Denon, Marantz And Boston Acoustics Sold D&M Holdings the owner of such brands as Marantz, Denon and Boston Acoustics has been sold to venture capital operation Bain Capital US $442.9 million.
Denon Looking For 10% Growth From New Product Roll Out Denon globally is targeting a minimum of 10% growth in 2008 with the Company banking on a new range of A/V receivers however in Australia local Denon distributor Audio products Australia is still refusing to do business with mass retailers where Denon is experiencing significant growth in the USA and European markets.
Shotgun Marriage For JVC & Kenwood Two struggling Japanese consumer electronic Companies JVC and Kenwood are set to merge in a desperate effort to return to profitability. The Companies said that they plan to merge on October 1 to survive fierce price competition. During the past five years as many CE Companies have grown due to the demand for consumer electronic products both JVC and Kenwood have gone backwards no more so than in Australia.
Home Networking And Hi Fi Markets Set To Grow Home networking penetration worldwide will grow nearly 50% from 2008 to 20010, according to a new Parks Associates white paper. The growth comes as telecommunication carriers like Telstra get set to role out new home gatway products that allow consumers to take advantage of central storage and content options. Parks have also said that adoption of networking technologies will make installed home theaters and multiroom audio systems more affordable, opening up this market to more consumers at low-to-medium income levels.
Retailer Bid To Buy Marantz, Denon & Boston Brands In a strange move U.S consumer electronic retailer Best Buy has joined Harmon Kardon in a battle to buy Japanese audio equipment maker D&M Holdings the maker of brands such as Marantz, Denon, Boston Acoustics, Snell and Escient. Philips has also said that they will sell down their 12% shareholding in the Japanese Company.
Move Over B&O There's A New Kid On The Block Move over B&O there’s a new luxury sound dude on the block who has a sound pedigree dating back generations. The $200,000 Steinway Lyngdorf sound system is set to be rolled out in Australia with one business magnet already ordering one ahead of the high end systems offical roll out by Sydney based distributor Audio Connection.
Harman Offers To Buy Into Marantz & Denon Brands Harman Kardon the US sound and vision Company has made a part takeover offer for D&M Holdings the maker of the Denon and Marantz brands of speakers. Japanese media sources are claiming that Harman International Industries has offered to buy 49 percent of the company for US$701 million.
The Future Looks "Nasty" For B&O Say Analysts Things are not looking good for Danish sound Company Bang & Olufsen who earlierthis year ousted its Chief Executive. Now their shares have tanked to their worst in four years. The Company has also been forced to reduce its profit forecasts for the second time in two months.
Bush To Expand Bottom End Grundig & Bush LCD TV Offerings Bush Australia is not killing off the Grundig LCD TV brand in Australia instead they plan to launch a new range of small screen HD models with integrated SD DVBT players. They also plan to launch new Bush LCD TVs as well as new sound products and Joh Baily Haircare products.
Reg Mills Stereo Shuts Shop Reg Mills Stereo in Queensland is closing its doors at the end of March after almost half a century in the sound business, representing the fourth of a slew of audio retailers closing down around the country due to increased pressure from the home theatre business.
Audio Connection Opens New Store Sound and home theatre specialist Audio Connection will open a new store in Drummoyne, Sydney, carrying the Audio Connection name across the bridge and tapping-in to a broader customer base.
Yamaha Victim Of Importation Laws Yamaha Music Australia has confirmed that an unspecified number of dealers are transshipping Yamaha consumer electronics and musical instruments products into the country, however unlike the company’s US parent the local subsidiary is unable to terminate the dealers because it doesn’t own the Yamaha trademark locally.
Yamaha Moves To Stop Reseller Scam Yamaha has moved to stop a global scam aimed at selling Yamaha products online and via grey channels of distribution. The scheme involved the removal of genuine serial numbers so that stock could not be traced.
B&O Hits The Skids Danish Hi Fi company Bang & Olufsen is struggling in the fast moving consumer technology market. This week the company sacked its CEO while also reporting a down turn in profits. The moves are not surprising as the company has failed during the past 24 months to deliver a superior sound system up against several new offerings from European and US Hi Fi companies.
Harman Settles Legal fight For $400 Million Harman International, the owner of brands such as JBL and Harman Kardon, has settled a bitter legal fight with one of the bidders for Coles.
Sunfire Scorches Australia With New AV Range Users will now feel the heat of Sunfire’s AV electronics, speakers, and subwoofers, as Hi Fi & Video Marketing becomes its exclusive Australian distributor.
TDK Unveils New Sound System Line Up New products from TDK that range from headphones, sound systems, to compact speakers for the iPod are coming our way. Starting this month, we will see a vast selection of in-ear and studio style headphones, with new products like the iCUBIC and NX-6CD Bookshelf System following a few months after.
Artcoustic Stylish Subwoofer Danish speaker designer and manufacturer, Artcoustic, has expanded its range with a new subwoofer, dubbed the Diablo.
eBay Trades Without A Condom In a desperate move to boost transactions eBay is scrapping its consumer protection program as it seeks to boost transactions through its subsidiary PayPal.
Music Industry Officially In Decline The music Industry is officially in decline with consumers shying away from CD's and conventional Hi Fi for all things Digital.
More On HD Audio A SmartHouse News Reader has sent in an email on the issue of HD Audio it makes good reading.
HD Audio Set To Boom Claims CEA According to the Consumer Electronics Association high definition audio is set to boom this year in a move which lead to growth for CE and Hi Fi specialists.
Online Retailer Digital Home Slashes Prices By 80% Online retailer Digital Home has slashed prices by up to 80%. The move which benefits consumers is set to hurt high street retailers due to the low margins that online retailers have Vs stores like JB HiFi, Retravision and Harvey Norman.
Meridian: Poms Know How To Do Hi-Fi SmartHouse travels to London to meet Meridian – a prestigious AV brand that’s determined not to go out of fashion.
Stereo Buyer's Guide Hi-fi separates offer awesome sound, so we’ve put together 20 tips to firstly help you buy the right kit and secondly to help you set it up perfectly...
Sony BMG Bust Up Looming The music world has been plunged into upheaval after two giants of the industry, Sony and BMG have been stopped in their tracks by a European Union court.
D and M Tries To Kill Internet Sales In a move that smacks more of price control than providing a convenience to consumer D&M Holdings owner of the Denon, Marantz, MacIntosh Laboratory, Boston Acoustics, Snell Acoustics, D&M Professional, ReplayTV(R) and Escient(R) brands are attempting to control the sale of their products over the Internet.
JBL Scores Cannes Gig Four of JBL's Synthesis Atlas multichannel audio systems were selected for use in custom-built screening rooms during this year's Cannes Film Festival, held last week in Cannes, France. In support of the Festival, JBL has signed on as an official partner of the Marché du Film.
ZON Parts With Klipsch Klipsch and ZON have part ways, a move that could have an impact on Audioworks who are the local distributor of the Zon product.
How To Become A Web Pop Star If you are a budding singer or band and you believe you are good, but you have not been able to crack a record deal there is hope. All you need is a broadband connection a web camera and away you go to instant stardom.
Apple Vs Apple What If Jobs Loses This week I sat in London's High Court as the latest round in the 25-year battle between Apple Corps, the Beatles’ music company, and Apple Computer ufolded.
iPod Hi Fi Panned When Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the new iPod Hi-Fi on Feb. 28 by saying "I'm an audiophile. I've had stereos costing -- well, I won't say -- but a lot, [and] I'm actually getting rid of my stereo," he offended the tender sensibilities of audiophiles worldwide.
Can Hi Fi Survive The iPod Every weekday afternoon, as the hordes flee schools and offices around Australia wearing those ubiquitous white iPod earphones, you know that recently someone purchased a device to listen to music.
B&O Strips Local MD Of Powers Bang & Olufsen Denmark who recently took over the control of the struggling B&O operation in Australia has stripped local Managing Director Bevan Van Blerk of any responsibility for marketing despite years of experience in the Australian market.
Warner Delays HD DVD Role Out Warner Home Video has said that it’s delaying the release of movies in the HD-DVD format because of technical problems, raising concerns that players in this high-definition format may have little content to play when they come out at the end of this month.
B&O Starts To Lose Its Danish Gloss B&O who have struggled in Australia for many years has joined a long list of European manufacturers who are finding it hard to manufacture at home.
Real Hi Fi Whats That? This month we saw several vendors including Apple jump on the iPod accesories bandwagon including several real hi-fi Companies like Jaemo and Harmon Kardon.
Digital Music A Big Mess A digital music conference in the USA has given an insight into some of the problems Australia will face transitioning to Digital Music.
Sony BMG CEO Nudged Sideways The chief executive and chairman of the board are trading hats in a shake-up at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, following a scandal plagued 12 months.
Danish Hi Fi Companies Face Backlash Danish HiFi companies including B&O, Jamo and Media Centre company, KISS, are expecting a massive backlash from Muslims around the world following the publication of contentious drawings of Islam's Prophet, Muhammad, in a Danish newspaper.
SmartHouse Magazine Expands SmartHouse Magazine has started the year by launching two new products. SmartHouse Ideas a new advertorial service that highlights Australian installations and homes and an email pipeline service for both CE resellers and consumers.
More Strife For Sony BMG Sony BMG is again caught up in a row about its anti-piracy software. Digital rights groups have warned the music maker about vulnerabilities in its MediaMax copy protection system created on users PCs.
Monster SuperDiscs Coming Monster Cable is set to launch SuperDiscs in an effort to get consumers listening to high-quality music, particularly surround-sound music, through a high-quality sound system.
Component Audio Vs Home Theatre The majority of households don't own a home theater because of practical challenges, including small room sizes and a disinclination to run exposed wires to connect components, according to an NPD Group survey of consumers.
Two Channel Hi Fi On The Way Back Two channel Hi-Fi is on the way back and more people are now considering high end systems than ever before. But there is one essential new ingredient in the mix digital file technology and storage systems for the digital content.
Sony's New HiFi Components Sony Australia has announced a new range of top level HiFi components created to illustrate the outstanding potential of new generation digital formats and interfaces for home entertainment users.
10,000 Jobs To Go At Sony UPDATED: Sony is set to slash 10,000 jobs and up to 20% of their current products to help end losses Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer has said. The cuts will be made worldwide including Australia.
Smarthouse gives you the low-down on all that HD TV has to offer - the best TVs both LCD and Plasma, plus peripherals. We also cover great ski gear and awesome in-car entertainment, as well as all the usual features…
