The Speaker Company closing shop?

[Ares]

But of course, the blue tweeters. Always thought that was cool! Yeah, TSC offered a big bang for your buck. The current state of the economy does not help matters. Too bad, wished TSC could have survived.



Cheers,

Phil

There will probably be another company to fold due to the economy,and the question is who's next.

 

[speakerman39]

There will probably be another company to fold due to the economy,and the question is who's next.

True, things are very scary right now for all of us. Hopefully though, things will turn around. It will take some time for that to happen, but I remain hopeful. Patience is not one of my better traits.



Cheers,

Phil

 

[highfigh]

But of course, the blue tweeters. Always thought that was cool! Yeah, TSC offered a big bang for your buck. The current state of the economy does not help matters. Too bad, wished TSC could have survived.



Cheers,

Phil

You'd think good value would be more attractive in a bad economy, too.

 

[anamorphic96]

There will probably be another company to fold due to the economy,and the question is who's next.

I have heard some rumors that Klipsch may discontinue the Energy line of speakers. I don't know if it's true or not. Just some stuff I heard from some folks I use to work with.

It would truly a be sad if they did this. As Energy has always made a top notch product. Offering a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[Ares]

With the way things are right now no speaker company is safe, Klipsch Group owns Jamo,Energy and Mirage so it is possible that one these might go away if Klipsch finds one of these subsidiaries not profitable,but this could happen even if the economy was great. It's a business first and foremost it's always about the bottom line,regardless of how we the HT enthusiast feel it's sad but true.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I guess I was lucky to grab my tsc and I do enjoy them, however as mentioned before , they are basically same exterior design as Sapphire speakers (Nick swears by that tSc tweaked woofers/tweater/xover)
They aren't much of lookers and aint made of top-notch materials ether.

but for me audio quality and value stand first and I believe I got myself a winner.

I'm not such Pro as some folks around here but this is a very short list of stuff I can compare my speakers:

Martin Logan Spire, B&W xt system and 604's , Watt Puppy, Wharfardale, Klipch's, Polks, Boston Acoustic (don't remember models), Def Teks, Infinity and JBL.
Pro monitors: Yamaha, KEF, Genelec, KRK and Alesis.

Are my tSc better then some of above fine speakers?
Probably not, but they are not last ones on the list above ether.

Everyone have their own tastes and likes, but one thing is certain: As budget goes - It's hard to beat such a good bargain.

I'm sad to see such great company to go under. RIP

 

[just listening]

I can't say that I was too surprised. Re-badged brands with short life spans will become more and more the norm as Chinese factories increase their domination of budget audio. Quick start-ups will release a product with slim margins and if the initial sales level are short of the goal, watch them fold up tent.

Let's hope this doesn't happen with EMP.

 

[gene]

just_listening

Great points. Again tSc was actually profitable from what I understand. The problem is some of their other brands need more attention so I believe they are refocusing their efforts there.

 

[Chu Gai]

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I can confirm this is true. Apparently the folks at D&M considered it to be too small an operation to keep going. They are focusing more on their higher margin brands instead. It's a real shame as I was writing up the 2009 POY awards I was going to give them one for budget compact 5.1 system with their TSAT1000 but for obvious reasons I had to retract it.

Does the cat that was in the bag say anything about another company taking over that segment of the business?

 

[gene]

Does the cat that was in the bag say anything about another company taking over that segment of the business?

No and to be honest the brand equity probably isn't worth much given they were so short lived and didn't really have a signature look or feel b/c their products were all open tool and changed all the time.

Damn I really miss that TSAT system. It was an insane value.

 

[Ares]

Are we talking D&M holdings here? I wasn't aware..........

I really would have considered them in the next year or so. It really is a shame. I hope their customers with orders already in get treated fairly.

D&M holdings was acquired by Bain Capital in 2008

* Denon
* Marantz
* McIntosh Laboratory
* Digital Networks North America
o Escient
o ReplayTV
o Rio (digital audio players)
* Creative Technical Network (CTN)
* Boston Acoustics
* D&M Professional
* Denon DJ
* Snell Acoustics
* D&M Premium Sound Solutions
* Allen & Heath
* The Speaker Company

this is a list of their subsidiaries.

 

[speakerman39]

You'd think good value would be more attractive in a bad economy, too.

Very good point. But, apparently a lot of people are sort of scared to spend much money for fear it may get worse. This in turn, forces companies such as TSC to lower their profit margins to the point of no return. That seems much more of the norm today. However, my hope is that better times are ahead of us all. One, that will be defined by a much better economy.



Cheers,

Phil

 

[highfigh]

Very good point. But, apparently a lot of people are sort of scared to spend much money for fear it may get worse. This in turn, forces companies such as TSC to lower their profit margins to the point of no return. That seems much more of the norm today. However, my hope is that better times are ahead of us all. One, that will be defined by a much better economy.



Cheers,

Phil

Or, maybe they're staying with the older, established manufacturers. Actually, I'm busier than most of last year and so is a friend in the business. OTOH, most of our clients are very well off, but even some of them are feeling a major squeeze.

 

[speakerman39]

Or, maybe they're staying with the older, established manufacturers. Actually, I'm busier than most of last year and so is a friend in the business. OTOH, most of our clients are very well off, but even some of them are feeling a major squeeze.

Another good point, but I still say many are being overly cautious. At least for the average customer anyways. We all are feeling the squeeze. However, things will hopefully turn around for all of us. Who knows, 2010 may be a good year for us all.



Cheers,

Phil

 

[Ares]

Bain Capital was founded in 1984 by Bain & Company partners Mitt Romney, T. Coleman Andrews III, and Eric Kriss. In addition to the three founding partners, the early team included Fraser Bullock, Robert F. White, Joshua Bekenstein, Adam Kirsch, Stephen Pagliuca and Geoffrey S. Rehnert. Bain Capital's original $37 million fund was raised entirely from private individuals in mid-1984.

The firm's investment professionals evaluate potential deals based on a consulting-based due diligence process that analyzes a company's financial performance, market growth potential, industry attractiveness, and competitive position. One of the fund's first start-up investments was Staples, Inc., the $15 billion office supply retailer. The funding enabled Staples to expand from one store in 1986 to nearly 1,700 in 2006.

Twenty years after its inception, Bain Capital manages approximately $65 billion in assets, and has founded, acquired, or invested in hundreds of companies including AMC Entertainment, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Sealy, The Sports Authority, Toys R Us, Unisource, Warner Music Group and The Weather Channel.

Look at all the companies that Bain Capital are involved with, they are keeping the "premium brands" of D&M which seem to be in trouble and getting rid of the profit making "budget brand" I guess it looks bad if the "budget brand" is making money and the "premium brands" aren't.

 

[JerryLove]

Perhaps said premium brands will suddenly be manufacturered just like the now-gone budget brands. Perhaps the price will even come down a little.

Watering a brand is so normal in so many industries that there's a figure of speech for it (watering it down).

 

[bandphan]

Re-badged Sapphire brand.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/speakers/595/youre-surrounded-page3.html

when tweeter cant stay afloat @ 80% + margins with them hmmm

 

[Ares]

Perhaps said premium brands will suddenly be manufacturered just like the now-gone budget brands. Perhaps the price will even come down a little.

Watering a brand is so normal in so many industries that there's a figure of speech for it (watering it down).

Right you are sir.But IMO quality will go down and prices will remain the same,you just can't go dropping prices on premium brand speakers. how will we make a profit.

 

[Alex2507]

Who knows, 2010 may be a good year for us all.

Yeah, sure. It's going to be grand.

 

[Adam]

That picture is so depressing.