What brand was better than it is today?

Velodyne is a big one for me.  

"I did think of the inverse question-what brands are better today than before?  "  Should Woulda Coulda

I will keep this to the first component (speakers) mentioned and 
ones owned and still have .

Mission and Celestion Speakers. Still made and no longer relevant from what I see out there. 

I believe  Sonus Faber and Klipsch Speakers are still great companies but have been producing less than stellar products for the mass merchandiser .  The ones I have are old ( 20 and 38YO )  and I still enjoy them immensely. Still good companies. 

KLH, the 9's were pretty nice. Those were the first fancy speakers I ever heard. What do they make today?

IMHO, the obvious choice, hands down with no competitors in sight, and as someone else already mentioned, is Altec Lansing.

With the caveat that today’s company is a completely different entity: if I am correct, today’s company bought the trademark and that is the only thing linking the two.

I second Olsmobile  :)