I’ve been reading some threads here and elsewhere that include direct and informative answers from manufacturers. Some of the responses are from mid+ level employees in large companies, and some are directly from the designer. This got me wondering about the relative size of audio companies, and it’s correlation to the quality of the product. R&D teams vs mad scientists. Thoughts?
There's really no correlation between the two. But both definitely have their own kind of "image": Large companies are known for their larger economies of scale, so they have bigger design budgets than smaller companies, so they're able to offer higher tech, more advanced equipment. Small companies tend to be more artisanal, more attention to detail, better fit and finish. Take from that what you want. I think you really have to assess it on a case by case basis. Edit: define quality. Quality in the sense of product lifespan? Fit and finish? Or its sound quality?
.Small companies can build great gear , but most lack the resources though when it comes to the software side of things . Moving forward , I am only buying digital gear from companies that have many years of experience in that arena . I am experiencing a problem with a DAC that is firmware related. It will most likely never be resolved, which is too bad because it sounds great. It has trouble identifying the stream when sampling frequency changes. Dealer / Distributor has been horrible to deal with and do not believe their piece is buggy but it is. When a defect is repeatable under certain conditions but the unit still works that's called a bug. When you are a small company there is slim chance of resolving problems like what I'm experiencing. So I just live with it, won't be buying this brand's next product, that's all. Can't recommend them , which is too bad. The unit sounds is amazing , but it is not fully refined . Lesson learned
There is no correlation between quality and size. Quality in generals mean buyer's experience. This would include not only the duration of lifespan of the product but how well a defect is handled once the product gets into the consumer's hands. I think any company of any size can handle this well if marketing is correcting in their sales estimates. Where a company can get into trouble is when these estimates are wrong. If this is underestimated, product build will suffer because shortcuts may have to be taken within the production and warranty issues will be handled poorly. There just won't be enough resources. This is the reliability side of the quality. But there is more to quality than that. Form, fit, and function are other aspects. Form is the aesthetics of the unit. Do you hire an industrial design to assist with making your product more beautiful? This kind of stuff can be contracted out, so not really issue with size. But in audio their are tactile things like how knobs turn and buttons click. Fit is how well the design is executed. Tighter fits require tighter tolerances which means more cost. So not really an advantage to being larger. This is really more a issue with having access to skilled personnel. You have people that can solder a proper joint or you don't. Do you have the machinery to fabricate the parts you make and the supply chain to obtain the parts you don't? Do you have the skilled personnel who know to use the in-house machinery. Can the operator hold the tolerances specified in the design? This largely has nothing to do with the size of the company. It's more a planning issue but larger companies the ability to adapt to these constraints by adding resources in-house. This is where the advantages of a larger company come into play. What does the product do? This is function. Can it be integrated with other units within your product catalog? While not something a lot audiophiles crave, the larger consumer base cares about only having a single remote control to flip between sources, turning up the volume, and maybe even switching listening modes like stereo versus multi-channel. Things like connecting a Bluetooth stream from the owner's phone isn't something a lot of smaller companies are willing to include within their products capabilities. These are all aspects of quality. And in every case even the reliability, all of these things can be designed into the product. So, really it's not about size, it's about talent. Do you have distributors and dealers that can deal with direct customer issue? Does your company have the ability to output a reliable product where warranty issues can be reasonably managed in a timely manner? A smaller company will need to output a more reliable product since they won't be able to rely on retailers to accept an exchange out of stocked items. You also have to take into account the companies growth if their products are successful. Is there a plan to handle increased demand? Larger companies have procedures in place to handle these kinds of issues. A smaller company has to adapt within the constraints of their resources. Can they hire more people? Can they hire the people with the talent they need? Can they train the new hires to acquire the talent they need? Can their suppliers provide increased quantities to the original specifications? A larger company can just shift resources from product lines that aren't as profitable. At this point we're discussing management. But all of these things play a role in the customer's experience.
Agree , a company's size has nothing to do with quality . It does limit them when it comes to debugging and correcting firmware. Unless that is their Forte.
My new benchmark for quality: ToolShed Amps Large companies can not and do not build stuff like theirs. Every square inch, inside and outside is an exercise in quality , perfection, and attention to detail. Sound is next level.... Another small company that makes super high quality gear is Aurender. That N200 is a tank ! It's a 20 lb machined aluminum brick. Build quality is through the roof on this one .
I used to work for this company that only had 4 full time employees. Stuff was drop shipped from the manufacturer in most cases. Customers thought we had 100 employees, In this day and age with the right website and strong customer support you can be a tiny entity and look huge. Just remember that when you try to size up some of these companies One of the best parts of having something built is many times you deal directly with the owner to create your vision of what you want and what he will build for you. It was the most bespoke experience ever, it was the audio equivalent of having a custom car built. Matt has built a number of 300b and every one is different... mine is obviously one of the sexiest one's he's built..... it was such a great experience and the finished product so exceeded my expectations Toolshed is building me a Line Stage built on the 205d tube.... So small companies can be the great experience that was , or a nightmare.... you choose. Unfortunately you won't know til you have it in hand !
You understand this business well, almost like you are in it ! Every thing you say is true. Some small companies do everything right. Zesto Audio is one of those companies. I no longer own their preamp but I would buy another Zesto product in a heartbeat. Great in every metric , performance, build quality, customer service..... especially in that area , and that's why I would always recommend Zesto without reservation
Good stuff. As stated in my original post, the capacity to execute on the litany of things you mentioned boils down to two approaches: A properly capitalized corporation that has the resources to hire the requisite staff to design and market products at scale, and the inherent drawbacks of that model An artisan who prioritizes craft, with or without some extra hands, and the inherent drawbacks of that model Both can do it well, but success on each path looks different. They deliver at different price points and design for different audiences at a different scale. There are a number of examples that confuse the issue. The gray area is what I’m interested in. What would Andrew Jones’ products look like if he worked out of his garage? Could Magico effecively deliver a consumer-grade line at scale? Does Marantz’s house sound remain steady after the passing of Ken Ishiwata? Could Audio by Van Alstine scale to meet 5x demand? Would he want to? Apple. There is more to the question than properly executing consistent production, distribution, and customer support. You’ve mentioned some of that, but I think there’s more nuance to it from the perspective of a consumer looking to spend their dollar wisely. == I see that we have some gear in common. Personally, I appreciate that Mark O’Brien was willing to jump on a conference call with Keith Herron at the drop of a hat to chat about the impedance match between their components to make sure it worked for me. That’s useful, and I understand I wouldn’t be able to patch Roy Delgado into the same call. I also understand that I bought one of the last few phono preamps that Keith made, and I accept that may pose a problem with service a few years down the line. I expect I wouldn’t have the same problem with Rogue or Klipsch, but still I chose to spend my money on Keith’s novel design instead of a Parasound. I think you understand my point.
As others have noted, what is meant by ‘quality’ and what constitutes ‘best’? Hard to see how there’s any kind of causative relationship between company size and quality, however one may choose to define it. There probably IS correlation between company size and ‘quality’ however. Large companies will, by default, be appealing more to the mass market than will smaller companies. The products that appeal to the mass market will, again by default, be made to a lower price point and probably lacking in performance, fit/finish, etc. As always, there are exceptions I am sure, particular yin mid sized businesses.
I work for a medium sized audio manufacturer, and from my experience size has little to do with quality. As long as a company has the resources to support product development and customer service, all is fine. The increasingly prevalent method these days is to farm out the bits which are not the company's main expertise. Some software such as Dirac, Atmos processing etc are prime examples of things which manufacturers do not do themselves, and of course this leaves them somewhat at the mercy of those external companies. A DAC board in an otherwise all analog preamp is a likely candidate to be farmed out, either to another company to design and build or to an independent engineer to design and let the original company manufacture them.
hard to make a guess about what's best. firms like decware are small but very good. but imagine the research budgets at Kef, Yamaha, Samsung (JBL, Mark Levinson and more). another consideration would be small companies that can act like big ones, take Perlisten for example - relatively small staff but have great partners to manufacture gear. read the schiit history on headfi, interesting and enlightening story of a company starting with two people and growing a ton. for anyone interested in business development and marketing, the schiit story is a must read.
Boutiques are for clothing that lasts a season or two. I don't have the resources to gamble on a small scale manufacturer being around for what I expect for useful life of equipment. Others do, but I don't. No offense intended to those great small scale companies.
You are missing out on some good gear. Big companies fail too. Some " boutique " stuff is built to outlive the owner. And will.
