01-31-07: Blindjim
I think by and large the makers are aware who are their better bets.
I disagree. I think they only know what they are told. If everyone says they're great, they can start believing their own press clippings. They cannot go by sales alone, since markets in different areas will provide different quotas. For instance, a store in Mississippi cannot be expected to sell as many preamps as a store in New York City. That's enough about that though.
As for your utopian high end philososphy, yes it would be nice, but don't hold your breath. Like it or not, the glory days of stereo are gone, at least in the USA. Here is a quote from Steve Keiser, the 'K' in B&K, and the designer of the legendary B&K ST-140 amp. This interview is from May 2006.
"IN REALITYÂ…
The industry has changed since the B&K days. The addition of home theatre has had an enormous impact
in that now a video component has been added to the total home entertainment experience as well as the
addition of surround sound.
Actually, this means that dedicated music listening audio systems are loosing favor to home theatre, since
the various surveys that I have seen have revealed a steady decline in two channel audio for the last 20
years. The number of dealers retailing audio-only two channel equipment continues to dwindle, and the
perspective buyers and market for two channel equipment is also depleting. Still, there remains an
opportunity for manufacturers who are manifesting the highest caliber of performance they can possibly
muster from their designs, and these companies can have a shot at being successful. It is exceedingly
less likely, though, that an up and coming manufacturer (like Luminance) can be financially successful in
the long run, because the available market is about 75% smaller in the U.S. than when B&K was launched.
On the other hand, there exists today an international market which has largely supplanted the U.S. market
for most companies. So, factoring in the availability of the entire world at manufacturersÂ’ disposal, the
market share to date is probably about 75% that of when B&K was launched, so the probability of success
for new companies is only slightly diminished as compared to 20 years ago."
Now that is only factoring in HT as a competitor, add in the Ipods and the new Microsoft Vista as entertainment competition, not to mention whatever another couple years down the road brings, I don't see mass production quantities of stereo equipment increasing the near future.
Not a pessimist, just a realist.
BTW, if the Thor doesn't quite work out, you may be interested in checking out the Audio Horizons TP 2.0. I know a couple guys who have sold some very expensive preamps who are raving about this factory direct unit. From what I understand, they have also just added a remote control. As soon as they come out with a fully balanced model I'll have to place an order.
John