Last year was a very fun, exciting year at Audio Emporium! After thinking about making a major change in our business model, we were able to pull it off in early 2024.

We booted all the Chinese products out the door, spare one. We still need an inexpensive streamer and nothing competes with the Bluesound Node.

Atoll of France

In electronics, Atoll paved the way for this massive change. Atoll is a family owned company that makes its fabulous electronics in its own house in France, with 3 year warranty.

We’re not selling Atoll just because it’s made in Europe. We’re selling it because it absolutely kicks fanny compared to anyone else in similar price ranges. By the way, all this competition is from the far east- made by job houses with any name on the face plate the customer designates.

Atoll integrateds are dual mono, Class AB with large transformers, filter caps and matched output transistors. Even the entry level IN50 for $1200 hits like a linebacker instead of a ballerina.

Due to Atoll’s efficiency in building, as you go north in the line all of the money goes IN the box instead of bells and whistles. You get a PAIR of large transformers, more caps and more transistors.

Atoll is building sports cars with high octane. The Asian built gear is feature laden with switching power supplies and wimpy sound for similar money. Atoll sounds dynamic, musical and robust.

Atoll also brings dramatically better built CD players to the market. The improvement you get in bass and warmth with a solidly built Atoll CD player makes a significant improvement in sound and reliability. Spending a few bucks on an Atoll brings CD performance to a much higher level than what you can achieve with a cheapy Chinese player. I promise you’ll be able to hear that Atoll CD players will sound better than playing the same music streamed. For music you truly care about, make the effort to play CDs.

Our customers are loving the fuller, richer sound they’re getting out of their CD collection, with no clicks and pops by the way. Until you hear your CDs with a great player like an Atoll, you might think CDs have to sound thin and edgy. Paying attention to getting a great CD player is the same as getting a superior turntable & cartridge. Yet most people have bought inexpensive, lightweight CD players. Atoll has taught us there’s a distinctly superior echelon of performance with their players.

Bryston / Axiom Speakers

We were finally able to jettison all the Chinese speakers. Up until recently, virtually all the speakers sub $3k with some bass and power capabilities, were made in China.

Bryston and Axiom of Canada have merged. The company is simply called Bryston. Bryston has made a myriad of Big Dog towers, with 20 year warranties (!) that have reset the speaker landscape starting at about $3k per pair and going north.

Bryston revitalized the Axiom lineup to where now there is a prodigious 3-way tower (M60, $2k pr) and heavy hitting 2-way tower (M50, $1400pr). They also have a powerful stand mount (M5, $1000pr) and some smaller brothers.

Axiom now owns the turf ($2k and south) previously dominated by Chinese speakers in our store. We’re thrilled to be able to offer these smoother sounding, heavier hitting Bryston/Axiom speakers which are actually built from the ground up in Canada- not China.

Our New Fascia

I don’t want to give China and Malaysia our business and support.

They compete with their 996 formula. Employees work 9am-9pm, 6 days a week, for about $1.84 per hour. Many have their own baraks. Sheeeze! Of course they make products cheap.

But there’s a price to be paid for this mass merchandising. The price is quality. And yeah, I don’t like their proclivity to steal technology and hack our computers. With great manufacturers in N America and Europe, please support them as opposed to Chinese production houses.

You will pay SOME more for buying from N America & Europe. SO WHAT?!

As long as the quality is better and the price is attainable, we’re happy to twist your arm to buy N American and European.

The Other Guys

Now that the page has turned to 2025, has anything changed with the other guys? Not much.

The following electronics are made in China or Malaysia by various vendors who simply brand their piece work as their customer desires. Arcam, Audio Engine, Audio Lab, Bose, Cambridge, Denon, HiFi Rose, JBL, Leak, Marantz, NAD, Onkyo, Primare, Rotel, Sonos, Sony, SVS, Technics, Wiim, Yamaha.

Please keep in mind that we offer Atoll of France in these similarly competitive price ranges. Atoll is built to an altogether superior standard compared to any of these lines. We also offer Bryston which is made in Canada.

The following speakers are made in China/Malaysia. This gets a little sneaky because companies like B&W and Klipsch make their big dogs in the UK or US. But all the affordable bread and butter comes from China.. B&W, Dali, Definitive, Elac, GoldenEar, JBL, Kef, Klipsch, Martin Logan, MoFi, Monitor Audio, Perlisten, Polk, Project, PSB, Q Acoustics, Revel, SVS, Wharfedale, Yamaha.

Please keep in mind that we offer Bryston and Axiom. All of their models are built in their own factory in Canada. We offer Magnepan of Minnesota, Atohm of France and the Klipsch Heritage line made in the US- not the Chinese models made for big box.

The following subwoofers are made in China/Malaysia. Andover, Audio Engine, B&W, Cambridge, Definitive, Elac, GoldenEar, JBL, Kef, Klipsch, Martin Logan, Monitor Audio, Polk, REL, Revel, SVS, Wharfedale.

Please keep in mind that we offer JL Audio of Florida. JL is made in its own house near Ft Lauderdale with much more substantial drivers than the Chinese. JL woofers are bolted into metal face plates to be a contiguous element. The other guys just use 8 screws to install their modest woofs into soft MDF front panels. All JL cabinets are sealed to insure tight bass. They don’t use ports or passives.

The importance of buying N American or Euro products isn’t based solely on patriotism. The Chinese are mass merchandisers. You simply can’t get the QC and TLC from a VENDOR that you can get when you make a product in your own house with total control.