Why can't a single company in the US make a head unit? Have you ever thought about this? We can churn out missiles and satellites, and build a craft that can fly into space and back, but we can't wrap our brain around the design and execution of a head unit? Or is cost/profit the single factor? Or do we know that we are so out-gunned by the Japanese and others and it's not even worth the battle?
I know that there have been several American companies that have branded HU's, Rockford is one, but those are just re-badged Clarion's. Same with Bose.
We can build debatably the finest subwoofers and amplifiers in the world, but we somehow have no interest in building a solid audiophile quality deck.
All I want is a deck that has a really solid front end with the lastest DAC's and laser assembly, a simple yet effective jitter filter, a fairly steep-slope 4 band EQ with center frequencies at 50, 1, 8 and 12. Add three 6V outs and throw in a decent basic screen (but big) for song titles and lists, a high-quality old school volume /multi-purpose knob, and that's IT. No amp, no crossovers or filters, and no lights other than 'power on'. Ace all of that fancy crap and put every penny into the parts that matter. Make every single part (where possible) in the USA. And house it in a solid metal box with elegance and class but zero flash. And sell it for around $600-$800 street. We would no longer have the luxury of paying asian laborers a dollar a day so obviously it would cost more to make them here.
We can do anything we set our mind to, we have proven this over and over again, but we can't make an effort to make a really nice HU to go along with our really nice amps and subs.