I’ve been wondering this same question lately, since I’ve been looking at buying some speakers from a small company that uses high end drivers.
My questions are how much better is the r&d and testing methods of large companies like kef, dynaudio, etc, come into play in terms of sound quality. These smaller companies do not have these test facilities. Also, it seems like the fit and finish of large companies nears perfection, whereas small companies look, hand built shall we say.
And my other question is does the real magic lie in the sum of the whole of the parts? Can a speaker built by a master speaker builder, in his shop, tuned by ear, sound better than anything comparable? I mean, I assume its possible to have speaker “a” with $50 drivers, $100 crossovers designed well, stout enclosure, sound better than speaker “b” with $250 drivers, $25 crossovers and an enclosure with lots of resonance.
And lastly, I’m thinking that its easier to resell large brand name items, Focal, Kef, Klipsch, over small boutique companies.
My questions are how much better is the r&d and testing methods of large companies like kef, dynaudio, etc, come into play in terms of sound quality. These smaller companies do not have these test facilities. Also, it seems like the fit and finish of large companies nears perfection, whereas small companies look, hand built shall we say.
And my other question is does the real magic lie in the sum of the whole of the parts? Can a speaker built by a master speaker builder, in his shop, tuned by ear, sound better than anything comparable? I mean, I assume its possible to have speaker “a” with $50 drivers, $100 crossovers designed well, stout enclosure, sound better than speaker “b” with $250 drivers, $25 crossovers and an enclosure with lots of resonance.
And lastly, I’m thinking that its easier to resell large brand name items, Focal, Kef, Klipsch, over small boutique companies.