small companies making today's best products


i think the audio research, conrad johnson, rolamd, mcintosh, monster cable, esoteric, etc., are superseded in sound quality by many small independent companies which operate direct to the consumer.

most of the comments praising components of different types seem to mention small companies, who do not have dealer networks. why ?

perhaps innovation with out marketing or other constraints enables creativity and thinking outside the box to flourish.

when i consider my own system, i own cables from small companies, digital components from a medium sized and well known company, and an amplifier from a well known company as well as another amp and preamp designed by a retired professor from canada.
mrtennis
Small companies are for well educated adventurers with deep pockets. You never know what you might find, good or bad!

Larger established companies are safer if you want to hedge your bets and go with something that is more established and well known.

Truly innovative products generally start small, gain acceptance over time, and usually also become more affordable. You can be an early adapter (high risk, potentially high reward today) or a fast follower (low risk, also high reward, but you may have to wait a bit for the latest and greatest to establish itself better).

I'd advise against rookies being an early adapter...very high risk compared to likelihood of reward. You better really know what you are doing before testing these waters....

Most people will be better off as fast followers purchasing good products with a larger following from more well established vendors.

Audiogon can be a dangerous place to be if you allow your need for the greatest immediate gratification be your guide without being well versed in what goes into achieving your goals. You are at greater risk of spending a lot of money for little or no practical advantage than you might be going straight to a trustworthy and knowledgeable dealer who knows what they are doing.

If you must test the waters with a smaller companies product, I recommend doing it with less expensive products that appear to be good values to minimize risk.

Never jump into the deep waters if cannot swim. Rookies should avoid small companies touting the cost is no object best, unless you just want to throw money at the problem and nothing else matters.
large companies gave/pushed quad 4 channel, 8 tracks, elcassette, laserdisc, minidiscs, cds, sacds, hdcds,dvd/bluray 2.1 thru 11.1, various video formats, vhs vs beta vcrs, tiny satellite speakers theatre in a box systems, they gave no support to audio stores because circuit city type stores was the future. i could go on because i,m sure i left something out. to say i want gear from a big company because they will be around in 10 years is a reach. i want my gear from companies that make a value added product that perform. and just to be argumentative...there arn't many "big" companies on the lists on this thread or we would all get rid of our gear and buy sony, denon, hitachi,bose,panasonic etc.
Too bad. Impressing oneself makes no sense. And everyone knows that LAMM is better than Bryston; everyone including you.
The only thing that now seems clear is that Inna is better than Elizabeth. In Inna's mind.