What do you think?

Coming from a well known "big corporate" that has a history of purchasing brands to leverage their "legacy," I have to say I fully agree with his point about the big brands being the most known, but not the best. I also love his point about following the engineers and designers. Elac is probably the only major global brand leveraging this concept and "celebritizing" Andrew Jones.

It's a simple formula really. Aside from the build and everything, all that marketing costs money. Costs ad dollars, hiring designers, marketing staff, agencies, etc. Plus big corporate also tends to offer above average pay, great benefits, and more resources. If all that money went straight into the products, they'd be insane.

But it's a double edged sword. The industry needs those big brands to some extent to help make enough noise to bring in foot traffic at big shows and keep the traditional audio media funded. Luckily the internet is quickly shifting this formula. Those big names also can get new folks into dealers, or even looking at hifi in the big box stores like Best Buy Magnolia, Nebraska Furniture etc.

The last point is that I really like is that these brands aren't terrible. They aren't. Some are making really really killer products, and they stand up well when compared in a vacuum. And in the entry level especially they can make some true class leading (new) products. But that doesn't mean dollar for dollar it's your best value, especially as you go higher up. When the prices come into the mix is when you really start to see boutique brands shine in many (not all) cases.

Overall, solid advice. Maybe a little bias, but certainly good points overall.