Commonly mentioned speaker brands?

Some expensive brands get mentioned on A'gon quite frequently, like Wilson or Magico.  Other expensive brands with much less frequency, e.g. YG, Estelon, Kharma.  I've always assumed each of the several audio forums had their own culture, with their own favs.

A huge factor in "name brands" is marketing. No shortage of reviewers to move this along I might add. Usually the very best audio products come from smaller companies. At least this has been my experience. With the increased popularity of used audio sales, some gravitate to the brands that they know will sell quickly and are less likely to take a chance on a relatively unknown brand. I have no doubt that there are speaker brands out there that will outperform some of the bigger names at a significantly lower price and as a dealer I am trying to find some of these brands.

While there are plenty of examples of manufacturers who rely on marketing and fluff more than solid engineering and performance to sell their products, I wouldn’t be too quick to absolutely dismiss them, especially the "usual suspects" with the "big names". When these big-name companies decide to put their considerable resources and engineering talent behind a product/model, the results tend to be very well-received by audiophiles and reviewers alike.

Also, having a robust dealer and service network, readily available parts and drivers and a history of legacy product support (especially important as speakers tend to last/are kept the longest) are certainly pluses that big-name companies usually bring to the table.

Happy Listening!

Arvin

Difficult to say, but in my experience far too few domestic loudspeakers can 'rock'.

Finesse, politeness, imagery etc seem to be where their focus seems to lie.

Funnily enough, these are usually the qualities that are usually deemed lacking in the ones that can rock.

Can't we ever have it all?

I think that names or manufactures can go two ways. One is people who like what they own will always promote them and beg for approval from the ranks. Then there is the other side where people will continue to bash certain manufacture. Some time from a bad experience they had way back of as is more common they have never owned them or heard them but wanting what they own to be better they discredit them. You also have to keep in mind all good speaker manufacturers make different levels of speaker lines. Not fair to talk negative about B&W when you bought their entry level bookshelf from Best Buy. Trust your ears if you like the sound does the name matter? Enjoy the music first and last!