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What's more important; sound or brand name?

I have had several people leave comments about my inability to hear things with my system because of quality of one or more of the parts. They seem to think it's not good enough to reproduce whatever sound is being discussed on that particular thread. The issue I have is I think my system is pretty good inspite of the fact that some of the componants might not be a popular enough name.

Many of the comments were based on my choice of speakers. I cannot describe how happy I am with the sound quality of the Sony SS M9 speakers inspite of the name on the grill cloth. Yes I have heard many other 'Hi-end' speakers over the years. Some have sounded better than the Sony's, most have not.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining because someone else doesn't like my gear as much as I do. I just wonder if people care more about the name on the product than the sound of the product.

If Sansui made a great product I would consider it inspite of the fact that I consider their stuff to be mostly junk. Maybe Sansui is a bad example since I prefer to buy American but you get the gist...

Any opinions? Have you noticed this happening?
128x128nrchy
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,541 posts
 
Psychic:

I still use the Absolutes, along with my Peter Belt Rainbow Foil treated Stat-Mat, but enough about the frigin 1200 - OK?

Even if it sounds wonderful it's still butt ugly, plus constantly resisting the urge to scratch cannot be good for your mental health in the long run.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Dekay - If I itch, I scratch...my 1200 has nothing to do with it. :-)

Psychic - The answer to your rhetorical question is: Almost as much flak as you've asked for... ;^)
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
Don't be envious, Zaikes--it's me who gets the fan mail from people wanting to mod their 1200's. The last guy gave me his 800 phone # so I could help him. Turns out he manages *strip clubs* and he's working on opening one in Toledo. I might get a VIP invitation, after all! I love exotic dancers!

The fan mail from those wanting noise control/power delivery in lieu of expensive power cords is even more.

Now it's mail regarding my Ridge Steet Audio ICs and my Channel Islands cryo'ed DAC.

I'm an agent of change...
bianchi27
189 posts
 
of course sound should be the only determining factor in buying a piece of equipment, however one can become colored in their judgement be reading what people say on these kinds of sights, by reading reviews, or by taking in informaiton from audio dealers. However, I believe that all these factors will help you in getting what YOU THINK YOU NEED.

That being said the only way to get audio equipment with out being biased in any way is to test equipment without knowing what that equipment is. It takes patience from many people, (audio dealers, store managers, friends, spouses) but if you do not care what brand name you end up with, including Sony, Pioneer etc... then this is the only way to go.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
No matter how good a Bose speaker might sound, it's not acceptable in some circles.
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