didn't overly advertise their Chinese connection but didn't hide it either....... ADK, originally, conveniently marketed as AudioDeutschKraft(sp), a name they abreviated and ultimately dropped as people became more aware of their Chinese connection...........there's others and there'll continue to be more, some who will be up front and honest and some who will not.
Unfortunately, I see a few people getting hot under the collar, making assumptions and starting to talk out of their arse. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this issue, doesn't mean that your opinion happens to be right.
