Commonly mentioned speaker brands?

Cannot go wrong with Tannoy, Wharfedale, Spendor, and Harbeth. These are the brands I’ve owned and some I still own. I’m partial to British speakers, just don’t like much of anything made here. In fact, most of my system is now comprised of UK built components. The only exception is the several Marantz components I own, such as the Sacd and CD players. However, in use presently is my newly acquired Cyrus cdt. There is a certain allure about the British stuff that I can’t explain. Maybe I was a Brit in a previous life...😄

I’ve got a musical fidelity a 308 integrated amp driving ATC scm 40 V2 speakers, so my system is also British, and as a previous poster said, I also prefer revealing, flat response, good off access sound. Unlike many others here, though, I’ve heard very few systems for comparison sake and almost none of the brands that tend to be mentioned here. That’s why I started this thread.

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