2-14-2015
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=132501.0"The Hoyt-Bedford line
A separate line of affordable speakers that were for direct sale (during a world wide economic slump). They ended up with dealers anyway and were quite popular, especially in Canada. They offered high performance and value and were happy with almost any kind of amplifier.
Why Louis discontinued the Hoyt-Bedford line (which had nothing to do with their excellent build and sound quality):
1) A couple of poorly done, unprofessional reviews did considerable damage to the line and in the global village in which we live, that sort of thing can kill a line. Not to mention almost all reviews are advertiser driven, not market driven, so if a company whose product is being reviewed has no advertising contract with said magazine or review site, their chances of a great review are poor.
2) Selling a direct sell product to dealers made the Hoyt-Bedford line unprofitable to manufacture, and Louis will not consider outsourcing to Asia to bring his margins up.
3) Constant questions as to the difference between Omega and Hoyt-Bedford and the desire to concentrate solely on Omega.
4) Large monitors like the Type 1 are difficult to find worthy stands for. A stand truly worthy of the Type 1 costs not much less than the speaker itself."