Boutique or Big Brand?


Good evening everyone! I am looking at new speakers in the $5k, maybe $6k range. My electronics and room dimensions are on "my system" posted on my profile so I won't repeat them here. I currently have Tekton Impact Monitors, but feel they do not have a good low end (I posted my review on another post so won't bore everyone here). That said, they were the best I could afford at the time and above 40Hz sound good to me.

Now I am ready to upgrade and am faced with a decision... Do I go boutique with a bigger pair of Tektons, or maybe the Salk Song3 A or BeAts; or something from Zu or Devore? Or do I go with a Big Brand like the Sonus faber Sonetto V, B&W 702, or Focal Arias?

I have heard the Tekton, Sonetto V, and B&W 8-series (not the 7 in my price range). I want a slim tower because I feel a lot of them have the same footprint as a pair of standmounters and have better bass extension.

So, what are the benefits of boutique over big brand and vice-versa? It seems in my price range boutique may be the way to go? Thoughts? Any other recommendations?

Because of the pandemic I had to move to a place that doesn't have the audio stores that N.Y.C. and Columbus, Oh. did when I lived there, so I am asking your opinions. Please keep it positive and constructive, thank you.

l1975r

on the other hand, boutique shops don’t have an HR department, a marketing director and web developers. It just has engineers and a lot of what innovation comes from: lack of resources

@kingdeezie good food for thought.

I think, out of my original seven "thoughts", I am going to go with the Sonus faber I was thinking about. I heard the Sonetto V and liked them. I also feel for the money they offer a bit of beauty and have trickle-down tech from their higher lines. Sonus faber seem almost universally well liked from pro critics like stereophile, P.T.A., Guttenberg, etc. And a good deal of people on here like them too. They have a boutique look, backed by a big brand, and seemingly decent resale value if they don't work out.

Thank you all for your thoughtful insights and the time you took to respond, I appreciate it! Happy listening!

 

Good choice, I am sure you will like them. While I have been owner of several sets of great sounding ugly speakers over the decades… it is a real treat to have such beautiful works of art that perfom beautifully as well.