In theory, that should not happen, assuming a free flow of information. I think the opposite is more likely. With the often recited assumption that all AVRs and amps sound almost identical (regardless of a single 8 channel DAC v. four 2 ch DACs, and 10K farad v. 60K farad capacities, etc.), I think the improvements would be lost in the shuffle and these companies will suffer dearly. From reading the Rotel site with great interest, I can tell you that they did nothing to convince me to go with Rotel over NAD, or Denon, etc. They don't even address the lack of video processing, which at least NAD did explain - whether the buyer believes them or not.

Some would say the Rotel v. Denon is an apples to oranges comparison. But that is my point. If you want my $2000 you better tell me why the orange is so much much sweeter than an apple. Lots of people are enjoying the apples these days.

Panny 3000 PJ, 118" Carada, Denon 3300, PS3, Axiom QS8, PSB 5T, B&W sub, levitating speaker wire