Concerns for the Future of Sound United and Update on my Marantz 7706.

[Bernie Williams]

Masimo purchased sound united for a little over a billion dollars, sells it for 350 million. Harmon is a 10 billion dollar company, hopefully this will provide some stability and better management for sound united.

 

[lovinthehd]

Masimo purchased sound united for a little over a billion dollars, sells it for 350 million. Harmon is a 10 billion dollar company, hopefully this will provide some stability and better management for sound united.

Better yet, Samsung is a $220 billion/year company...

 

[Bernie Williams]

This should take the going concern issue off the table. Sound united is in strong hands now. This is nothing but good news.

 

[lovinthehd]

This should take the going concern issue off the table. Sound united is in strong hands now. This is nothing but good news.

I wonder what brands/lines will make the cut down the line, tho....Harman under Samsung is much more about automotive and lifestyle devices....

 

[Verdinut]

Masimo to sell consumer audio unit to HARMAN for $350 million

https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/masimo-to-sell-consumer-audio-unit-to-harman-for-350-million-93CH-4026040

I had guessed right! Look at Post # 8.

 

[TLS Guy]

This should take the going concern issue off the table. Sound united is in strong hands now. This is nothing but good news.

I would not be so optimistic. Only time will tell. I'm sure some divisions will be cut. They have far too many speaker lines for a start. I expect either Denon or Marantz will be cut at some point. Good business practice would dictate some rationalization. In the end as always, it will come down to the money.

One thing I do know with this dreadful Trump chap and his tariffs, this outfit will be a huge line of red ink for a while.

Masimo took one H of a bath over this one.

 

[Kleinst]

I would not be so optimistic. Only time will tell. I'm sure some divisions will be cut. They have far too many speaker lines for a start. I expect either Denon or Marantz will be cut at some point. Good business practice would dictate some rationalization. In the end as always, it will come down to the money.

One thing I do know with this dreadful Trump chap and his tariffs, this outfit will be a huge line of red ink for a while.

Masimo took one H of a bath over this one.

I can't imagine them shelving Marantz or Denon.... But they did finish off Infinity which is a shame.

 

[dlaloum]

This is sad...

Harman have killed their own traditional Harman Kardon brand, they have killed Lexicon, JBL/Arcam have been relatively moribund, with nothing of note happening for years, and bugs remaining unfixed.... the TOTL JBL Synthesis is a rebranded Trinnov...

What are they going to do with D&M B&W and the rest? I expect most of them will wind down as happened to Lexicon.

Yes they will gain stability - but as a community of audio and/or AV enthusiasts, the Harman (now Samsung) saga is NOT a positive.

 

[TLS Guy]

This is sad...

Harman have killed their own traditional Harman Kardon brand, they have killed Lexicon, JBL/Arcam have been relatively moribund, with nothing of note happening for years, and bugs remaining unfixed.... the TOTL JBL Synthesis is a rebranded Trinnov...

What are they going to do with D&M B&W and the rest? I expect most of them will wind down as happened to Lexicon.

Yes they will gain stability - but as a community of audio and/or AV enthusiasts, the Harman (now Samsung) saga is NOT a positive.

Well it is positive in that the whole works did not go under and end up in a bankruptcy. Masimo drove the outfit well on the rocks, and dumped it for essentially a fire sale with zero good will and a non entity. There was only one step after that and it was bankruptcy court. In fairness the Masimo though, this AV market is shrinking except for the utilitarian and bottom end. Samsung already make, under their own brand name what caters to that.

As I have said before, they don't need all those speaker companies. I would think B & W and Polk would more then suffice. When it comes to the electronics, that is where most innovation is required. So probably at least reduce the number of units and make many of not all electronics the same between brands and just change the label, either Denon or Marantz. The buyer can pick their label. I think actually reducing the number of similar products will be in everyone's interest. Moving to more architecturally acceptable products would be a big plus. Electronics of high quality and reliability is required. That means two and three channel units probably need to dominate their offerings. I think a line of architecturally acceptable gear is the way to go.

 

[dlaloum]

Well it is positive in that the whole works did not go under and end up in a bankruptcy. Masimo drove the outfit well on the rocks, and dumped it for essentially a fire sale with zero good will and a non entity. There was only one step after that and it was bankruptcy court. In fairness the Masimo though, this AV market is shrinking except for the utilitarian and bottom end. Samsung already make, under their own brand name what caters to that.

As I have said before, they don't need all those speaker companies. I would think B & W and Polk would more then suffice. When it comes to the electronics, that is where most innovation is required. So probably at least reduce the number of units and make many of not all electronics the same between brands and just change the label, either Denon or Marantz. The buyer can pick their label. I think actually reducing the number of similar products will be in everyone's interest. Moving to more architecturally acceptable products would be a big plus. Electronics of high quality and reliability is required. That means two and three channel units probably need to dominate their offerings. I think a line of architecturally acceptable gear is the way to go.

The new JBL MA series of AVR's are pretty decent, and a newly engineered ground up design - will we see these rebranded as Denon/Marantz?

 

[lovinthehd]

The new JBL MA series of AVR's are pretty decent, and a newly engineered ground up design - will we see these rebranded as Denon/Marantz?

Or vice versa?

 

[Bobby Bass]

The Lexicon 19 speaker system in my Genesis sounds great. Automotive sound is growing while it appears most consumers are content with Bluetooth speakers instead of separate equipment that audiophiles prefer. The market is changing faster than ever. Will be interesting to see how these different companies and brands trend.

 

[lovinthehd]

The Lexicon 19 speaker system in my Genesis sounds great. Automotive sound is growing while it appears most consumers are content with Bluetooth speakers instead of separate equipment that audiophiles prefer. The market is changing faster than ever. Will be interesting to see how these different companies and brands trend.

If I were younger auto systems might be more important to me. The one I have is having glitches in the head unit, but will just replace that (it's all after-market anyways and was just a basic factory am/fm radio before that...it's a 2007 ). The amount spent on a car and all the bells and whistles these days in them....sure, drop it in on a good stock system. Just wasn't much of a choice for me in various vehicles. Being mobile and compact isn't my thing for audio generally.

 

[Bobby Bass]

If I were younger auto systems might be more important to me. The one I have is having glitches in the head unit, but will just replace that (it's all after-market anyways and was just a basic factory am/fm radio before that...it's a 2007 ). The amount spent on a car and all the bells and whistles these days in them....sure, drop it in on a good stock system. Just wasn't much of a choice for me in various vehicles. Being mobile and compact isn't my thing for audio generally.

I hear you (No pun intended). The stereo in my wife’s Honda is a basic setup with 4 speakers. Interesting how the manufacturers upgrade the stereo as you upgrade the model. The big difference for me is the soundproofing and active noise cancellation in my car. I can hear everything without cranking it up. The road noise in my wife’s on the highway makes it tough for me to hear even with the volume up. My old guy ears need the added help.

 

[highfigh]

FWIW, I received an e-mail from the regional Marantz rep yesterday with shipping info pertaining to the AV20/AMP20- wholesale shipping starts tomorrow.

 

[TLS Guy]

It’s always unsettling when trusted hardware brands face uncertain futures especially when you’ve built your setup around them.

Welcome!

I agree it is unsettling, but hopefully it will stabilize at least for a while. Hopefully there will be more news around New Year.

 

[dlaloum]

Masimo has sold Sound United to Harman / Samsung.

The deal has yet to be finalised, (So SU is still under Masimo for the time being)

What that means for D&M is anyones guess!!

They now have AVR's from JBL, Arcam, Denon, Marantz, as well as brands now dying on the vine such as Lexicon and Harman... (and then there are the various speaker brands, etc...)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It’s always unsettling when trusted hardware brands face uncertain futures especially when you’ve built your setup around them.

Take what you read on the internet with a large grain of salt.

Companies get sold. Not the first, not the last time.

As usual, I wouldn’t hold my breath or lose any sleep over it just because someone started some threads about it.

This belongs in the Steam Vent.

 

[TLS Guy]

So, my Marantz 7706 that failed after three months of service has been at a Marantz authorized service center now, beyond their stated turnaround time of 90 days. So, I am now going to start enquiries. Now to be clear, I have no use for that unit, so my interest is for others who might have issues with Sound United products.

I Phoned Scott my dealer who owns H--Fi Sound in Minneapolis. He knows the unit was received. He said he has previously had good service from this repair facility.

So, the question becomes: - What has changed? The obvious answer is that this is related to Sound United's financial difficulties which are severe currently. Sound United have an offer of purchase by Samsung Harmon for a knock down price, but this is held up by the monopolies commission which says it will not make a decision until around New Year. So my hunch is that repair facility is not getting paid and is owed money. But that is just a hunch and I have no evidence that is so, but I now intend to find out, as I have started enquiries via my authorized dealer. His suspicions are the same as mine, but we will have to let this play out.

If my suspicions are correct, then it is possible Sound United might have to declare bankruptcy before the Monopolies commission make their determination on this sale. Added to the uncertainty is what Musk and his DOGE chainsaw may have created. He may have created enough havoc the Monopolies Commision have lost essential staff. That is certainly possible.

So I think I would be very reluctant to purchase any Sound United product not made in Japan. I say this as Japan has exemplary codes of conduct. I would be hesitant to purchase a Sound United product made anywhere else in Asia at this time. If I were dependent on that 7706 to get my rig back up and running, I would be very upset right about now. However I made the decision to purchase the Marantz AV 10, which at this time has shown itself to be an exemplary unit. So, I can just let this play out and see what insight it brings to the state of Sound United.