If you've been a reader of What Hi-Fi? for a while now (thank you, by the way), you'll have noticed that the world of hi-fi and audio tends to go in phases. Generally, in a given period, the same products will reappear time and again as the leaders of the pack, with certain brands taking pre-eminence in a particular field. JBL is very dominant in the world of Bluetooth speakers right now, whereas Sony is killing it in the wireless headphones market. Cambridge Audio is currently enjoying a string of successes with its amps and streamers.
The point is, the market is usually defined by well-established, big-name brands, and while periods of dominance do arise, it's usually the same reputable companies that tend to do well in our testing rooms and which we have little hesitation in recommending to the general public. Things fluctuate, but broadly the same names appear time and time again when it comes to earbuds and headphones: Bose, JBL, Apple, Sennheiser, Sony, maybe a cameo from EarFun or Jabra – and that's not because we don't test any other brands (far from it!)
