Best high-end speaker brands!

[Mr. Widget]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sonos is more than good enough for most people. Luckily Sonos is not only popular, but has their heads on straight when it comes to sound quality, at least as far as their design constraints go. It's not "true" hi-fi but it's far from a disaster like Beats was at first.

If want people to invest in good sound beyond Sonos, we need to figure out way to make them care about it. Most people are interested in music, but not sound per se.

I think you nailed it. Sonos may not be the last word in accuracy, wide frequency bandwidth, vanishing distortion, or SPL capabilities, but for 90%+ of the market place, they make a suitable product and offer very decent product support.

Even for those of us who are chasing that last couple of percent of performance, Sonos speakers don't suck and can be quite satisfactory in our less critical listening areas.

 

[JustJones]

Sonos had revenue approximately $1.6 billion last year and Bose $3.2 billion compared to KEF approximately $96 million. I wonder how much of KEF were their wireless speakers? Of course this has nothing to do with Best high-end speaker brand.

 

[kemmler3D]

Sonos had revenue approximately $1.6 billion last year and Bose $3.2 billion compared to KEF approximately $96 million.

This is precisely why Sonos and Bose try to keep their products below $500 for the most part, and why Sonos is getting into headphones.

 

[Sokel]

I think I can get to a similar effect with sacrificial speakers in a dark enough room

I'm surprised the Devialet Phantoms is not on the list as I see them often in high-end houses (some with really unfortunate placement) but I suppose that is a Europe thing.

 

[Warlequin]

"Affordable, if I sell that kidney": Dali Epicon 6

"If I could live without kidneys, i'd still need 10": Dali Epikore 11

I work in Hifi Retail and Dali is my absolute favorite. Dali brings an oasis of ease into music, with Epicon 6's you could put it extremely loud and yet you hear birds sing through your window. It is so silky smooth. Put Dali Epicons on a TDAI 3400 and the game is over.

ps. try that loudness-test with B&Ws 700 - 800 series and your husband or wife will directly divorce you. And you need a new set of ears.

 

[Hoosierdaddy45]

We need Radio Shack to mount a big comeback.

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source: https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1976_radioshack_catalog.html

I used to sell those! It was at the peak of the Woofer Wars. Nothing wrong with big woofers, but the cabinet volume would have been suitable for a 5" woofer. Cheap to ship, I guess, especially with the 5-oz. magnet. Kids drooled over them, but I had to pretend they were high-end.

 

[Luvchampagne]

I think you nailed it. Sonos may not be the last word in accuracy, wide frequency bandwidth, vanishing distortion, or SPL capabilities, but for 90%+ of the market place, they make a suitable product and offer very decent product support.

Even for those of us who are chasing that last couple of percent of performance, Sonos speakers don't suck and can be quite satisfactory in our less critical listening areas.

I believe many Sonos and former Sonos users would disagree with you. The lack of customer service and the bungled attempt to juice revenue out of existing customers via the failed upgrade resulted in the firing of the CEO. AFAIK, it is still a mess. My GF is so fed up with Sonos. Bought her a new system to replace most of her Sonos installation.

 

[Westsounds]

JBL

 

[JiiPee]

Reading reviews from ASR is just so pointless nowadays when we can simply ask Google: "What is the best HiFi brand?"