Brand is an important indicator of build quality and components going into something at your price point for value. For example, I have different expectations for Monster than I do for Onkyo/Pioneer. Or D-link and Asus.
I know good bands get free electronics, but they are good because the electronics are good. They did have to buy them before they got discovered, so I feel very good about the electronics the band chose.
I pay a lot of attention to brand reputation, but less to recognition (in the sense of “are they really important”)
For PC parts, I won’t really touch Broadcom if I can help it as an example.
@billyrogers Broadcom as in what Dell puts on its server line? That might have been the case 15 years ago, but i haven’t had any problems with Broadcom for a long time. RealTek, on the other hand is consistently bad.
@billyrogers I think the reputation/recognition dichotomy is really important. Just because something has brand recognition doesn’t mean I want to spend my money on it.
@billyrogers@smyle Definitely agree about RealTek. We get the most customer complaints about their network hardware.
– Your cranky system software engineer
@billyrogers@smyle Yes, I agree. Broadcom is fine, just make sure you have the most recent drivers, and don’t trust Microsoft to have those. Go straight to Dell.
When buying a TV Rtings is most important to me. It’s how I ended up with an inexpensive Dolby Vision panel from a company I hadn’t heard of. I’m not an audiophile, so the wired earbuds or $50 cans are fine for me. Car stereo, brand conscious, I’m not putting a Chinese tablet in there from some company I haven’t heard of even if it’s the same as the Pioneer that is made on the same production line with different badges.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is it depends on the type of electronics.
Aren’t some off-brands made from the same components as brand names? Since everything is made in China nowadays, it seems like components are coming from the same manufacturers.
@Gypsigirl213 It depends on the product. X brand’s Walmart edition thingy might be sourced with different components than X brand’s midrange or flagship thingy.
You can’t safely judge products at the brand level with most companies, IMO / as far as I’ve seen. Even iPhones will have one model with not-quite-equal components from more than one supplier. I bet that’s much more the case with cheaper stuff. (I got burned that way, one time, on a Samsung monitor that went through a series of component changes.)
Some of it gets into how powerful the company is too – can it control and audit its upstream suppliers across the pond in China? Some of these little guys and dropshippers, probably not.
@Gypsigirl213 Yes and no. For some electronics, there’s already a basic circuit design that manufacturers go by, but the other components could still make a difference in the end product.
I was going to say I don’t look at brands, but every example I could think of was a thing that only one brand made. Apple makes Macs, iPhones, only Logitech makes Logitech mice… Headphones aren’t interchangeable across brands. They’re different things.
Even cables and crap: Anker’s the only cheapish cable company I know of that supposedly has a good reputation and won’t destroy your stuff.
Modular computer components, hard drives, graphics cards, cases, power supplies – maybe those are the places where there is still commodification. I don’t look at brands there.
@InnocuousFarmer For cables, go to Monoprice. Good quality and less $$$ than just about anywhere. Unless you’re only buying 1 or 2, because of shipping costs.
@InnocuousFarmer@smyle A mix. Some Monoprice products are relabeled white box goods, but some are exclusively made for or directly manufactured by them.
They’re big in well priced home theater installation products; mounts, in wall speakers, most every type of related wiring, etc.
Depends, if my choices are among known brands with recognized good quality, then price/features. If my choice is among no names, or names that I know are licensed by no names, then price exclusively. I usually try to research important things.
Brand is an important indicator of build quality and components going into something at your price point for value. For example, I have different expectations for Monster than I do for Onkyo/Pioneer. Or D-link and Asus.
Certain things like routers, I’m wary of purchasing some off-brand, you never know what might be lurking inside.
(Like bees!)
@Knightp
/giphy bees!
Depends on how expensive it is.
I like my Sorny wireless earbuds…
@therealjrn
/giphy panaphonics
@therealjrn
How do you like you Sony Earless Wirebuds?
For most electronic devices on meh, I don’t care about brand. I’ve had some nice surprises though.
For something pricier, I look for a brand that has a good reputation to maintain and that is actively trying to maintain it.
I know good bands get free electronics, but they are good because the electronics are good. They did have to buy them before they got discovered, so I feel very good about the electronics the band chose.
@hchavers What about the bands that play shitty music?
Eh, a little. Helps w/ the return policy.
I pay a lot of attention to brand reputation, but less to recognition (in the sense of “are they really important”)
For PC parts, I won’t really touch Broadcom if I can help it as an example.
@billyrogers Broadcom as in what Dell puts on its server line? That might have been the case 15 years ago, but i haven’t had any problems with Broadcom for a long time. RealTek, on the other hand is consistently bad.
– Your friendly neighborhood IT guy / sysadmin
@billyrogers I think the reputation/recognition dichotomy is really important. Just because something has brand recognition doesn’t mean I want to spend my money on it.
@billyrogers @smyle Definitely agree about RealTek. We get the most customer complaints about their network hardware.
– Your cranky system software engineer
@billyrogers @smyle Yes, I agree. Broadcom is fine, just make sure you have the most recent drivers, and don’t trust Microsoft to have those. Go straight to Dell.
When buying a TV Rtings is most important to me. It’s how I ended up with an inexpensive Dolby Vision panel from a company I hadn’t heard of. I’m not an audiophile, so the wired earbuds or $50 cans are fine for me. Car stereo, brand conscious, I’m not putting a Chinese tablet in there from some company I haven’t heard of even if it’s the same as the Pioneer that is made on the same production line with different badges.
I guess what I’m trying to say, is it depends on the type of electronics.
It’s a matter of price, importance, and expectation.
I once spent $10 on a 10-pack of no-name earbuds. Was I expecting Bose quality from those? Hardly. But they served their purpose admirably.
I bought a Bluetooth-to-3.5mm receiver for my car. I think it was $10 as well. It’s actually (and surprisingly) really good.
But I also bought an off-brand TV and it lasted < 6 months (and I was disappointed, but not surprised).
What brands really give you are something to look at reviews on.
Aren’t some off-brands made from the same components as brand names? Since everything is made in China nowadays, it seems like components are coming from the same manufacturers.
@Gypsigirl213 It depends on the product. X brand’s Walmart edition thingy might be sourced with different components than X brand’s midrange or flagship thingy.
You can’t safely judge products at the brand level with most companies, IMO / as far as I’ve seen. Even iPhones will have one model with not-quite-equal components from more than one supplier. I bet that’s much more the case with cheaper stuff. (I got burned that way, one time, on a Samsung monitor that went through a series of component changes.)
Some of it gets into how powerful the company is too – can it control and audit its upstream suppliers across the pond in China? Some of these little guys and dropshippers, probably not.
@Gypsigirl213 Yes and no. For some electronics, there’s already a basic circuit design that manufacturers go by, but the other components could still make a difference in the end product.
I was going to say I don’t look at brands, but every example I could think of was a thing that only one brand made. Apple makes Macs, iPhones, only Logitech makes Logitech mice… Headphones aren’t interchangeable across brands. They’re different things.
Even cables and crap: Anker’s the only cheapish cable company I know of that supposedly has a good reputation and won’t destroy your stuff.
Modular computer components, hard drives, graphics cards, cases, power supplies – maybe those are the places where there is still commodification. I don’t look at brands there.
@InnocuousFarmer For cables, go to Monoprice. Good quality and less $$$ than just about anywhere. Unless you’re only buying 1 or 2, because of shipping costs.
@smyle Usually I am buying 1 or two. I thought monoprice mainly white labeled cheap stuff from elsewhere. Is that not the case?
@InnocuousFarmer @smyle A mix. Some Monoprice products are relabeled white box goods, but some are exclusively made for or directly manufactured by them.
They’re big in well priced home theater installation products; mounts, in wall speakers, most every type of related wiring, etc.
Depends, if my choices are among known brands with recognized good quality, then price/features. If my choice is among no names, or names that I know are licensed by no names, then price exclusively. I usually try to research important things.
As long as it has Sony guts, it doesn’t matter.
/youtube sony guts