I have a small list of some brands that I think make great products, who am I missing and who doesn’t deserve there spot?
I think the top ones are Bowsers & Wilkins Klipsch Polk PMC KEF Harman Bang & Olufsen
And some other good ones are JL Sonos Hegel McIntosh PMC Pioneer Paradigm KEF PSB Focal
I wouldn’t put any of your first choices in the high quality category.
I think this all depends on where you are in your journey. I remember in the 90s thinking Denon, Marantz and Mission were top tier.
Truth is, you need to plot your course and upgrade as money will allow. At each step you will hear significant improvements and so if those brands are high quality to you right now, that’s all that matters.
For me, McIntosh and Nagra are aspirational brands. No doubt a few on this forum would disagree and point out that there is better stuff available.
I like this comment, personally i have good experience with klipsch, b&w, and ive found pioneers decent, but other then a bose headset and some logitech speakers i really have no other experience with sound quality which ive started to become interested inwhich is why i came here