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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" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> 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 <[log in to unmask]> > Professional Audio for CD, DVD, Broadcast & Internet >