Most Underrated/Overrated Component or Brand

AFAIC, for overrated:

1) Beats.
2) Skullcandy.
3) All iPods except for maybe the Classic because it has a pretty nice DAC from what I've heard about it, and it can always be RockBoxed.
4) Newer Bose, vintage Bose is OK, I guess..

Can't think of anything really underrated as I'm for the most part indifferent.
 
IMHO I think Philips, Kenwood and SAE were underrated whereas Pioneer and Technics were overrated, they did make some good equipment but nothing out of this world if compared to the other brands of the 70's and 80's.
 
Under-rated?

Realistic, at least the top models.

Hey, still gotta vouch for my fave, right?

Over-rated: Alpine.
 
Just based on what I've listened to:

Underrated:
Onkyo tuners, esp for DX'ing
Technics, made their own components
Kenwood, just as good as Pioneer and Marantz (but rather ugly)
Early '80s gear in general, esp NAD and ADS
Parasound, Richard Schram anyone?

Over rated:
Much harder to say...
Monster receivers in general, over compensating for some "inadequacies"?
Maybe silver faced Pioneer or Marantz? Great units fetching WAY too much $ these days!
Personal un favorites:
Yamaha "Natural Sound" gear, ALWAYS hated that bland sound.
Polk speakers, boring sound.
 
Well, I guess the Sansa Clip+ can go in the underrated list as it's a good little player.

Underrated? All it gets are good reviews. I'd call it adequately rated (and priced). And it has reliability issues - same as other portable players, I admit).
 
Overrated: Bose.

Underrated: Stuff from the early 80's. My Sansui Z-9000 is a very nice sounding receiver. It beats a lot of nice stuff I have from the 70s, but it looks ugly and kind of cheap (on the outside, at least.)

This is EXACTLY where I live -- the undervalued, the sleeper, the discounted and mistakenly disregarded. Tell me more, tell me more, 'cause I really want to score!
 
Underrated is the lafayette lr-9090,i like it alot. I also like my jvc kd-75 cassette deck. Cant say on the overrated because the only other receiver i have is a onkyo but it works good for the tv.
 
Under rated and bang for the buck would be the amplifiers from Sumo and GAS.Well designed equipment.

You get pretty good value for your dollar and always did with those brands. Why they didn't sell more, I'll never know. They were a bargain then and used prices now are low for what you get. A real solid starting point and everyone seemed to agree with that premise, but still they were never the sexy pick to purchase & folks would buy some other amp instead.
 
Underrated:
These mid & late eighties:
Kyocera, Luxman R series, Pioneer Elite, Proton, NAD.

Over rated: ( Price vs Audible Performance )
McIntosh
B & O
Marantz
Silver Pioneer
 
I recently picked up a Sanyo 2050 (silver face, 1979, 50wpc) that I was pleasantly surprised by. Its worth about a quarter of my sx-750, but depending on speaker choice and music choice it outperformed in many instances. Tuner was better, phono stage not so much.
 
My opinion.

Overated: Pioneer

Underated: Harman&kardon, onkyo, Diatone
 
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What are ya smokin Brian... McIntosh "underated"???



Insert McIntosh in that, instead of Marantz, and ya got why I said what I did about the Mac stuff.

I've had several of the Mac receivers, and they were not better preforming than a Marantz, Pioneer, or Sansui for 1/3 the price.

Mac is good gear, but not superior, considering the inflated price.

Wow buy into mac at the bottom of the line and have a judgement on the entirer company. Oh could they have needed service that you performed?
 
I would say for underrated early JVC and Sherwood, and the Tannoy Prestige line of speakers.

For over-rated Marantz, after two trips to the shop and driving only a pair of Klipsch KG4 speakers done, we have settled in with Kenwood, Sherwood and early Sansui, without any problems.
 
Dunno about the JVC Have a Sherwood bought it new.
It's OK for a 40 yr old device.
Haven't used mine in 20 years.
But then Radio is IMO a complete wasteland currently.
Tannoy prestige series, while Outstanding speakers by any yardstick, is beyond the reach/experience of most inmates here. Certainly those that shop at thrifts.
 
Threads like this, in the end, have one result:

Overrated: everything of moderate quality and above.

Underrated: everything of moderate quality and above.




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Considering what persons pay for Marantz 2270, 2285, etc. Any Mc receiver is under rated. I would pick a 1900 or 4100 over any of the Marantz "have to haves" and end up with better reliability, support and sound. And, I am not particularly a McIntosh receiver lover by any means as more than a few of my writings will testify to.
 
Interestingly, no one seems to comment on the SINGLE digit Marantz models, made when Saul was still at the helm. I have a pair of Model 5 amplifiers that I absolutely LOVE, and will never give up for ANY amount of money.
 
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