What country makes the finest audio equipment?
Jun 22, 2003 at 3:40 AM Post #2 of 35
do you mean design, production, or corporate base?
 
Jun 22, 2003 at 3:50 AM Post #3 of 35
The United States hands down.

Why?

Here's why :

Krell
Wadia
Mark Levinson
Revel
Cary
Nordost
Cardas
Grado
PS Audio
Manley Labs
Acoustic Zen
Moth Audio
Headroom
Magnepan
Conrad-Johnson
Avantgarde-USA
Transparent Cables
MIT Cables
MartinLogan
 
Jun 22, 2003 at 5:33 AM Post #7 of 35
Tough call, but I'll vote Germany.

TravelLite
 
Jun 22, 2003 at 5:42 AM Post #9 of 35
This is hard battle between Japan and USA mainly, IMO, both countries made pretty good stuff in audio, even when the rest of the list, shows up, once in a while with some stuff (specially Denmark with some really nice drivers for speakers, if not the best around), I think that most of the top gear is split between these two countries
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Jun 22, 2003 at 6:23 AM Post #10 of 35
Quote:

Originally posted by bootman
examples?


Nothing specific to the point of creating a list, but I've always had a lot of respect for German high-end engineering.

I have to say that many US companies have been developing any number of outstanding designs that really impress me, especially in the digital arena. I could exist quite happily with the audio gear from both of these countries. :)

TravelLite
 
Jun 22, 2003 at 7:21 AM Post #11 of 35
I'd say that the top engineering and design expertise is pretty much the same in the US, Japan, UK, Germany et Al. That being said, American companies do tend to occupy more than their share of the high end business. Why? Tax code differences and pro-business deregulation make it easier to start and operate smaller companies in the US.

FWIW, minimal (compared to Germany, for eg.) employee benefits and a business friendly legal code make it far easier to hire and fire workers here in the States. Venture capital, arguably, can also be raised more easily here and perhaps most importantly, there is little long-lasting stigma attached to business failures in America. This is prob. the most important factor as it encourages entrepeneurs to take risks. Failing once or twice doesn't preclude someone from trying to set up a third company and indeed, many people look at early business failures almost as a rite of passage to bigger and better things later on.

In Japan and Germany, at any rate, a business bankruptcy would make it extremely difficult to raise funds for a new company down the road.
 
Jun 22, 2003 at 8:14 AM Post #12 of 35
Make sure that you do not forget under the US catalog -

McIntosh
Audio Research
VTL
McCormack
Adcom
Wilson Audio
Quicksilver
 
Jun 22, 2003 at 9:19 AM Post #13 of 35
I'm missing France (Focal/JM Lab, Micromega...), Italy (Sonus Faber, Musical Technology...) and Switzerland (Nagra, Revox, Benz...) on the list - but I don't think the poll makes much sense, anyway, because there doesn't seem to be a lack of fine audio equipment makers in China, (western) Europe, Japan, Scandinavia and the US alike.

I'd rather be interested in yet unknown companies from other countries: Are there interesting African companies? Or from Russia? What about Portugal and Spain? South America? In the near future, I wouldn't be surprised to see quite a lot of new companies from emerging Balkan countries like Kroatia, btw...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Jun 22, 2003 at 11:16 AM Post #15 of 35
pigmode: Wasn't that Brocksieper?
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And AKG is actually Austrian, I fear... But we also have Thorens (at least the new one...
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), Burmester, Canton, Elac, Quadral, T+A, Lua, HGP, Backes&Müller, Beyerdynamic and WBT - just to name a few more...
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Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
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