I sold audio gear in retail for a couple of years in the early 90’s in the suburban Philadelphia market. Here’s a few things I remember:
1. NAD stood for “Not Always Defective”
2. Sony ES stood for “Extra Sides” (Our store carried the regular Sony line, but an audio store competitor a few doors away sold the ES line. Anyone asking for Sony ES, we told them it was exactly the same gear we carried with Extra Sides.
3. Customers always came in asking for Bose because of the incredible name recognition. “No highs, no lows, than it must be Bose!”