Best in the sense of quality versus cost and in personal integrity, Keith Herron is hard to top. If record care products count, Walter Davies of The Last Factory is another person and product of unusually high quality. If these two examples are of too recent a vintage to be eligible, it's gotta be Peter Walker and the original Quad ESL loudspeaker.
Best High End Audio Manufacturer???
Wow, what a loaded question!! Nevertheless... which company has earned the right to be called number one, king-of-the-hill, top dog, etc. Is this even a fair question? Probably not. Is this your chance to make your objective/subjective voice heard? Yes indeed. So if you had to boil it down to ONE HIGH END COMPANY that more than any other represents the paramount position, THE EPITOME OF THIS HOBBY, this is your time to cast your vote.