Interesting. So what is a HiFi company? Someone who makes something no better than the non HiFi company but charges the audiophile premium?
S
I would say there are two things that differentiate a hi-fi company from a general audio/AV/gadget/computer company.
The first is the target audience.
Hi-Fi companies will be targeting a small niche, and a very small niche indeed in the case of the more esoteric companies.
The second is product focus.
Products designed for the reproduction of music are the main focus and production. This blurs with the larger Japanese companies in particular but they will often have clear divisions within the company, so for example Sony with the Esprit and ES divisions.
This doesn't mean that a company in the first category cannot produce something truly excellent in terms of audio performance - the SBT is a clear example taking onboard the Slim/Logitech issue above.
The outputs of many PC sound cards are also extremely good and comparable to many audiophile branded dacs. So with performance it usually pays to park any preconceived ideas about these things at the door.
Where is gets interesting is that I think the lines are blurring with each year.
Cambridge Audio are a good example who've built their reputation supplying good audio to audiophiles at low cost, but they've been progressively widening their market with the addition of kit designed to appeal across a much broader market.
Arcam show signs of doing the same with products designed for iPods, iPads, and such like. Of course it permeates up into the 'premium' brands too but you'll see this blurring of the line far more at the budget end of the market.