There was once a time that you (I would say ‘I’, but alas, I’m not old enough) could go to a store and purchase a pair of Wharfedale speakers and know that you were getting a quality piece of audio equipment. This was the same day that you could also purchase a Sony television and know that it would contain a well-engineered tube and a NAD amp safe in the knowledge that, well, it would actually work (personal experience).
While most of those above statements may be true some of the time and some of the above statements true most of the time; all of the above statements are never true all of the time (I think Abraham Lincoln said that…).
We’ve now entered an age that due to a system of supply and demand, all brands have found it more profitable to produce products to compete in all areas of the market. This isn’t an inherently bad thing; I agree that competition in all areas is a good thing, that a large player entering a lower-key market will most likely serve to raise the quality bar in that market and that a company exists to make money; so of course they should take whatever course of action leads to the best return. The very fact that they’re producing the product for any ‘class’ of the market makes it dramatically cheaper to compete in lower or higher priced electronics in the same area.
