I am convinced there are two main types of customers for high-end audio: dealers and end users. If you're a manufacturer which customer do you design your product for? Both are absolutely valid.
Dealers have constant day-to-day communication with end users and collect all the info from them and then ask manufacturers to fill the needs of their customers.
End users know what they want and need and are the ultimate customer, but so scattered and varied are their desires that any manufacturer who designs for them has a huge challenge ahead to figure out what might appeal in a single product.
The dealer can act like a filter, while the end user can provide the ultimate answer if only one could determine which end user to pay attention to.
Most high-end companies I know choose the dealer route - they build products that are most requested by their dealer network - which reflect the desires of the dealer's customer base.
It's probably no surprise that we take a somewhat different course - an amalgam of both - but the final arbiter in the decision comes down to two criteria: do we want to own the products and are they extraordinary enough to deserve a life of their own?
Unusual? Yes. Weird? I don't think so.
