Complete Proprietary Systems


These may exist. My knowledge of high end audio is fairly limited so I don't know. But, if they do, you don't hear people talking about them much.

What I'm talking about is a single manufacturer that makes all the components for a complete system. Amp. Preamp. DAC. Cables. Speakers. Power conditioner etc. All designed to work perfectly together. I know that would be a tall order as the process/tech required to build a speaker is very different from that of an amp.

I'm asking mostly out of curiosity but also because it would seem to make sense. Audiophiles seem to go to great lengths to find out which components from which manufacturers work well together and compliment each other. It seems to me that no one would know what worked best with what than a manufacturer who designed a complete system for the very purpose of optimizing and matching every component in the chain to perform exactly as designed.

I know. Every audiophile wants a certain sound and that no one system could meet all those needs. I also suspect that for many audiophiles half the fun is doing the research and putting that magic system together themselves. But I also suspect that a serious, knowledgeable manufacturer could put together a complete system together that would meet the wants/needs of a lot of people. And nothing would keep them from having different systems to meet specific demands and even at various price points. And nothing would keep them from selling any of the individual components individually.

Just a thought.
n80
@n80 Linn have been providing complete systems and were also one of the first HiFi companies to start an award-winning record label. So they are also intimately involved in the studio recording process as a means to engineer better sounding domestic audio systems.

So many of the brands others have mentioned are either companies which farm out product design (McIntosh is a great example, they don't build anything original other than their amplifiers - everything digital or source is made by someone else), or they don't have a full set of source, amplification, and speaker components, so they can't be companies which provide complete systems.

The fact that only one poster (a dealer I might add) even bothered to mention Linn is proof of how behind the times most of the people are with where audio technology has been, is currently, and where it is headed, let alone proof of how incapable most audiophiles are at even beginning to answer OP's question.

@ironlung - Linn isn't well-represented in the US, which is why most US audiophiles haven't heard them. My experience on the Lejonklou/Linn forums thus far gives me the impression that Linn fans think Linn the only manufacturer worth considering for any component, which is pretty grandiose.  But if they had better US representation, more of us would have the chance to hear it ourselves.
@ironlung  We appreciate your support.

@redwoodaudio  We are here to provide better representation of Linn in the Midwest US.  If you are ever in the Kansas City area, please schedule a time to visit us to listen to all the Linn systems and solutions.  You can also check if there is a Linn Specialist in your area on the Linn website: https://www.linn.co.uk/us/try-linn

Please let us know if we can help you.  We appreciate your interest and consideration.

www.LinnKasa.com
@redwoodaudio The idea that Linn isn't well represented as opposed to other brands mentioned to the OP doesn't really hold water in my personal experience. At the very least it should be recognized as a systems manufacturer, which is what the OP's question was about.