Insignia receivers to be made by Onkyo

[Seth=L]

I went to Best Buy yesterday evening and I saw a new Insignia home theater in a box system. The system has a receiver, 5 speakers, and a subwoofer. When I looked at the receiver I noticed it looked similar to the Insignia receivers made by Sherwood but it was somehow different. The control layout was changed. Upon closer inspection I realized the receiver was not a Sherwood creation. Inside I saw everything I remembered seeing in terms of layout on a Onkyo receiver. It became immediately apparent when I looked on the rear of the unit and saw Onkyo's proprietary universal port.

They used integrated output devices which leads me to believe this receiver was an incarnation of a TX-SR300 series receiver. It doesn't appear to have HDMI 1.4, but it does handle the new audio codecs over it's 3 HDMI inputs. It also has Audyssey 2EQ.

The included speakers look very similar to Onkyo speakers as well. The Best Buy employee I spoke with indicated that this was not going to be the only Onkyo component to make it's way into the Insignia lineup.

 

[sholling]

Very interesting.

 

[Seth=L]

I thought so. I was under the impression that Sherwood was the lowest bidder. I never would have thought Onkyo would be in that range at all.

 

[sholling]

Onkyo has a habit of packing in a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[Seth=L]

Onkyo has a habit of packing in a lot of bang for the buck.

They told me the complete system was $399. That's not too bad.

 

[M Code]

I went to Best Buy yesterday evening and I saw a new Insignia home theater in a box system. The system has a receiver, 5 speakers, and a subwoofer. When I looked at the receiver I noticed it looked similar to the Insignia receivers made by Sherwood but it was somehow different. The control layout was changed. Upon closer inspection I realized the receiver was not a Sherwood creation. Inside I saw everything I remembered seeing in terms of layout on a Onkyo receiver. It became immediately apparent when I looked on the rear of the unit and saw Onkyo's proprietary universal port.

They used integrated output devices which leads me to believe this receiver was an incarnation of a TX-SR300 series receiver. It doesn't appear to have HDMI 1.4, but it does handle the new audio codecs over it's 3 HDMI inputs. It also has Audyssey 2EQ.

The included speakers look very similar to Onkyo speakers as well. The Best Buy employee I spoke with indicated that this was not going to be the only Onkyo component to make it's way into the Insignia lineup.

AVR is HDMI 1.4a and based on the Onkyo HT-S3300. Also it is assembled in Malaysia...

Just my $0.00...

 

[Seth=L]

AVR is HDMI 1.4a and based on the Onkyo HT-S3300. Also it is assembled in Malaysia...

Just my $0.00...

Makes sense. The satellites are not as nice on the Insignia, however all speaker terminals are binding posts on the Insignia unlike the Onkyo which has them only for front speaker outputs.

 

[M Code]

Makes sense. The satellites are not as nice on the Insignia, however all speaker terminals are binding posts on the Insignia unlike the Onkyo which has them only for front speaker outputs.

Onkyo needs distribution outlets since Circuit City went out..
Also Onkyo has just opened Walmart through the internet.
Best Buy doesn't need anymore retail AVR brands as they already have Denon, Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer.. HK is out.

Just my $0.00..

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Onkyo needs distribution outlets since Circuit City went out..
Also Onkyo has just opened Walmart through the internet.
Best Buy doesn't need anymore retail AVR brands as they already have Denon, Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer.. HK is out.

Just my $0.00..

Good luck for Onkyo for additional income channel.
On the side not I'm completely puzzled on why Each and EVERY time I go to local BB, their little room with speakers/avr NEVER has a sales rep in or anywhere near.... I don't get it I know majority of people just came to bb to buy big screen, but isn't margins on rest of HT stuff higher than on TVs??
Bear in mind I live in big city so it's not like it's empty of customers

 

[M Code]

Good luck for Onkyo for additional income channel.
On the side not I'm completely puzzled on why Each and EVERY time I go to local BB, their little room with speakers/avr NEVER has a sales rep in or anywhere near.... I don't get it I know majority of people just came to bb to buy big screen, but isn't margins on rest of HT stuff higher than on TVs??
Bear in mind I live in big city so it's not like it's empty of customers

Profit margin on audio hardware is 3x that of video hardware..

Just my $0.00..

 

[highfigh]

Profit margin on audio hardware is 3x that of video hardware..

Just my $0.00..

And some video hardware provides such little profit that it's not worth carrying- what's your point? Should a retailer not make ANY profit, or is it a case where you don't mind that they make a profit, as long as it's not on you?

 

[Seth=L]

I'm curious of the logic here too. If the audio has a higher % mark up, then they should certainly be making an effort to sell it specifically.

 

[M Code]

I'm curious of the logic here too. If the audio has a higher % mark up, then they should certainly be making an effort to sell it specifically.

The business model for a CE seller has changed significantly in the last 5 years. Biggest influence has been the internet sellers, one can get virtually any product regardless of brand @ big discounts. The shopper will go to his local dealer check it out and then buy on-line..
Primary reason why the independent A/V specialist is a dying breed.

Video products especially HD flat displays sell in big unit qty volumes, we know of certain dealers that take shipments in 40' containers..
And these containers are shipped from the dock directly to the dealer's warehouse. In actual sales statistics, in North America about 15 million HD displays were sold last year vs. 1 million AVRs, even though the profit margin of audio hardware is higher than video hardware the velocity of video hardware sales are much higher. ie. More GP dollars are generated.

Another factor is the hype/push for the latest/greatest technologies, this forces product obsolences much qwiker.. The biggest profit margin for the CE seller are accessories be it iPod/iPhone cables, chargers, USB, HDMI cables, AC power strip strips an dsurge protectors...
Their profit margins are jumbo..

A $29.95 cable may cost <$5, and if it is their own brand like Dynex (for Best Buy) the margins are even higher. For the most part they give away the HD display or HD Blu-ray optical player and make it up on the accessories..

Just my $0.00..

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

The business model for a CE seller has changed significantly in the last 5 years. Biggest influence has been the internet sellers, one can get virtually any product regardless of brand @ big discounts. The shopper will go to his local dealer check it out and then buy on-line..
Primary reason why the independent A/V specialist is a dying breed.

Video products especially HD flat displays sell in big unit qty volumes, we know of certain dealers that take shipments in 40' containers..
And these containers are shipped from the dock directly to the dealer's warehouse. In actual sales statistics, in North America about 15 million HD displays were sold last year vs. 1 million AVRs, even though the profit margin of audio hardware is higher than video hardware the velocity of video hardware sales are much higher. ie. More GP dollars are generated.

Another factor is the hype/push for the latest/greatest technologies, this forces product obsolences much qwiker.. The biggest profit margin for the CE seller are accessories be it iPod/iPhone cables, chargers, USB, HDMI cables, AC power strip strips an dsurge protectors...
Their profit margins are jumbo..

A $29.95 cable may cost <$5, and if it is their own brand like Dynex (for Best Buy) the margins are even higher. For the most part they give away the HD display or HD Blu-ray optical player and make it up on the accessories..

Just my $0.00..

I agree, however still puzzling is why even if no one buys speakers/avrs at the local bb, why they even bother to have a audio demo room if its never attended ??
Once I went to BB in Staten island with Magnolia store inside - even if salesmen were few - they polite and attentive and I was able to demo few systems with my own mix cd and didn't felt pushed or rushed

 

[M Code]

I agree, however still puzzling is why even if no one buys speakers/avrs at the local bb, why they even bother to have a audio demo room if its never attended ??
Once I went to BB in Staten island with Magnolia store inside - even if salesmen were few - they polite and attentive and I was able to demo few systems with my own mix cd and didn't felt pushed or rushed

The local BB stores in SoCal no longer have the loudspeaker demo room..
Regarding Magnolia, most BB stores in SoCal have a corner just for Magnolia. However we still have a couple of freestanding Magnolia stores but they are on the way out.

Overall the Magnolia branch of BB has been a dismal failure...

Just my $0.00..

 

[tom67]

Nothing surprising here....almost all companies outsoucrcing to cheapest mfg....brand loyalty is a joke these days...just look at new Yamaha 18 lb receivers.....Samsung may be making the best receivers shortly.....

 

[Seth=L]

Nothing surprising here....almost all companies outsoucrcing to cheapest mfg....brand loyalty is a joke these days...just look at new Yamaha 18 lb receivers.....Samsung may be making the best receivers shortly.....

Their current crop is nothing special. They are very light. I realize they use switching or some type of tripath design, but there's no meat at all. They also seem to be feature light as well.

 

[anamorphic96]

I noticed the Yamaha RX-V667 picked up roughly 3lbs with this new version and it's back to using discrete output devices in the amplifier section. Not that this will make a big difference but it's something.

 

[Seth=L]

I noticed the Yamaha RX-V667 picked up roughly 3lbs with this new version and it's back to using discrete output devices in the amplifier section. Not that this will make a big difference but it's something.

I think that with all the complaints about the cutbacks on the lower end receivers from Yamaha that they chose to beef back up again.