[quote user="Clare Newsome"]It's certainly not marketing talk!
Investment in research and development, tooling and other manufacturing processes can lead to better-performing, better-built and better-finished products. The bigger companies also have the advantages of economies of scale, which they can pass on to customers in the form of lower-cost products that represent better value.
That doesn't mean the big-brand kit is always the best - which is why you'll find us rave about small companies (the vast majority of which never advertise with us, if that's where you're going with this).
For example, the forthcoming Awards have a significant number of winners from the industry's 'small fish' - but what they have in common with all their fellow winners is the very best performance you can buy for the money, along with great build and excellent usability. There's a heartening amount of innovation, too, even in traditional hi-fi categories....
To compete, a company needs to keep innovating and benchmarking its products against its current competitors in terms of price, design and performance. Past glories aren't enough![/quote]
I see it more as money talks,the bigger you are the more you can spend on marketing,ala B&W,BOSE,therefore marketing talks,why do so many people buy BOSE?not because of it's sonics,but because of it's marketing clout,B&W front are rear pages on many magazines,whereas the small guys who are making better sounding products don't get that kind of exposure,result?no one buys apart from the enlightened few.
Bigger companies have the economy of scale,they are businesses,they don't pass on their savings to customers,nice thought though.
I find the big brand products extremely unimaginative,I prefer the smaller guys that have the same products in their cataloge 10 years down the line,because they did it right the first time,audio hasn't changed that much,a good product remains a good product,a good designer remains a good designer,and these are the product ranges I prefer to support because it's the same guy who does the work.
Nice to see the new brands pick up some awards,there is some truly wonderful sounding products out there who are deserving.than those who just change model numbers to keep it in the public eye.