The survival of the fittest.

@amg56

Butthurt much?

Sitting here, yes 😂

This forum was once a technical and engineeringly group of audio enthusiasts that got called audiophiles. Those that thought about little but HiFi.

Now we have amateurs pretending to be audiophiles because the have
the “cables, burnt the right direction”, which is said to benefit by being lifted off the floor”, cups of metal on the wall, fuses costing as much as some components and so arguments continue. Without some sort
of qualification, these differences seem moot.

Having been on this site for nearly 20 years, I find that the content of this forum hasn't changed all that much. What has changed is the desire for people on either side of a discussion (or argument if you prefer) to shout the other side down and the amount of vitriol displayed to do so. People see no need to consider the other side of the coin when they are certain that they are right. That is not confined to this site. It is prevalent in society everywhere these days. 

Come on this thread is worthy of speculation. He's not asking for a recommendation only how to succeed in a flooded market that quickly losing mainstream interest.

All the components we build are word of mouth because we cater to a unique audiophile whose only concern is the best sound.  When we started, I was politely introduced to marketing - the reviews are not free.  It is very political also.  Many of the products today are distributed by brick & mortar dealers.  Many brands have protected territories like Vandersteen, B&W, etc.  So shops marketed what they could get.  That has changed some where even PS Audio has now gone direct.  I spoke in length with VPI about this and they seems to imply that if they started today, they would also probably sell direct.

It is not easy to get your product to the market the old fashion way.  Very few dealers will take on a new company.  Who wants to take the chance to carry a product that may not be there a few years down the line.  A dealer also wants to show things that look very nice.  Aesthetic appeal is important.

When we looked to partner with a speaker company and started researching them, we found so many speaker companies that don't even have representation in the US, but they were fantastic sounding speakers.  I mean a hundred speaker manufacturers.  Ascendo was a speaker manufacturer that I liked.  They have been in the US with mostly in-home dealers.  When I contacted them, they seemed not be that interested and recommended another manufacturer that they liked for me to contact.  I found that very interesting.

So there are many factors for success and falling by the wayside.  Mostly money, distribution network and aesthetic appeal.

Happy Listening,