How many speaker companies?

Hey Todd,

That would be nigh impossible. From drivers to speakers, and manufacturers who put speakers into products (like TV's and tablets).

Some are operated out of their garage, and come and go.

That's just speakers. Look at how many actual speaker driver manufacturers there are out there too! I bet China has at least a hundred.

All I know is that the listings in the latest edition of the Absolute Sound audio directory are woefully incomplete--and here we're just talking about loudspeaker brands currently available in the U.S.

All I know is that the listings in the latest edition of the Absolute Sound audio directory are woefully incomplete

Not at all surprised!!

Unfortunately there are no qualifications required to be a speaker designer so theres no limit to how many speaker companies there can be. 

Give it a rest