We'd like to get your opinion on who you feel makes the best built and best sounding loudspeakers in consumer audio. Your opinion should be based primarily on sound quality followed by build quality and durability. This choice should be based on the overall product line of a particular company and not just one or two products that may excel.
If you find a particular brand on this list lacking, please indicate why.
Give us reasons why you chose a particular brand or why you feel that particular brand shines above the others on this list. If your brand isn't listed here (sorry only 10 polling options allowed), please post the brand name in the thread along with your experiences.
Consumer audio--presumably that means something serious people can afford. Since I only have one choice, it goes to Paradigm, but PSB should be right up there, too. They both offer excellent values in different price ranges, too. I own Paradigm and PSB speakers.
I would think that Kef should be included, too, as I have seen superb NRC measurements on Soundstage, so I expect the sound very good. I used to own some Kefs years ago, and I have generally been impressed with their upper line speakers, though I haven't heard any recent ones. I haven't heard any recent Axiom speakers, and haven't I heard most of the others, either.
I wonder about Energy, too, as some of them have seemed good value. Someone must be buying them.
I think Harman is an unfair category as it includes 3 different speaker lines, but the few Revel speakers I have heard were quite fine.
There are some small companies that make excellent speakers. Ethera is one, and the Ethera Vitae is a fine speaker, though expensive. Check out the NRC results on Soundstage.
http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/ethera_vitae/
