A good post, as usual, Onhwy61. To some extent, I think those companies you mention are starting to move in that direction, particularly in the home theater area. I'm sure a large part of the reason more companies don't is, of course, the cost in dollars of doing that; at least Harman and probably Krell have enough funds to publicize themselves more, but many of the best high-end manufacturers can't afford the advertising spreads that a Bose can put out. Unfortunately for the high-end purists (and that probably includes me), I do think that the future of sound reproduction will be in the home theater area, and that may not exactly be the high fidelity we're hoping for. I will also note an observation, which may or may not be true, that the more a high-end company tries to increase its advertising and profile to the general public, the more it seems to lose some of the mystique that comes with being a high-end company. I'm thinking of a Krell, for example, which in my view makes good products but has received a good deal of bashing, far more now than in the earlier days when it was a small unknown company which was more admired for building no-compromise powerhouse amps (sort of reminds me of a quote from a little known pro basketball player, who thanked his agent when a fan yelled out he was overrated, as he thought no one even knew who he was!). Some of this undoubtedly comes with making more affordable components to attract a wider customer base, where corners invariably have to be cut and sound quality suffers in comparison to the products which may first have gotten the company on the map. But I do wonder if a company which does succeed at getting a large market presence will be viewed by the high end community as selling out, or no longer a high-end company (look, as another example, at some of the audiophile community's view of Stereophile as it has gone from a small underground publication to a larger media glossy). Curious to see what others in this forum think.
What High End Manufacturers Could Learn From Bose
In the high end community Bose gets no respect. The fact is they don't deserve our respect - Bose does not make a particularly good sounding product and they're over priced. Yet at the same time, there is much the high end could learn from Bose. The concept is marketing. Bose knows how to sell hi-fi equipment. Open up a general interest national magazine and there's a prominent ad for Bose. How many high end manufacturers have ever run television ads? Bose has. Bose once sent me an unsolicited videotape ad thru the mail. Finally, Bose even has retail outlets. What a concept, actually spending money to make people awear of your product with the hope that they will buy it.
My question is why doesn't Martin-Logan, Krell or Harman (Revel, Levinson, etc) embark upon similar marketing efforts? The future of high fidelity sound reproduction will be for those companies that grab it. Right now, Bose is grabbing for that future. Will any high end companies step up to the plate and challenge?
My question is why doesn't Martin-Logan, Krell or Harman (Revel, Levinson, etc) embark upon similar marketing efforts? The future of high fidelity sound reproduction will be for those companies that grab it. Right now, Bose is grabbing for that future. Will any high end companies step up to the plate and challenge?