Propeller Head Plaza

RE: and now we know...

75.100.111.197

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

In Reply to: RE: and now we know... posted by mls-stl on May 24, 2007 at 15:03:47

>>>"Not all in this industry are above-board."<<<

I doubt that there is any capital industry where 'all are above board'. However, in our growing smaller industry, most successful companies place a premium on earning credibility and delivering products that perform well and hold their value. These tenets cannot be achieved (long term) with the use of deep discounts, free promotions and smoke & mirror ad campaigns.

That is why it pays as you say, to be cautious as a consumer. In terms of endorsements in the audio field. I think it's fair to question the veracity of an overt ad campaign that uses a single celebrity to tirelessly promote one brand of product--a certain Jazz pianist's TV ads for cheap speakers come to mind.

When there are 20, 30 or 50 well known industry professionals who speak highly of a product, it is possible that the product they speak of may be worth a closer look. Remember, that unlike TV ads promoting the blind mail-order purchase of plastic speaker systems, High-End Audio promotion is intended only to interest someone in evaluating/comparing a specific product or brand for themselves.

No matter how much a company gives away or spends on promotion, at the end of the day in this age and in _this_ industry, if you make a product with huge markup, cheap parts, old technology and low value, you will not be able to compete with companies that _do_ invest in research, technology and parts quality. The "build cheap sell high" paradigm might work in the short term, but unlike in the '80's-90's, that wont hold up anymore. There are simply too many means of information gathering these days for 'sell you short' companies to hide--for long. I am aware of some of these high-margin companies are and I see them failing.

As always, caveat emptor.

Regards,

Grant

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