Most reliable equipment manufacturers


I would like to know people's opinions as to which are the mist reliable manufacturers. In my book, reliability means: first and foremost, reliable and continued performance of the equipment over an extended period of time, but it also includes quality of workmanship, manuals/ease of use/design, shipping materials, upgradeability, customer service, choice of dealers, etc. For instance, in my experience I give Thiel an A rating, Sony a C.
joe_coherent
To the nut who is nuts on Krell reliability...Have you ever seen the statistics on their DOA rate on new product? Particularly in the high end gear...huge failure rates. Months and months to get product serviced. And give them a call for some friendly information? Hah! They might appreciate your business, but it definitely isn't worth the pain.
To me, reliability goes hand in hand with factory support and service. One company who offers this in spades is Pass Labs...you can call them about most anything and get polite and reasonably intelligent responses, and sometimes even get Nelson Pass himself on the line! They deal with product issues, their gear sounds great, and their dealers seem to know what they are talking about.
linn stuff is reliable, i also agree w/adcom. can *not* agree w/thiel - i've had several driver failures on my 3.5's, but thiel has *always* had fantastic service, & replaced 'em no questions asked, even when out of warranty. & i am the 2nd owner... thiel even said they have reliability problems w/some of their drivers... doug
Sedond, regarding Thiel I think that is the definition of a reliable equipment manufacturer. A component failure every now and then is expected, as long as it is not too often. The key is how quickly you can get the problem fixed. I had a tweeter failure five years after I purchased my Thiels and they shipped a replacement all the way to South America, where I was living at the time.
If you include after sale service as part of the reliability equation, my absolute worst is Classé Audio. I DARE ANYONE OF YOU to give them a call and try to talk to anyone about a technical or other person. Last time I phoned, they told me they were too busy selling worldwide and would get back to me within 3 weeks, (no kidding). On the other hand, give Cary a call and you will end end speaking with Kirk within seconds, or Bel Canto or many other high-end who beleive the sale doesnt end after you leave the store. Worst is, I live about 100 miles from Classe, might as well be on the MOON (seaking of Moon, Sim Audio is much better). These guys at Classé have absolutely no-respect. I wil NEVER buy Classe again, no matter haw good the gear is. That's that.