The poll, and peoples' responses to it, is interesting. Maybe the question is too broad and the number of players too diverse.
Popularity and affordability are likely influences in peoples' responses. If nothing else, these factors allow the average audiophile to experience and consider the sound of affordable lines first-hand.
Reputation is another influence, with experienced companies perceived to have the depth of experience to design a really good affordable speaker along side as an exceptional expensive one (though price is not necessarily a good predictor of performance, there are some truisms wrt cabinet volume, materials, bracing, driver technology that do have a cost component).
Capacity is another issue. Big companies have considerable R&D. They have on-site anechoic chambers, test equipment, materials research divisions etc. This gives them an advantage in designing and fine tuning speakers to extract that last 1% out of their theoretical potential.
Theory aside, I do think that KEF should be on the list. I also think that other smaller manufacturers deserve consideration too. I take the mod's point that there are limiting factors, such as 10 subjects, that make it difficult to capture everything in one go.
Perhaps several polls, differentiated by speaker type, purchase price, and company size would give a more accurate indication of peoples' thoughts on the issue. The market research potential of this approach would be higher too.
P.S. I voted Paradigm, even though I'm a B&W owner who believes JBL has the most capacity of the lot. See, to me, it's an issue of balancing all of the potential strengths and weaknesses. Others may see it differently though...
