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Re: [ARSCLIST] Clarifying the MAM-A gold comment



Hi Charles:

Not disputing your facts at all. However, I find it curious that Mitsui would see such a need for cost-cutting. They are premium-priced and their premuim price and I'm assuimg premium-niche margins are directly related to provably superior quality. So why screw up the model? Corporate ineptitude? This would be like a premium watch company moving manufacturing to China, or Neumann closing down their German capsule-making operations and instead outsourcing to one of the Chinese factories. I can't see how a luxury-niche player can cut quality and survive. Much easier to raise prices if margin is under pressure. Who's Mitsui's competition in that niche since Kodak is out of the business?

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Lawson" <clawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 2:38 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Clarifying the MAM-A gold comment



Mike Richter writes:
I do not want to belabor this, but you do inspire a few more remarks -
which I hope will not be read as critical.

No, I do not take offense. However, I think that my earlier comments are being misinterpreted by some members of the list. The manufacturing defects to which I refer are large fingerprints, smears, etc. that are visible to the eye on cursory inspection upon removal of a new disc from its shrink-wrapping. They may be more properly called "factory handling defects." The discs that are not mishandled at the factory still record well and yield better-than-satisfactory error results in my Plextor drives.

Ascribing changes in processes and products to greed may be unfair.

I don't think so in this case. I have been informed by industry sources that Mitsui gold discs used to be made in Japan. The manufacturing was moved overseas in a cost-saving move (hence the renamed "MAM-A" & "MAM-E"). This cost-cutting move has resulted in an inadvertent quality-cutting move, too, as far as my experience is concerned. Mitsui Gold discs NEVER had fingerprints or foreign debris packaged with them when they were under that name and made in Japan. I now ROUTINELY get gunk on the discs and in the jewel cases directly from the factory and the change occurred exactly when the discs went from "Mitsui Gold" to "MAM-A." Rarely do I see a correlation so direct. Rarely do I get good forensic evidence, too, but I have actual fingerprints! Time for "CSI: Mitsui."

Have a great weekend everyone.

--
Charles Lawson <clawson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Professional Audio for CD, DVD, Broadcast & Internet



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