What about this idea?

[r221b]

Hi everyone,

As I read various posts and articles both here and on the internet, it is painfully obvious that many of today's brands of electronic equipment are but a mere shadow of their past. Brands such as Zenith, Magnavox, etc. are but names on a box today. They have been bought and sold so many times, it's really difficult to remember who owns who. And as a result of these transactions, the quality that was once associated with these brands has gone downhill. There are also many new "store" brands too. Who actually manufactures these? I remember that the JC Penny store brand TV (when they sold them) was actually made by Panasonic. I've also discovered that the current brand "Visio", a flat screen LCD TV is made by LGE (or just LG).

My suggestion is for a sticky that people can post any info on the brands you see and the actual manufacturer, both in the past and today. Maybe even a separate compilation of Brand & Mfg. This could be an enormous help to anyone who either wants to purchase something from the past or something manufactured today. When did Zenith stop being Zenith and who owns them now? Who makes the various store brands today, both stereo and TV? Was the Fisher receiver you bought on eBay really made by Fisher, or someone who just bought the name? Comments always welcome.

sherlock

[leadbelly]

Originally posted by r221b
And as a result of these transactions, the quality that was once associated with these brands has gone downhill.

You've made a big jump in logic there. I would have to disagree wholeheartedly. There are complex market forces at play. The same market forces that result in a buyout would force the original owner/manufacturer to make changes in their products even if they turned down a buyout.

IMHO, the exercise you are describing is of zero value, since good price/performance can rarely be generalized over a whole electronics product range, but must always be done on a individual product basis.

[r221b]

Well, I hate to disagree..... Have you looked at a Zenith TV lately? They used to be made in the USA and were one of the better TVs... Now they're made in China or God knows where. They're not one of the prominent brands anymore, but appear when some retailer wants to woo the older generation who remember the name. If you can honestly say that the old brands like Zenith, Magnavox, Scott, Fisher, Admiral, RCA, etc. didn't exhibit a quality decline through the years, mainly after being bought by another usually foreign company, then I'd have to question your expertise. FYI, when I purchase something, I like to know who actually made it, wherever possible. If I find that some brand I used to recognize is now made by Bunghole Electronics in South Africa, I'm going to think twice before buying it. Many store brand electronics are made by well-known companies. Some are also made by an unknown from Asia or ???. If I'm forking out big bucks, I'd like to be able to weed out those items that are poor by default and go with proven names I know. It's never a 100% guarantee, but I'll take all the help I can get.

sherlock

[Ron E]

look for an article called "who makes what" on audiodiycentral, IIRC.

--edit--
a couple searches and I can't seem to find it - it used to be out there.... For the most part for the type of gear you are talking, you get what you pay for because margins are very slim on this stuff.