Considering my 1 year anniversary with Marantz is this month... but if you count the time I've spent without it while it was on warranty service field trips... TWICE... maybe my anniversary isn't until September. ???
???
*Shrugs
I don't even know.
You are light years ahead of me in understanding some of this.
My thought, based on what we've seen recently with the Sound United Dealers Conference... or whatever that was... is that they have a plan in place... what it is we won't know for a year or two still. Nothing we say now will matter.
My hope is simplification of Brand Identity. Marantz and Denon can coexist as mid-upper echelon products. But where does that leave Onkyo and Pioneer if they do officially get brought into the fold? Does one become the low to mid? Do they cannibalize the other and sell off Pioneer, say? Maybe some 5 or 9 people know that answer right now. What about Classe? Those were some lovely looking pieces they put up. What about Def Tech? Truly premium grade Speakers? (I don't buy that.) Or Polk? Boston Acoustics?
Regardless, they seem to be on the way to identifying their brands and starting to hone their images and stake out territories for each.
On another point, the Onkyo shareholder meeting to approve the sale was supposed to be "on or around" June 26th... interesting I can find no news about this since then.
Time to grab a 6-pack, pop some popcorn, sit back and armchair-quarterback this whole transition!
If I imagine becoming the head of their marketing department, say something like V.P. marketing SU international. I would consider the following scenario:
Pioneer:
- Concentrate on Class D, continue R&D for improvements in low impedance capability and cost.
Onkyo:
Merge their integrated amp/power amp/AVR team with D&M, focus on AVP only based on Integra's.
Rational:
- Integra has been making AVP for the longest time, their team(s) likely have more experience than Marantz so let them take the lead.
- Onkyo AVRs, fair or not, seem to have less favorable reliability reputation than Denon and Marantz.
- Pioneer has been making class D based AVRs for the longest time.
D&M:
- continue the same path, but merge the AVP team with Integra's
- Take the lead in integrating everyone's media players and other devices into one.
- Take the lead in integrating everyone's preamp/integrated amp/power amp divisions.
- The integrated amp division can still promote class D amps under Marantz (merge/synergize with Pioneer's) and class AB amps under Denon (merge with Marantz, take the lead, or let Marantz lead, depending on who has better infrastructure).
Other than that, as alluded to before, synergize further to the point when a potential shopper ask which one to go with, the answer based on facts, not myth/hearsay from the past will be:
- No difference in audio specs between the corresponding models, so you can make your choice base on look, style, connectivity, and features, and most importantly, output power requirement.
Differentiate their brands on the sound signature myth (ref: the AH posted Y-tube video) makes no sense, borderline on being dishonest..I think besides you and I, our friends like
@mtrycrafts ,
@lovinthehd ,
@AcuDefTechGuy..etc., or even
@TLS Guy would agree with me on this point.
One good thing about leaving things alone is, so SU can sell off any one of the brands for a profit, but how likely would that be? And if it isn't that, and yet do nothing, then what is the point of acquiring all these good old brands?
Imo it is high time they integrate/synergize the brands to optimize cost and take the lead in simplifying and demystifying to help potential buyers make their informed decision, without resorting to feeding/misleading them with hypes and myths, but educate them with facts and figures.
