Of the ones on your list I've owned Salk, Philharmonic, and Selah. They compete by using off-the-shelf drivers (or slightly modified), excellent crossover design and, with Salk, phenomenal custom woodworking. On the finance side, their R&D department is their own time/sweat, their marketing department is their customers and, finally, they sell direct.
Notable very small loudspeaker companies (other than Tekton!)
Let's give a shout-out to those very small speaker companies that make excellent products. I'm thinking of true one-man operations (owner-designer-maker) as well as very small ones (owner-designer + a very few employees).
My nominees: Ryan, Prana, Philharmonic, Fritz, Watkins, Vaughn, Chapman, even Daedalus, Salk, Selah.
Who else belongs in this list?
How do they manage to compete with the "big boys", in quality if not in quantity?
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I just bought a pair of Alta Audio Rhea Floorstanders and they were not made in UTAH believe it or not. They were made in Connecticut. Based on what I have heard and read, they make extremely good speakers. $1500 to $250,000 range. http://alta-audio.com/#collections |
+1 for Reference 3A. This Canadian company makes incredible speakers that sound way expensive more than their price would indicate. Also, Decware Speakers. More known for his components, Steve Deckert makes several very good speakers. How does he compete? By maintaining a balance between hobby and business; by not every getting professional reviews, and by having a large, devoted cult following among audiophiles. |
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