2. misc-audio
  3. 1071876254

Who's the Cadillac of Hi-End Audio?

In "Get Shorty" John Travolta's character arrives in Los Angeles and the only car available at the rental agency is a minivan. Throughout the film people question why he's driving such an "uncool" vehicle and his character's response is "It's the Cadillac of minivans." By the end of the film everybody is driving the Cadillac of minivans.

Being that cars and hi-end audio have absolutely nothing to do with each other, notwithstanding so called hi-end auto systems, what company do you think is the Cadillac of hi-end audio? What's the Porsche? What's the Dodge Dart? Is any hi-end company as quirky as Saab? For that matter, what's the Harley-Davidson of hi-end audio?

My vote for the Cadillac goes to McIntosh. Both are old school companies with proud histories. Yet each offers products that while not cutting edge, are quite modern. Still, there are no documented cases of anyone under the age of 50 having purchased either brand within the last 30 years.

Except for my answer there are no wrong or right answer responses. Use you imagination and freely express your biases and preconceived notions.
onhwy61

Showing 5 responses by pbb

pbb
1,140 posts
 
Cadillac has got to be McIntosh. Rega has to be the Lotus Elyse or TRV of turntables!
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Avideo: quite right, but make sure you get a deal on any real production Cadillac product because I am sure the resale value is probably not the best. Cadillac still can't get that change of image right: the multi-faceted body design, supposedly reminiscent of stealth aircraft looks, is bad. When you look at the overall shape (that square front end with those horrible headlamps) and then at the retro touches in the taillights and trunk lift on the CTS, you have to head for the exit. The time when it could be said that nobody could go broke underestimating the taste of the American public is pretty well gone. Do you know very many people under seventy that want to be seen driving around in a Caddy these days? Oh, and don’t get me started on their SUVs and, oh mercy, Pickup trucks! GM has lost its way many long years ago and is still, pretty much, out in the wilderness.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Geez, if your knowledge of cars is better than your knowledge of audio, the latter must be pretty dismal. It's as though you have not test-driven a Japanese car in a while. Let's just say that generalizations are usually false, and leave it at that.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Quite strange, assuming for sake of argument that you are right when you are actually patently wrong, that Japanese cars are made with "poor quality parts", Toyotas and Lexus are probably the most reliable cars out there, bar none, with a host of other Japanese cars following quite closely (ex. Acura, Infinity). How do you build state-of-the-art production cars that are more reliable than all others with poor quality parts? Again, with your mindset I am sure that any quality survey would be dismissed out of hand in favour of your own personal experience and maybe some anecdotal evidence from your like-minded friends and acquaintances; just as you do it for audio, I guess. The average European car is probably a Volkswagen. Have you ever looked at how poorly they rate in terms of reliability? As far as I know Alfa-Romeo, Jaguar and Renault are all European; are those built with “high quality parts” but, somehow, the whole is a lot less than the sum of its parts ?
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Anarchy, Italian cars are better made than Japanese cars? I rest my case as to the pathetic level of your knowledge of things automotive. I think that I have made my point that in cars like in audio, a lot of folks here would rather believe stories, lies and vicious innuendo than consider more objective data. I guess JD Power et al are wasting their time and, oh, obviously, so is John Atkinson. Anarchy you are precious. Love people unswayed by evidence. I see you are dumping your Sony speakers. Why? Bad Japanese components?
More to discover