Which Country does the best AV gear come from ?

[rolski]

So - where does the best AV gear come from ? Where are the best minds & R&D located ? And Production ? And what about History....?

Even in the global era of the Interweb, this site has become a little America-centric recently, so let's remind you of the world outside your window....

We can split this a little for convenience's sake too :-

Best Stereo equipment (inc speakers, playback devices, amps)

Best HT-type equipment (receivers / processors)

Best Visual Displays (CRT / Plasma / LCD / Projector etc)

And who's brave enough to define "best"....?

Now I've lit the blue touch paper, I'll gracefully retire for the evening & see what the morning brings.....

 

[Sheep]

I'd say the best R&D is from Bose! Kidding. Canada. I would argue the best speakers come from Canada also, but thats just MO.

Japan for electronics. USA for subwoofers?

SheepStar

 

[furrycute]

Germans have the best engineering. The top of of the line Canton speakers are incredible. I would say Germans make the best speakers.


As for amps, I would stay with American stuff. Companies such as Krell, Levinson, etc., make some outstanding amps that have enough raw power to blow your house apart.

 

[j_garcia]

I'm partial to British speakers, but there are some amazing American manufacturers as well. Canada has always put out some great stuff too. It's hard to nail it down to a country, as it has more to do with a particular brand than the country IMO.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

China (and its affiliate Taiwan). No matter who's name is on the box, chances are good it was manufactured from raw materials in China.

 

[thundergust]

best speakers - Europe (Denmark, England, Germany)
best displays - Japan
best playback devices - Japan
best amps - US

Sorry, changed best amps from europe to US. I was thinking about something else (Harman International).

 

[furrycute]

So what amps do the Germans make?

Almost forgot about B&W. It has always been my wet dream to get a pair of B&W 801's.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I think some of the best stuff is still coming out of the USA. Japan has the best engineering by far, but their customer service seems to be total garbage. If they mess anything up, they WILL NOT help you get it resolved it seems like from any company. But, they typically have a more solid product from the beginning.

Canada has some great valued and higher quality speakers coming out of it... Not sure where B&W and Meridian are based out of.. but they are great. Meridian has some lousy engineering for some excellent sounding speakers. Sounds like Europe to me.

USA for service from most of the better companies. They tend to have people you can call who can speak your language and are more willing to deal with the issues at hand. Some companies will put you through to the actual design engineers that can really get into the guts of helping a problem or idea get taken care of.

I am not sure about European product overall, but my experience with Rotel, Meridian, and a couple of others has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth for overall service, support, and engineering. Good sound though.

 

[Khellandros66]

USA and Canada for all categories except Displays I would say China and Korean panels best value per dollar.

~Bob

 

[Hi Ho]

I haven't had to deal with the service centers of any company but 99% of the electronic devices in my house are from Japanese companies, the exceptions being my old Advent speakers and my Ascendant Audio subwoofer driver.

I have, or have used products from Panasonic, Sanyo, Sharp, Aiwa, Denon, and Yamaha and have had no problems with any of them. How many american electronic companies are there? American?

Japanese products are generally top notch, from cars to receivers and DVD players.

When you get into the ultra high end there are companies from many countries that have good products. It's hard to pinpoint a single country.

 

[rolski]

Well, in case you were wondering what I thought :-

I think that the best Speakers historically come from England - Quad / BBC / B&W / Spendor etc.
I'm currently a big B&W fan - they're actually made in Europe too (thinking about it, is this the only product that's still made in Europe ?!).

I also think that the majority of real quality Audio gear has always been from the UK as well - with a very small number of obvious & notable exceptions.
My favourite is the now defunct TAG McLaren Audio range - which will sadly not be fully re-incarnated under the Audiolab name - but their approach to R&D & delivering their promises was second-to-none - weren't they the first to offer a true in-built parametric room-correction system which still seems to be better than all the rest ?

For A/V receivers etc, the Japanese seem to be worlds ahead of the rest, and engaged in a mad battle to offer the most features & flexibility. Is it me, or do they seem to be challenging each other on sheer weight as well....?

Display devices - well - whatever Texas Instruments churns out of it's DLP factories always seems to be best implemented by those pesky Italians at Sim2 Multimedia, but for flat-panel technology the Japanese seem to be ahead of the pack again, closely followed by the Koreans.
Does anyone still make CRT's ?

For my ears, when value-for-money is not taken into consideration, "best" means pure untainted clarity of sound or picture - warts 'n' all.
No "signature sound" for my equipment - I want to hear what's on the disk or record & nothing else & to understand that my gear is technically doing the job without adding or subtracting anything - this is what "best" means to me.
Someone recently described this point of view as "audio perversion". Guilty as charged.

Oh, and if you hadn't noticed, I'm a Europhile, but if there's anything out there from anywhere else that might improve my AV experience, you can be sure that I'll give it a try....

 

[sploo]

For A/V receivers etc, the Japanese seem to be worlds ahead of the rest, and engaged in a mad battle to offer the most features & flexibility. Is it me, or do they seem to be challenging each other on sheer weight as well....?

Whilst I think it's very difficult to point to a specific company, let alone a country, for guaranteed good products, I am a fan of Arcam's A/V receivers (an English company).

 

[shokhead]

White Van USA

 

[Geno]

I'm partial to English speakers, but have heard very good German and Canadian models as well. Japanese electronics can't be beat in their price range, although the more esoteric brands are all over the map. There don't appear to be any display manufacturers outside China, Taiwan, and Korea, even though the parent companies may be somewhere else. In this age of globalization, it's hard to pinpoint the sources. Seems most of the stuff nowdays is designed in one country, then cranked out by the Godless Commie Slavemasters for obvious production economies.

 

[furrycute]

then cranked out by the Godless Commie Slavemasters for obvious production economies.

1) God fearing Christians can be communists (the theory of communism orginated in Germany and England).

2) God fearing Christians can be slavemasters (consult the early history of the good old U.S. of A. and countless other European imperial powers).

3) In the old days, the good of U.S. of A. was THE cheapest place to make garments, thus the floushing of the slave trade in supplying laborers for the cotton fields, and the abysmal working condtions of the countless textile/garment workers. But I guess the good old U.S. of A. climbed out of that sh*thole pretty well.

 

[Geno]

OK, Furrycute, it was a JOKE, OK? Ever watch Dr. Strangelove? I'm seldom serious...even though they (the G.C.S.) really are trying to steal our Precious Bodily Fluids.

 

[furrycute]

Okay Geno, I may have over-reacted to your earlier comment. I apologize.