This poll is ignoring one crucial reason why so-called "audiophile" brands stayed out of big box stores in the first place -- the relationships with the dealers themselves. An audio company cannot simply dump their entry level products into the big box chains without potential repercussions from their independent dealer network.

filecat13 cited JBL as an example of a company that makes entry level speakers and high end products. Well, when was the last time you actually saw a U.S. dealer that carried any of the JBL high end products? At one point, JBL had one of the biggest independent dealer networks of any audio company. But, when JBL began selling their products at big box stores, those dealers dumped JBL in droves. Their rationale was very simple -- why should I promote my competition?

This coincided with the rise of the Canadian speaker companies like Paradigm, Energy, PSB, et al. Many of JBL's former dealers picked up these brands and others like B&W to provide the same entry level to high-end coverage that JBL offered. These dealers are given territorial exclusivity, and in return, these independent dealers help promote the brand and provide a certain level of service.

When JBL went mass market, their brand equity took a nose dive, because those stores offered inadequate demo facilities and indifferent service. And those stores did not carry anything beyond JBL's entry level lines. Overseas, JBL still has a decent reputation precisely because there are still stores that carry their high end offerings (and many of their speakers are tailored to the local markets and built in Denmark).

With the decline in the number of independent audio stores and regional specialty chains, I think that there is recognition by some companies that they have to get in with the Best Buys and Circuit Cities. This is why companies like Klipsch and Yamaha began separating their specialty lines from their other lines. Klipsch now only sells their Synergy line at Best Buy, while Yamaha created the HTR designation for their receivers.

The danger with overreliance on these big box chains is that they can drop a brand, and that company would suddenly lose more than half of their dealer network. Just look at what happened to Harman International. Circuit City had carried the Harman brands (h/k, JBL, and Infinity) for decades, yet they dropped Harman in favor of the D&M brands (Denon, Boston Acoustics).