Welllll...
For me, what brand is the least full of crap? Alas, not a one.
Yeah, I'd like to say that Brand X never spewed bullshit but they all do! For this reason, I am not a brand fanboi for anything be it cars, power tools, computers and the worst of them all--audio equipment. I wish I could turn my brain off....just default to a brand for anything but once you have been violated up the tailpipe prison prom night style--even an idiot like me learns.
Some of my friends will copy the brands I use but the times and models have changed. Never assume the brand you purchase today will be the same in the future when you need customer service. Plenty of brands make crap, it is up to you to do the research for the specific gizmo you need at that point in time. People crow about Brand X being amazing for 20 years and yet, my clock radio is over 20 years old and has been abused for the entire time--even thrown across the room! Plenty of expensie audo equipment bit the dust at far younger levels than that $30 clock radio!
The point should be least likely to screw you over but what is the point? It makes about as much sense as "future proofing"....really? Realistically, most audio companies are assemblers--they don't make the parts inside. OK, Samsung, Sony and Yamaha maybe but it is not like Benchmark has their own foundry to build the parts. They are all dependent on the parts chain and if some manufacturer screws up a part, then that audio company is left holding the end result. Ask Onkyo about that one! Some companies get screwed by their parts suppliers, the fake capacitor drama from 2003 comes to mind. Yeah, millions of motherboards failed because of bad capacitors which happens--Asus figured it out and recalled their stuff. Dell figured it out and attempted to ignore it--consumers are stupid, right? Well, maybe...but everyone that purchases computers was not a consumer and heads rolled.
McIntosh used to be "above it all" but they have to eat also... their BS level has been steadily increasing over the years which is a sad thing. Retro sells, ask Harley Davidson about that! Oh yeah, it sells until it don't and the market can and will flip on you. My biggest issue with McIntosh is they have embraced the audiophile consumer--in direct violation of what they were in the first half of their history. I get it, have to make a profit but once you are viewed as a company that makes large VU meters and retro equipment--now you need to push the fad VS pushing technology.
Anyone else? Well, that is obvious by measuring the gizmo--then look at their full line. I'd love to say that Brand X of 1999 is still the same Brand X of 2020 but it is not. It can't be because the parts have changed, the vendors for the parts have changed so the end result is completely different. I tend to look for equipment that runs cooler as that extends the life of the capacitors, chips and limits heat/cool cycling of the boards. To help it along, I use 8 ohm speakers that generally don't dip below 6 ohms and are very efficient so no need for hundreds of watts to get my desired SPL. My AVR runs slightly warm to the touch at reference--no worries about clipping, power compression and all that so it should be very reliable. I said "should" because dookie happens but at least I optimize it's environment.
Being a brand fanboi with any brand for anything is basically being lazy. There ya go! Trust me, I'd love to stick with a brand for almost anything but was burned with toys, bicycles, tools. motorcycles, boomboxes and shoes--and that was when I was a teenager. However, I am a lazy human so I tend to default to actual measurements to determine what something does. ASR makes my butt big because I can merrily read about and look at the test results for all sorts of gear without moving around. Pretty cool, he even takes things apart so we can see the magic inside. This way I can narrow things down quickly because I know the specs I want equipment to meet so pass/fail is in less than 60 seconds.
Once I narrow it down to the top 3, then I look for reliability, customer service, recalls and how the manufacturer handles them, manufacturer BS level in their advertising and if there are common problems recently in their gear. This is 2020 so I have haulted purchasing any electronics, you can bet your butt that many manufacturers have used "alternate sources" for their parts because of the logistics disruption. Paranoid? No, if you think about the situation they are in it is at the point of staying in business. I highly doubt any major manufactuer would delay shipping a product for 2 months for one part--they would probably get an alternate to remain viable. I know I would! Sure, it is a chance but such is the world we live.
I was going to build some new surround speakers this year--have half the parts BC (Before Corona) I cancelled the build until next year because of supply chain disruptions. Figure by next summer things should be more stable as it does seem to be improving. Took that funding and moved up some home improvements that needed to get done. My wife likes it, no more audio crapola rolling in and the new roof looks good! The surround project sits undone but she now is picking out what color to paint the house. Gee, those gutters need to be replaced and... I do need to replace that power tool now to get it done and...
In summation, I really am not a die hard fan of any audio company. This year has proven to be challenging for any manufacturer so unless you have to purchase electronics gear--I'd avoid it until the supply chains get close to normal. If Denon made a bad alternate part swap, you know everyone else has issues as standard parts tun into a box of chocolates. Nothing personal, just business as my pals on the set of the Sopranoes would say.
On the positive side, the corona thing does point to companies that did it right but that takes time to get into focus. It is just me but there were a lot of announcements of gear that was about to become available....and it never did. Some companies did not relase their latest and greatest as blaming the virus went viral. This can be a good thing, it gave them more time for testing, modifying the design, re-testing and so on. No point in pushing something new when the market is unstable--it might lead to some very good things without teething issues because of more R&D and beta testing time.
Good things come to those that wait? In this case--a solid maybe! My magic 8 ball does not help.
