What brand is most recognized by non-audiophiles?


Yesterday at church the pastor used audiophiles in an example and mentioned that he probably shouldn't use the example without knowing the current best equipment. When he asked the congregation there were several quick responses that said Bose. I shook my head.

What audiophiles brands would be most recognizable to the masses these days? I think of Krell when I think of an audiophile brand, but don't know how many blank looks I would get out of non-audiophiles. Maybe B&W?
mceljo
My response to the OP's question would be (besides Bose)
* Adcom
* Polk Audio
* Boston Acoustics
* Cambridge Audio
* Sony
* Onkyo

these are brands readily available at Best Buy, Tweeter, Circuit City (when they were in biz), Crutchfield, HHGregg, and J&R. That's where a lot of the masses shop.
BW, that's just it--my ears tell me that the Bose Wave does not compete with my system (which is rather modest but well-chosen IMO).

I'm not saying the Bose isn't better than a lot of other stuff at that price point--just don't fool yourself as to what you are and aren't hearing. To me the difference between the Bose and a well-made system is night-and-day.
Klipsch - from older people I talk to. I don't know if Klipsch is considered an audiophile speaker now but they used to cater to the audiophile market back in the 80's when high end audio was more of a main stream market.

But as Bombaywalla said about Bose, Klipsch found more money to be made in the mass market. The purpose of a business is to make money. The more of it the better and that is best done by:
1) Selling to a larger number of people. Even more so than making super expensive components. Who makes more money, Bose or Wilson?
2) Focus on marketing more than solid engineering. This is true even in the high-end market. Just look at B&W. They differentiate themselves with visible technology that may not even matter but convince laymen that it does. Bright yellow Kevlar drivers, tweeter on top, curved cabinets. People look at that and say hey, no one else does that. B&W has people convinced those visual cues make for good sound. So if no one else does those things, no one else can sound as good. Ka-ching, sale is made. Bash on B&W all you want but how many brands from the 80's are gone and who has survived?

If you're going to make your sales case based on fine nuances (to the masses that is), like paper vs. poly cone drivers, good luck. Even audiophiles can't agree on that.
From Mapman:

Hey just don't give a hoot about
traditional audiophiles. They tend to
be more forward thinking and
targeting the masses in regards to
their products.

I am reminded about advice given to
me when I first started out in
business:

"Sell to the classes, dine with
the masses."

"But sell to the masses, and
dine with the classes."

This is why high end audio dealers
and journalists are easily and
routinely corrupted with little more
than a New York steak dinner.

Best wishes,

cwlondon