Do Silly Product Names Help or Hurt the Marketability of Audiophile Gear?

There are tens of thousands of audiophile components on the market today from hundreds of well-known and well-respected brands. Many of them have very specific naming conventions that are the handiwork of experienced marketing executives, Madison Avenue PR firms, enthusiastic audiophile sales teams, AV product engineers, as well as company owners/leaders. These names run the gamut from the fully mundane to the completely bat-shit insane with every possible stop in between. The question is: does naming your audiophile product something crazy help sell more gear or at least get it more attention, or does it put potential customers off buying otherwise excellent audiophile products?

There are many examples of creative audiophile product names in the market today. One of the most notable comes from the world of the best audiophile speakers in the form of Wilson Audio and their historically significant WATT/Puppy line of speakers. The Wilson WATT was a heavy, angular, and hard-to-handle audiophile bookshelf speaker or studio monitor designed by the late Utah speaker designer and recording engineer David Wilson. In the very early 1990s, audiophiles found this stunningly well-made but odd speaker (the Wilson WATT) complete and they ran with it. The speakers were pretty strange looking and physically awkward by themselves, and mating them with good bass augmentation wasn’t the easiest in those days, so Dave and his team created a rock-solid speaker stand/woofer section for a Wilson WATT to sit on top of, known as a “Puppy,” thus the name WATT/Puppy was born. 

The configuration of the speaker was strange, in that the top and bottom of the WATT/Puppy combo didn’t really connect physically as much as they did with a big speaker cable tail (if you will) that went from the Puppy bass drivers to the WATT on top. Adjustments evolved for tweaking the WATT speaker including height or more accurately tilt adjustments. For decades, the Wilson WATT/Puppy was an oddly named speaker that was considered as good an audiophile loudspeaker as money could buy. Could one pair it with an audiophile subwoofer like the oddly unpowered Wilson WOW, which was at the time one of the best audiophile subwoofers? Yes, but the sales of the oddly named speaker didn’t seem to keep anyone from buying them for an extended period of time. Perhaps in an even more strange marketing move, Wilson changed the name of the WATT/Puppy speaker line after about eight revisions, to what is now known as the Wilson Sasha DAW speaker. 

Schiit Audio, which more often is simply referred to as Schiit, is one of the most fun companies in the audiophile industry. Its products are American made (California and Texas) and American designed and bring a non-nonsense approach to very-affordable audiophile DACs, stereo preamps,  power amps, headphone amps, and even very well done phono stages. Given the company’s mythology-inspired names, you’ll see products like the Schiit Modi 3E DAC or a Schiit Freya S audiophile preamp,  along with badges as un-pronounceable as Price’s symbol. Take, for example, the Yggdrasil+, which is named after the sacred tree at the heart of Norse mythology and cosmology,  which perhaps makes a little bit more sense when explained. Nevertheless, the brutal-to-pronounce modular DAC has no problems selling and has recently been upgraded and updated, yet still is priced at less than $2,500, which for reference digital components isn’t crazy money.

More of my favorite audiophile brands are willing to use totally out-there names, specifically Tekton Design. Their speakers are the intersection of the two aforementioned brands, in that they make Wilson-level speakers with Schiit-level value. Consumers who’ve had a chance to hear these made-in-America, super-easy-to-drive speakers often fall in love with them. Their $2,200 Tekton Design Pendragon speaker is a game changer in the world’s most competitive audiophile speaker category ($2,000 floorstanding speakers). When you start going upmarket in the Tekton Design product lineup, you run into products like the Tekton Ulfberht at just under $10,000. These gigantic tower speakers can rock like nobody’s business, and their name may be shy on a few vowels, but they’renot on consumer demand. One of our reviewers is seriously considering these speakers as his reference loudspeaker over other designs costing two or three times the price. The silly name is no factor in him writing a check. 

For all the unpronounceable model names referenced above, making fully coherent, linear naming conventions is even trickier. Bowers & Wilkins tries to do this, but even their naming conventions are off by a little bit. The current Bowers & Wilkins 803 D4 speakers come with the D4 suffix while other lines like the Bowers & Wilkins 702 S2 Signature and Bowers & Wilkins 603 S2 Series come with an S2 or S3 ending. No biggie to me, as I just ordered a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 802s for my living-room system. The sound, the solid nature of the bass, and the feet (I have small toddler at home) as well as the overall fit and finish spoke to me more than anything to do with the name. 

While it would be ideal to have an excellent naming convention for audiophile products, it doesn’t seem to be a deal breaker. Would audiophile dealers be able to understand and possibly order the products better? That is likely true. Would being able to explain your product lineups to consumers better help limit product confusion with the end user? That too is likely true, but in the end, value and performance speak far more loudly than odd-ball product names. In fact, maybe the odd product names give the products some special marketing flair.

Does the name of an audiophile product have any impact on your purchasing decision? What audiophile products do you think have silly names? I didn’t even scratch the surface of this topic.

Comment below and we will approve the comments as they come in.  

Strange Names for Non-Audiophile Products

In the world of consumer products, it’s not uncommon to come across some strange, silly, or outright baffling names. While audiophile gear may take the cake for bizarre monikers at times, mainstream products are certainly not immune to quirky and odd product names. Some of these names are likely the result of creative marketing gone awry, while others seem to embrace humor or absurdity to stand out in crowded markets. Here’s a closer look at some of the strangest names for non-audiophile products that have appeared in the consumer space.

1. Spam (Hormel Foods)

Perhaps one of the most famous oddball names in the food industry, Spam has become a household name for the canned meat product that’s often met with confusion. “Spam” itself is a blend of “spiced ham,” but the name still evokes images of email inboxes or an entirely different kind of internet junk. Despite its odd name, Spam has achieved surprising longevity, but it’s one of those products whose name you either love or can’t stop questioning. A product that’s been around for over 80 years has earned a strange level of nostalgia, but there’s still something humorous about naming a food product something that sounds like an unwanted message.

2. Poopourri

Poopourri is a brand of bathroom spray designed to mask unpleasant odors before or after using the restroom. The name is a combination of “poop” and “potpourri” (a mixture of dried flowers and spices often used for fragrance). This play on words is intentionally humorous, and the product has capitalized on its potty humor, becoming a viral hit due to its quirky name and amusing commercials. While Poopourri certainly grabs attention, its name is a reminder of how a simple play on words can be used to turn a potentially embarrassing product into a best-seller.

3. Moo La La (Lush Cosmetics)

Lush Cosmetics, a brand known for its handmade bath products, has a line called “Moo La La,” which is a body lotion designed for moisturization. The name is a playful and odd combination of “moo” (the sound cows make) and “la la,” a term often associated with sweetness or delight. Despite the name’s oddity, Moo La La has found its place in the market as a quirky product, and its whimsical name has become part of Lush’s charm. It’s an example of how offbeat names can create an identity that stands out, even if they don’t entirely make sense.

4. Baconnaise (J&D’s Foods)

For many, the combination of bacon and mayonnaise is an unexpected, albeit controversial, culinary concept. Baconnaise, a product from J&D’s Foods, is exactly what it sounds like: bacon-flavored mayonnaise. The name is a clear and strange fusion of two beloved foods—bacon and mayonnaise—that, on paper, don’t seem to belong together. Despite the odd name, Baconnaise gained a cult following, and its mix of bacon flavor and creamy texture resonated with those who wanted to bring bacon to all aspects of their diet. In this case, the oddity of the name seems to have played a big part in its success, as consumers were intrigued by the concept and, naturally, the humor behind it.

5. Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers

Trolli, a well-known candy brand, has a popular product called Sour Brite Crawlers, which are sour gummy worms. The name itself may sound a bit whimsical and strange, but it has become an iconic part of the gummy candy world. The use of “crawlers” is a quirky way to describe the shape of the candy, which mimics that of worms, and “Sour Brite” points to the intense, tangy flavor and bright colors. While the name is simple and straightforward in some ways, the use of “crawlers” makes it an odd choice, as it evokes the image of something a little less appetizing than candy.