Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

New Products

Wealthy Consumers Rate Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Nakamichi Top Luxury Audio Brands

Consumer audio is one of the most hotly contested categories, with many expert opinions on which brand has the best reputation. But wealthy consumers report that they mainly trust what their peers say. In the latest Consumer Audio Luxury Brand Status Index survey from the New York City-based Luxury Institute, Bang and Olufsen (score of 79) edged out Bose for first place as the most prestigious brand, as ranked by America’s wealthy. Bose scored 78; Nakamichi scored a 73.

“The Consumer Audio brands category has scores of brands vying for wealthy households. Many of the wealthy are audiophiles who only buy top-of-the-line, yet most also acquire well-known audio brands,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO, the Luxury Institute. “We mapped the entire category by brand reputation using the voice of wealthy consumers to gain an understanding of awareness, and the perceived differences among the world’s leading audio brands. Brand reputation with the target market has been rated by executives as one of the most critical metrics a brand can measure over time; and there is no consumer more likely to buy more in volume and value than America’s wealthy consumer. These are your best prospects and customers.”

Thirty-one brands were rated including: (alphabetically) Acoustic Research, Advent, Bang and Olufsen, Bose Corp., Boston Acoustics, Cambridge SoundWorks, Cerwin Vega, Clarion, Denon, Harman Kardon, JBL, JVC, Kenwood, Klipsch, LG, Logitech, Marantz, Nakamichi, NEC, Onkyo, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Polk Audio, RCA, Samsung, Sanyo Fisher, Sharp, Sherwood, Sony and Yamaha.

The proprietary Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) is the only measure of the value and equity of leading luxury brands to wealthy Americans, based on statistically meaningful data collected from wealthy consumers themselves. The LBSI incorporates four main “pillars” of value:

  1. Consistently superior quality,
  2. Uniqueness and exclusivity
  3. Enhanced social status
  4. The ability of a brand to make a customer “feel special.”

Seven point scale ratings are converted to a 0-100 scale.

In addition to individual and composite metrics by age, gender, income and net worth segments among the wealthy, the survey measures a brand’s ability to merit a significant premium price and the correlation of price premium worthiness with the composite index of the four critical factors. Another critical metric feature of the research is a rating by wealthy consumers as to a brand’s erosion or enhancement over the past year.

Using LBSI, the Luxury Institute surveyed a nationally representative, statistical sample of more than 400 households with a minimum of $200,000 in gross annual household income and minimum household net worth of $750,000 (including home equity). Brands rated are selected with the assistance of leading industry experts including manufacturers, retailers and journalists.

About the Luxury Institute
The Luxury Institute is the uniquely independent and objective research institution that focuses solely on the top 10 percent of America’s wealthy. The Institute provides a portfolio of proprietary publications and research that guide and educate high net-worth individuals and the companies that cater to them on leading edge trends, wealthy consumer rankings and ratings of luxury brands, and best practices. Publications include the monthly Wealth Report, the Luxury Brand Status Index surveys, the Luxury Best Practices surveys and the Luxury Consumer Experience Index surveys. To reach the Luxury institute, please call 646-792-2669 or go to http://www.luxuryinstitute.com.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Latest Products

TAD ME1TX-SW Stand-mount Loudspeakers Silver Pair Lifestyle

Bookshelf Speakers

At $18,000 per pair, the TAD ME1TX feature an upgraded CST Driver and other refinements.

Shanling CR60 CD Transport Front Angle Silver Shanling CR60 CD Transport Front Angle Silver

CD Players

The Shanling CR60 provides CD playback and ripping capability for a very reasonable $299, but it requires an external DAC.

Cleer Audio ARC 3 Gaming Edition Open-Ear Earbuds Cleer Audio ARC 3 Gaming Edition Open-Ear Earbuds

Earbuds & In-Ear Headphones

Priced at $234.99, the Cleer ARC 3 Gaming Edition comes with a USB-C dongle for low latency wireless gaming.

TCL/CSOT IJP OLED Exhibit at CES 2025 TCL/CSOT IJP OLED Exhibit at CES 2025

Monitors

TCL's CSOT Display Company Mass Produces First InkJet Printed (IJP) OLED Monitor through new Apex Technology Brand Label.

FiiO Snowsky Retro Nano Portable Music Player White FiiO Snowsky Retro Nano Portable Music Player White

Headphone Amps

Is FiiO’s lineup of Dongle DACs starting to cannibalize itself? The addition of aptX HD and LDAC support makes this more of a bargain.

Chord Company Leyline2XL Speaker Cables Chord Company Leyline2XL Speaker Cables

Audio Cables

At £10 per/meter, the Chord Company Leyline2XL are 14 AWG speaker cables designed for custom installers that require long cable runs.

Gift Ideas?

Christmas Gift Guide 2024 for Hi-Fi, Headphones and Home Theater

Gift Guides

From headphones to home theater, these high performance audio gifts will exceed the expectation of any movie or music lover on your list.

You May Also Like

Articles

Looking for the best compact wireless speaker? Our favorite models from Brane, DALI, Devialet and Bang & Olufsen can go wherever you go.

Articles

Our picks for the best wireless noise cancelling headphones to buy in 2022 at various price points may surprise you.

Bookshelf Speakers

Without any public fanfare, Bose has recreated its legendary 901 Direct Reflecting Loudspeakers that we would like to see and hear in person.

Daily Deals

Our favorite wireless noise cancelling earbuds on sale for Black Friday 2024 that we would actually buy for ourselves or recommend to family and...

Hi-Fi Components

Bose Corporation has acquired McIntosh Group, the parent company of two iconic high-end audio brands; McIntosh and Sonus faber.

Daily Deals

Our favorite portable Bluetooth speakers on sale for Cyber Monday 2024 that we would actually buy for ourselves or recommend to family and friends.

New Products

Bose just expanded its Bluetooth speaker lineup with one for home and another to take wherever your path leads you.

Daily Deals

Today is a good day to score a deal on some of the top-rated over-ear ANC headphones from Bose

Advertisement

ecoustics is a hi-fi and music magazine offering product reviews, podcasts, news and advice for aspiring audiophiles, home theater enthusiasts and headphone hipsters. Read more

Copyright © 1999-2024 ecoustics | Disclaimer: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.



SVS Bluesound PSB Speakers NAD Cambridge Audio Q Acoustics Denon Marantz Focal Naim Audio RSL Speakers