Largest Luxury Speaker Companies

[mb225]

Does anyone know who is the biggest audiophile speaker company? Meaning, which company has the largest market share. My local dealer told me that B&W has the most market share and owns about 50% of the high-end market.

Also, what would everyone consider the top 5 audiophile speaker companies? Again meaning market share.

The dealers in my area only have B&W, Revel and Klipsch. So that’s really all my exposure.

[Chris D]

Interesting, depending on what you would call Audiophile. I would say yes, Klipsch makes audiophile products, but also some consumer grade Best Buy crap. Same with B&W. So, depends on your definition, and whether the company also branches outside of "audiophile" quality.

[twitch54]

market share in an 'audiophile' enviroment .......not sure that that means all that much considering some mfg have so many lines of speakers vs others that may have but a half dozen models to choose from.

I'd suspect B&W to be in the top tier along with Paradigm, Focal and Revel. Myself, a lover of dipole / electrostatics would prefer the offerings from Magnepan and Martin Logan. As far as dynamic speakers I'd go with Avalon, Wilson or Hansen, none of whom I doubt loose too much sleep over 'market share dominace' as it relates to shere production numbers !

[David Meek]

If you are willing to pony up US$3,950 you can read the 2008 World Loudspeaker Market analysis. :B

[Burke Strickland]

If you are willing to pony up US$3,950 you can read the 2008 World Loudspeaker Market analysis.

Sign me up! I can't wait to see how audiophile powerhouses such as LabTech and Plantronics fare against the competition. :>)

[David Meek]

Don't forget Logitech.

[Burke Strickland]

Don't forget Logitech.

Wish I could. :>)

[mb225]

Maybe this question is too specific. So let me try another type of question along the same lines.

Since my area has a limited selection of high-end audio gear, I'm trying to find out what are some of the common brands. If someone said they wanted to buy a luxury sports car, what brands should I look at? You might respond, well that depends on your wants/needs and your price range. You would probably create 3 categories:
Elite Cars – consisting of Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.
Hi-end Cars – something like a high-end Porsche
Luxury sports cars – BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc.

Let's say someone comes over and listens to your stereo. They are blown away and want to get into audio and buy a nice setup. They want to start with speakers, what are some of the major players in this market. Since the term "audiophile" seems to be confusing, let’s say we are looking for "luxury speaker manufactures" meaning anything that is respected by people in this forum.

So with that in mind, what is a "must listen" for someone that wants to get into audio? Since price is a big factor I think we should break them down by category:
Elite/boutique:
High-end:
Luxury:

What are your top picks for each category?

[Bob]

Each of the four following companies are well respected, have been in business for a significant amount of time, and each produce speakers that fall into all three of your categories.
Tannoy
JBL
Vandersteen
Wilson

[Dmantis]

If I where to guess I would say the following

JBL
Polk audio
Paradigm
Klipsch
B&W
Bose
Definitive Technology

Not in any order but these are probably the biggest.

[Chris D]

Uh, oh... did someone just mention Bose in a "Audiophile" speaker thread? Or "luxury, respected by members of this forum"?

Let me go call 911 to send the riot police...

[mb225]

Uh, oh... did someone just mention Bose in a "Audiophile" speaker thread? Or "luxury, respected by members of this forum"?

Yeah... I don't think Bose would be considered a "luxury" brand. It definitely has its place in the market and they make some really great products. To me, Bose ranks very high on the value curve since they are so affordable. I would say they fall into the upper-lower-middle-class. :P

I guess it's a matter of perspective. To someone in the market for a $200 home theater in-a-box, Bose might be considered a "luxury".

I went with the Bose portable iPod dock over the luxury brands just b/c it has a rechargeable battery pack and is very portable. I love it! :T I can take it with me on vacation, when I'm working outside, pool-side, etc. Great product. But Bose wasn't really what I was looking for with this thread.

Good reply though, keep them coming. :T

[mb225]

I just realized something... Dmantis was looking at Bose from a "market-share" perspective. That makes sense! I would agree, Bose is probably one of the bigger producers in the world. But I'm pretty sure they don't meet the "luxury" category.

[twitch54]

I think we should break them down by category:
Elite/boutique:
High-end:
Luxury:

What are your top picks for each category?

???????????? have no idea where you came up with 'those' categories how does one seperate luxury from high-end from elite ??

[wettou]

If I where to guess I would say the following
JBL
Polk audio
Paradigm
Klipsch
B&W
Bose
Definitive Technology

Not in any order but these are probably the biggest.

You mean in terms of sales??

[Pio]

I think the largest is Harman which is the parent company of Revel, Infinity and JBL. So in terms of shear overall sales of high end speakers, Harman's products combined should have a pretty large share. I bet, however that the most selling speaker comes from Bose.

I bet Kal Rubinson knows for sure since he's deeper within the industry.