The “Off The Shelf” Lie

You answered your own question in the first six words. Yes, it is called "Marketing".

Other marketing call-to-action terms and emotional triggers would be"Gluten free" for your breakfast cereal, "military grade" for your HDMI cable, "aerospace grade" for your aluminum tv stand, "contractor grade" for your Home Depot" hammer. Everyone has to have "Professional" tagged everything because it has to be so much better than "consumer grade"!

With audio it is "discrete circuits" or "FPGA" or "Professional", or "Proprietary" and so many more. The hifi industry is almost comical with its dictionary of galactic and nuclear physics terms to try and convince us how their products are differentiated from the competition. I mean, just go read some of the product descriptions, especially cables.

Think about what product terms set your brain into motion to give up those George Washingtons.

   I’d like to try the new Schiit Singular , based on user comments. I think it would be an improvement over the # A 000058, A1 I have. Back in the late 70’s I grew HIGH GRADE Marijuana. 😆 It was a new proprietary design called Afgani ( Indica) . Happy Listening, Mike B. 

Richard Vandersteen's drivers (made in house) are certainly"better" than most drivers available off the shelf.

Quite a few speaker designers/manufactures specify the performance characteristics of the drivers they buy from the major manufactures, those drivers being made in accordance with the designer's demands. Amongst them are the likes of John DeVore, Danny Richie (GR Research), and Wilson Audio.

Of course they are not always better...but there do seem to be possible advantages to design all parts of a product...

@easystreamer 

Your 'terms' made your point, except 'Gluten Free', it is a statement of difference, omission, not better. I have two friends who have Celiac Disease, the most severe allergy to gluten, it's serious, and several others, including myself and many family members that have digestive issues (not serious, but not pleasant) resulting from Gluten. It seems Wheat has changed over millenniums, that is why it is a 'new' problem. I was tested many years ago, but I seem to remember there are two DNA markers for sensitivity to Gluten, I have both.

I'll get off my cardboard cereal box now.