The problem is not technological, it is social. One must convince highly technology-ignorant consumers that your magic box is more magical than the other guy's magic box. Motivation is everyting, and it often involves motivation of upper-middle-class "lifestyle slaves". Distortion figures don't mean very much to those types....but when Harvey Rosenberg or Dan Schmalle raves (raved) about something, people respond to the emotional appeal. Nevermind the distortion figures or the frequency response.
This is often NOT a good thing. It invites scammery and decreasing technical standards.

....excuse me for pointing this out, but the Japanese also seem to have a strong taste for comic books featuring child molestation, amputee rape, and brutal bloody violence against women. It's perfectly legal to publish that stuff in Japan. If you ever want to see some, try the visual-art archive on Portal of Evil. The sickest websites listed therein all seem to be Japanese.

If Japan=obsession with quality, then it must extend to everything they do--including tentacle rape cartoons.....thanks but no thanks....

• http://www.portalofevil.com/archives/ArtVisual_Arts.html