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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
ozfly
887 posts
 
Agree with all above who suggest that some larger companies also provide larger service and a better resale market. Would I buy a no-name? Absolutely not -- unless it is inexpensive (so it doesn't hurt to throw it away if it's bad) or if there is a trial period so I can hear it in my home. Buying a no-name is hard to do. You'd have to literally stumble across it at a dealership (used equipment section) or a friend's house since a true no-name has no formal or reliable informal reviews.

Apart from the servicing and resale, another advantage of known products is that you can find more reviews and advice about them (e.g., here on A'gon). For either initial ownership or longer term ownership, those are valuable.
detlof
1,899 posts
 
I could not care less about brand names, there are in fact well known products with lots of prestige, which I don't consider particularly musical and would never buy. I buy, set up and tweak solely by ear and according to my personal taste, which has been largely educated by live music itself. So I would agree with Nrchy, I think.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Neither, if I am correctly reading many comments. It's how many thousands of dollars your "interconnects" (that's "coax" to us old timers) cost.
kool39
53 posts
 
By the way i love my sansuai TU 717. It's one heck of a vintage tuner. And of course i am talking about sound.
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
Kool39, I like mine to, great tuner. I have the au717 also but have not used it for a while.
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