The survival of the fittest.

Well let’s see the best one I know right now is Tekton, all made by Eric Alexander. To judge by sound they are the one thing you didn’t mention: value. The are an incredible bargain.

Marketing- no discernable marketing. Unless you count word of mouth, which is excellent.

Fit and Finish- I would classify Tekton as high end DIY. The value is in the sound not appearance.

Price- Covers a wide range from several hundred to around $15k with so many models people actually complain about too many to choose from.

Product availability- another one you don’t explain. If it means available in stores to hear then no, zero. If it means sitting around in inventory ready to ship then again no, more likely a few months wait.

New technology- Mixed bag. To one like me who takes the time to understand then its the first truly new technology in decades. To everyone else its a Bose 901 with tweeters. The technology is there just seems unusually hard for people to understand so we will count this one as a zero.

Manufacture association- lost me. Totally.

Profit margin- yeah it is kinda Job One, as you simply cannot keep making anything at a loss forever. Even Tesla will one day have to earn a profit. Well, maybe not Tesla. Elon is proving there is one born every millisecond. Eric makes enough to go drag racing AND have a track car. So I figure he must be turning a profit there somewhere.

Luck- The classic answer here is you make your own luck. By being prepared. Some of them might seem lucky. I bet every single one turns out they been working at it years if not decades before getting "lucky".

Read through the list again. You said sound leading up the rear? Quite the opposite.

Any chance you are projecting?

The Ohm website says they continue to be very busy and backlogged.  Ohm has quietly been around for almost 50 years now.  Started out as very successful  Tech HiFI house brand, then sold through other B&M chains,  then direct only since the mid nineties or so.   Of course the Ohm claim to fame is the unique Omni Walsh driver technology the company was initially built around.   Today they continue to provide upgrade parts and service for every model they have ever made.   They have a very loyal customer base built up over the years and rely largely on word of mouth and web spots for advertising.  Every model offers excellent sound and value.  A good product + value. + customer service = success.  All hand made in Brooklyn USA. 

It's all marketing obviously. What else is there? There are no measurements to prove performance so it's all just word of mouth and reviews. 

Do not buy high end speakers. 

How long has Tekton been around?
Verdict is out as to long term success. 
Price could be either value or a marketing ploy. Product availability would be how efficient is the speaker being made/distributed.
Manufacturer association relates to companies like Sony, Yamaha...two very successful speaker companies.
Not projecting as great sound defines my search for the best audio I can afford.
Just skeptical as to the education/vulnerability aof the market.

Interesting two responses from the Tweak Evangelist and the Count of Concrete. 

I reckon I could simplify the post. What makes Bose, Klipsch, Kef, Polk, Sony, Martin Logan, Wharfdale, Wilson endure and succeed? (others could be added.)

Perhaps also, big money, history and diversification like JBL/Harmon. Not arguing sound as much as long term success. From little cheap items to the middle of the road, in cars, and onward to the Synthesis line. 

@ millercarbon
"Marketing- no discernable marketing. Unless you count word of mouth, which is excellent. " 

That’s not true! Tekton has a full page add in Stereophile and TAS every month!

The hi end audio market is weird.

Remember the Elac Adante series? Hot for a second.... now- FLOP! Dealers can't give away inventory.

Now they're at a  price worth looking at. When I heard them, I liked them. Just not at the asking price.

I stand corrected on the advertising. I don't read Stereophile or TAS, unless it happens they have something I'm interested in. Hardly ever happens. 

One of my first shocking experiences when shopping for good stereo back in 1990 was the number of what were to me totally no-name brands. This was back when I was reading Stereophile cover to cover, and everything else I could find as well. Looking back, its obvious I was brainwashed by marketing to disregard or at least not seriously consider stuff that sounded good simply because it was new and unknown.  
Live and learn. 

How long has Tekton been around?
Verdict is out as to long term success. 

Okay, I get it. This is one of those threads where the OP pretends to be interested in one thing (ie, "why certain makers continue to succeed") but its a bait and switch. Because the minute you answer all his vague list of possibilities he switches to "verdict is out as to long term success." 

News flash for you bud: the verdict as to long term success is always out. However long something has been around there's always more time so you can always say the verdict is still out.  

As for me? Over, and out.

It's not bait and switch and your circular argument could discount any discussion as to merit. Don't adhere dynamat to your brain thinking this is an attack on Tekton. Bose is more successful than Tekton. Why? Tekton sounds better as most would agree. It would be great if Tekton turned into Bose, or not? Another question but germane. Your experience in regard to the magazines is most illuminating. 

"Bose is more successful than Tekton. Why?"

Bose is a real thought-through company with, over time, wide portfolio. They identified, if not created, markets that will be booming in the future and were well-positioned for them. Think noise-cancelling, "lifestyle systems", earphones, car audio, Bluetooth. Add a very strong marketing department and you have a successful company. What they make in Bluetooth speakers, they can afford to invest in truck seat development, I guess.

Tekton seems to be just a one line company (speakers), obviously much smaller and probably trying to inhabit a niche, rather than grow significantly. For all we have read, their admirable success has caught up with them and wait time is long.

Bose are successful because they are tuned to satisfy the vast majority of the public, mostly non audiophiles. Tekton is not very good as they use too many tweeters. Every speaker is tuned differently hence there are many companies out there because different people need different frequency response curves depending on their level of hearing loss. 

Bose = listening contour bef accuracy
Bose = 1 box simplicity consumers love
Bose = marketing, marketing, marketing
Bose = legal action against poor reviews
Bose = all for brand building and loyalty

In many ways Bose were Apple before Apple.

Expensive for what you got, but what you got wasn't necessarily bad.

Tekton make speakers, they are not Apple. They might not want to be.

Every company needs some luck with timing.

Bose got lucky. So did Apple. Many others did not.

The key words seem to be an impression of prestige, simplicity, and familiarity. All of which go towards establishing long term brand loyalty.

Once you have that, you've made it and it's yours to lose.

Isn't it Bowers & Wilkins, Sony, Harmon Kardon, JBL, Quad, Wilson, ATC etc?

For any of these established companies to fail now would require major strategic errors or some major shifts in the market place.

I agree with the OP in that actual sound quality is far from the main selling point.
Impressions and reputations count for much, much more.

You'd think that the iphone 12 would flop due to its outdated design, lack of innovation and poor battery life, but far from it. It's been a huge seller so far.

As I said, once you've established yourself, it's yours to lose. Even a minor misstep like paying way, way over the odds for Beats is only a hiccup.

Even Tim Crook knows that. 

marketing is king, being loose with review samples, the few rags we rely on need advertising to survive so when they don’t like a product that spends what can they do? Lie? Maybe just don’t review them or gloss over the negatives and focus on the parts they like, blame poor performance on associated equipment etc.

success comes from becoming a household name 

The survival of the pushiest.

If sound were paramount active Studio monitors would be fancied up to look nice so the significant other doesn't have a cow.

I think the OP may be overlooking what @mapman suggested about good speaker manufacturers chugging along despite a lack of major marketing. Ohm, Decware, Spatial, Reference 3A, and other small manufacturerers have lasted for decades because of loyal fan bases for well made products. Marketing has nothing to do with it. 

@kenjit

Are you just a troll? This is absurd.

It's all marketing obviously. What else is there? There are no measurements to prove performance so it's all just word of mouth and reviews. Do not buy high end speakers.

@simao  that's true for established brands like Ohm, but for less known companies it can be a killer, especially when lack of marketing is combined with lack of dealerships.  My fantastic Hyperion HPS-938 speakers introduced in 2004, had many rewards, including Absolute Sound speaker of the year (many years in a row) and speaker of the decade.  Glowing reviews by other reviewers and great sales initially (after audio show), but they had zero marketing and only 3 dealerships in whole US.  They ended in bankruptcy in spite of wonderful products.

I agree strongly with kenjit and millercarbon. Where marketing power, familiar brand name, and affordability come into play, the masses will spend lesser dollars and afford those companies with larger profits. It's a numbers game. When it comes to audio (speakers) it's a matter of taste and pocketbook.

Example....Long ago I traveled down the Bose path. The speakers sounded good to me but, foolishly, I believed that the higher cost would yield better sound. In those days there weren't many dealers that offered good listening rooms and lots of different choices. My wake up gradually came by just listening to systems of friends and acquaintances that included speakers below the cost of Bose. That finalized my then, and now, opinion that Bose is mediocre/over priced equipment.

Dreams. Passion. Risk. Consistency.

@kijanki but how do ohm,etc, get established when they eschew traditional marketing?

And I distinctly remember Hyperion speakers. They are beautiful to look out, well designed, and more important, sounded delicious. I wonder if their demise was also a consequence of the rebirth of HiFi at that time? And I wonder if they're visual similarity to Wilsons also played a part?

L.U.C.K.  Learning Upon Correct Knowledge.

I’ve seen a lot of Bose speakers in commercial applications such as restaurants and bars.  Perhaps they are focusing some of their speaker business there, too.

High end survives over time by establishing a loyal customer base.  Magnepan is one of those companies.  No one ever made money by selling one to a customer.

That is true for speakers as well as electronics.  Tektron seems to be getting a following, time will tell.

Marketing has value, but quality and value is what makes repeat business.

@simao  I remember OHM advertisements in late 70's.  They also had a lot of positive reviews.   Once company product is known and respected it likely doesn't need much advertising.  On the other hand it puzzles me that they are able to operate direct only.  Perhaps quality/price ratio and friendly policies, like 120 days trial or 5 years warranty, are attractive enough.

As for Hyperions - one reviewer liked them more than Wilson Puppy (for less than 1/4 $$$)

http://hyperion.droppages.com/Images/Hear%20the%20Hype_low_res.pdf

One other very unique aspect of Ohm that helps I suspect is the patented, totally unique design and performance aspect of the Walsh products. That clearly differentiates the products from others. It helps to have something unique of value to offer.   There is nothing else out there I know of  that can easily replace a pair of Ohm Walsh speakers at any price. 

So, question: How does someone like Atma-Sphere continue operating? I mean, what broad marketing does he have to account for his continuing sales?
@kijanki I wasn't aware that Ohm had those ads back then. That probably accounted for their launchpad.

I'll add Tannoy to that list of enduring brands, both Tannoy and wharfedale are the oldest speaker companies still going today. All I can say about Tekton, you only need one properly performing and designed tweeter with a superior crossover to the midrange driver to effectively have a great sound result. 

Atmasphere also offers products with unique design and performance that offers good value compared to many. He also seems to have a very good rap for customer service.

Tekton’s strong point is offering good value products that are generally more tube amp friendly than most.   A nice niche!

One other thing with Ohm is other than being located in NYC, there is nothing fancy or pretentious about their operation....very blue collar/nuts and bolts. I suspect they do a very good job of keeping the overhead low.

Another great company that's been around for 47 years is Monitor Audio. And I believe the reason why is because they're always pushing the envelope improving technology and striving to make their speakers sound more natural. That's what separates the good from the bad or the mediocre I believe they're always pushing to make things sound more real.
.

@simao   I found this:  https://www.ecrater.com/p/8977442/ohm-i-speaker-ad-rare-articleomnidirectional?gps=1&id=10239874...

I will add Sansui.... Even today their old amplifier had a good resale value....Quality of design and market timing which is a more appropriate designation than "luck"...

Timing explain much in the ascent and descent of companies....

Then quality/pricing and timing are for me the 2 main factors in all histories...

"Marketing- no discernable marketing"...Tekton has had full page adds in Stereophile and the Absolute Sound every month for years...I think that's called marketing.

Survival of the fittest? What are
 you talking about? This is going to stir!

There are three markets. The lower priced “Tekt••” brand type of cheaper, not so famously engineered type, but appeals to the big bangers, not so much to the elegant truer sound of upper market (ie highly engineered) and more expensive speakers.

Then there are the most highly engineered speakers (Wilson, Focal, Sonas Faber) plus a page more of successful speaker manufacturers. These know what they are doing with sound, regardless of cost.

Then there are the “micro” engineers producing speakers of extraordinary engineering, pushing boundaries I suspect very few have experienced. Duntech was an earlier engineer, now we have AudiomachIna (you need
to read and understand the white paper) to see how revolutionary the XTAC system is. Not price. Nor volume of sales. Just a real understanding of how speaker systems work. Another, Kyron Audio. A mass of awards, unique engineering.

From reading months of posts from people who seem to have a forum to advertise “their preference of speaker brand”, and this right is vehemently argued. I have now understood that most in this forum are not so subtle advertisers of a particular brand, regardless of its price/quality, rather than those who would explore outside the common cheaper offerings. I know I will have a big backlash from a certain “MC” who professes to know everything audio.

I would encourage all prospective purchasers of speakers, to understand what output/quality of sound you look for, and instead of being convinced to aim for the mainstream, look for the quiet engineers who might just convince you
to look afield and possibly achieve the sound you were after, after all.

This forum was once a technical and engineeringly group of audio enthusiasts that got called audiophiles. Those that thought about little but HiFi.

Now we have amateurs pretending to be audiophiles because the have
the “cables, burnt the right direction”, which is said to benefit by being lifted off the floor”, cups of metal on the wall, fuses costing as much as some components and so arguments continue. Without some sort
of qualification, these differences seem moot.

 I see posts asking for opinion a on this or that, what is better than that. What strikes me is that many of the posters are too lazy to find out the information themselves. Leading to the question, are there after real knowledge, or are they setting up a confrontation? And there are many of these inane posts.

What used to be a great forum of help and education has turned into a myopic group of self satisfiers who have lost the ability
to look afar and draft in new audio technology and have honest discussions about it.

Maybe I am getting past reading the vast pointless posts. But a few still catch my
eye and these I can really converse with.

I hope the standard of this forum ( and its contributors) improves.

🇦🇺

@amg56

+100   Nailed it.

@amg56

Butthurt much?

Sitting here, yes 😂

This forum was once a technical and engineeringly group of audio enthusiasts that got called audiophiles. Those that thought about little but HiFi.

Now we have amateurs pretending to be audiophiles because the have
the “cables, burnt the right direction”, which is said to benefit by being lifted off the floor”, cups of metal on the wall, fuses costing as much as some components and so arguments continue. Without some sort
of qualification, these differences seem moot.

Having been on this site for nearly 20 years, I find that the content of this forum hasn't changed all that much. What has changed is the desire for people on either side of a discussion (or argument if you prefer) to shout the other side down and the amount of vitriol displayed to do so. People see no need to consider the other side of the coin when they are certain that they are right. That is not confined to this site. It is prevalent in society everywhere these days. 

Come on this thread is worthy of speculation. He's not asking for a recommendation only how to succeed in a flooded market that quickly losing mainstream interest.

All the components we build are word of mouth because we cater to a unique audiophile whose only concern is the best sound.  When we started, I was politely introduced to marketing - the reviews are not free.  It is very political also.  Many of the products today are distributed by brick & mortar dealers.  Many brands have protected territories like Vandersteen, B&W, etc.  So shops marketed what they could get.  That has changed some where even PS Audio has now gone direct.  I spoke in length with VPI about this and they seems to imply that if they started today, they would also probably sell direct.

It is not easy to get your product to the market the old fashion way.  Very few dealers will take on a new company.  Who wants to take the chance to carry a product that may not be there a few years down the line.  A dealer also wants to show things that look very nice.  Aesthetic appeal is important.

When we looked to partner with a speaker company and started researching them, we found so many speaker companies that don't even have representation in the US, but they were fantastic sounding speakers.  I mean a hundred speaker manufacturers.  Ascendo was a speaker manufacturer that I liked.  They have been in the US with mostly in-home dealers.  When I contacted them, they seemed not be that interested and recommended another manufacturer that they liked for me to contact.  I found that very interesting.

So there are many factors for success and falling by the wayside.  Mostly money, distribution network and aesthetic appeal.

Happy Listening,

@amg56.  Okay, boomer. 

Your post was littered with gatekeeper statements and sweeping generalizations, as if somehow you determine what'd fit for discussion. I get that you feel the rhetoric has changed, but to decry more and more people asking questions as indicative of laziness and myopia as a stone that has stopped rolling. 

Some good insights here.  As someone who’s been around ( lower) high end since the 70s I think it’s offering something unique (whether real or not) that makes a good story - previously thru reviews and dealers - now through word of mouth on the internet.  
The also need to keep evolving as others will come after your space unless you have patents like Ohm. 
Was a big/early fan of DCM back in the day (going to school in Ann Arbor).  Great value and unique approach but didn’t follow it up and becomes just another speaker company over time... they might have been sold over that time too and lost the vision of the company founders...

Interesting thread. 

I an a volunteer at SCORE, which is an all volunteer organization and part of the Small Business Administration. I work with clients who wish to start or grow their small business. These folks range from people who who do not have a clue to those who will be successful. 

There seem to be some basic steps that all successful small businesses follow in the current internet capable society. Without getting into too many details, these folks have something that other people are willing to pay for and they have a knack for scaling their business to mesh with their available resources; which include dollars to invest on the business and their time available to devote to it. It is amazing the number of folks who start small and are on the way to success through word of mouth and an effective presence on Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

My opinion is that small speaker manufacturers can be very effective with word of mouth if they are willing to keep their day job for a while. 

A good example of this is Tyler Acoustics in Kentucky, which has no formal advertising except for occasionally offering models for sale on US Audio Mart and has a positive presence on various blogs including Audiogon. 

I ran across Tyler Acoustics while trolling the internet threads and called Ty and got to know him a bit when I was considering life after Maggie 3.6's. That did not pan out for him as I ended up going down the Thiel rabbit hole. However, I spoke with him again last fall and took delivery on a pair of his speakers this year. He still has his day job and still is building speakers that he will customize for a potential customer.

By the way, I am glad I tried his speakers because I like how they sound!

Thanks for listening,

Dsper

Having been on this site for nearly 20 years, I find that the content of this forum hasn’t changed all that much. What has changed is the desire for people on either side of a discussion (or argument if you prefer) to shout the other side down and the amount of vitriol displayed to do so. People see no need to consider the other side of the coin when they are certain that they are right. That is not confined to this site. It is prevalent in society everywhere these days.

Thanks for voicing and writing better than i could do what i think....

My best regards to you....


P.S. it is interesting to interrogate ourself and others about the question the OP propose anyway, saying the opposite is simply bad faith....There is worst thread than this one to say the least...

Like i said for me quality of design/pricing and timing are  the keys for the survival, i will pose advertising method in a wide sense only third....And Esthetic fourth.... 😊

There are hundreds of reasons why one speaker brand succeeds and another fails - just like other businesses. I can cite one great speaker brand that went out of business (it didn't really fail) for a very particular reason. When Jim Thiel died his speaker company ended because there was no successor to his engineering talent. His obsession with time and phase coherency using first order crossovers and custom designed and house-built drivers was labeled "impossible" by one of his competitors.

Another example is Apogee speakers. I don't know as much about them as Thiel (see Thiel Owner's thread) but I did know a dealer well who retailed them. I was saving up for a pair of Duetta II's and he indulged me to listen to them once every few weeks. I went into the store one day and they were gone. I asked what happened and he told me he dropped the line. I was crestfallen but he said he was at the point where he couldn't have sold them to me in good conscience. He knew that I had two small kids and he said that the speakers were so susceptible to damage from little fingers, or cats, or other dangers in a typical home that he couldn't retail them. He had had a couple pairs damaged in his showroom and he had several owners return them and demand warranty repair because they got damaged by a minor incident. I'm not sure if this is the major reason Apogee failed but it was certainly a factor.

My point is that there is an individual story behind every business failure. I started a consumer products business which failed after 11 years and there's no way I could cite a single reason.

...by Jove, nearly an existentialist moment for a thread....!

*s*  I think I'll lurk for now....but anytime y'all start talking omni's (Ohm, Walsh, and the like)...

My point is that there is an individual story behind every business failure. I started a consumer products business which failed after 11 years and there’s no way I could cite a single reason.

Great point....

I called this unknown reason : TIMING.....Timing for the ascent and timing for the descent in oblivion and timing between competitors....

All about life is about timing....

Even a flock of birds or fish knows that....

I will not elaborate more about timing....Too much controversies already in audio to embark in "timing"...🙄😁😊

«Time is the most mysterious and unexplained concept in science and timing the most evident phenemenon in nature»- Anonymus

My wife certainly wouldn't allow a pair of Tekton's to be displayed in our living room nor would I.  Pretty ugly in my opinion.  I can't believe how ugly some of the systems I see pictured on Audiogon are.  They must have some very forgiving wives or they might be single or they might be in a finished basement.  However, I am sure they sound great.  For me they also have to look great and fit into our living room and not destroy the look of our home.  We spend a lot on furniture and we are proud of the way our home looks.

Hi, mahg...*S*  ...at least, somebody here will understand me....;)

Timing, Yes.  Right Place, Right Time, Right 'Thing'.

'ell....Pet Rock....Mood Rings.....wierd things you didn't know could sell.

Now, add esoteric audio items and add decimal places and say 'Newer than New!'

It has this 'hilarity function'.....

bigkidz

When we started, I was politely introduced to marketing - the reviews are not free. It is very political also.

You were introduced to the wrong people. Legitimate audio magazines and websites don't charge for a review other than requiring the temporary loan of a product sample. Politics are everywhere in life, so it doesn't make much sense to single the audio world out for that.

Many of the products today are distributed by brick & mortar dealers. Many brands have protected territories like Vandersteen, B&W, etc.

As well it should be, imo.

It is not easy to get your product to the market

That has always been true.