small companies making today's best products

Hey guys, I can give you both sides of the argument.

I am a dealer and when I stared my company I could not get many of the larger companies and so was forced to sell many of the smaller companies products.

Over the years I have had many companies that I replaced with bigger companies products:

I had DK Designs, Dehavilland, Butler, Acoustic Zen, Harmonic Tech, Edge, Cayin, to name a few.

I have moved into Chord, Cary, Conrad Johhson, Kubala Sosna,Dali, Kef, and many, many others.

I have found that the best sounding products are indeed coming from the bigger companies who have more money to spend on r&d, can purchase or design their own parts, and have the resources to design whatever products they wish, as well as being a retailer you don't have to worry about the longevity of the larger companies so service and support over time is almost guaranteed.

You also have to remember that many small companies over time may grow to become large well established companies,
take Wilson for example, and Magico and YG are becoming well established companies.

So is smaller necessarily better sometimes yes, sometimes no, I have found for me the best sound is coming from the larger companies, however in retrospect most of even the larger companies in audio are tiny, tiny companies this is especially true when you compare our favorite companies to most other industries.

Dave Lalin, President, Audio Doctor, www.audiodoctor.com

Large or small, I would trade off a small amount of sound quality for superior build quality, long product life, good resale reputation, good dealer network, and reliable service (that hopefully will never be needed). Of course, it very hard to judge some of these when dealing with the new and small unknowns.I try to investigate and judge if a company is really doing anything original and worthwhile, or just another "me too"? I also look to see how much of the product they really build, or are they just another marketeer or importer? I too have noticed, over the years, that HE manufactures tend to have a life cycle that is somewhat typical, with the best products usally a few models before they sell off to someone like Harman or the orignal owner quites or loses financial control of his own company. I just wait until they get good and stop buying when they start to go downhill.

Thanks Dave, for opening up and letting us know what goes on for a retailer!

Elizabeth, whatever you say is OK with me. You spent $12k on Bryston? You could've got used LAMMs instead. As I wrote once in another thread you don't allow youself to have the best possible sound for the same or even less money.
Anyway I appreciate your direct response to me. Isn't it a time for "Bitches Brew" ?

Point, Match, Inna.