Sound United To Acquire Onkyo/Pioneer
- Thread starter soundboy
- Start date
DesertRatt
All Bark, No Bite!
"As a leader in the fast- growing wireless, voice-enabled speaker and soundbar categories, Sound United is eager to invest in the development of new products with the added benefit of Onkyo and Pioneer’s extensive legacy of innovation."
Translation: "OMG, now that we can slap the famous names of Pioneer and Onkyo on our crap it's going to fly through Big box stores like shite through a goose."
Translation: "OMG, now that we can slap the famous names of Pioneer and Onkyo on our crap it's going to fly through Big box stores like shite through a goose."
alteclipsch
Super Member
Exactly, as has happened with so many names, like KLH, AR, and Altec Lansing a while back.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
The brands still make some medium end separates but the outlook can't be good. Company takeovers usually means taking on debt. Debt leads to cost cutting and product line rationalization. Not good for the market.
Dazaa
Super Member
Yeh but the point is even now they don't produce anything other than throwaway bpc stuff so the companies of the 'good old days' are already dead. If you want decent high end gear there are plenty of companies still making it. The fact is avrs and black boxes which become obsolete in a year or two and can be made dirt cheap in China are what pay the bills. Sad reality but money makes the world turn.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
Badge engineering at it's worst is ahead for BPC. Sort of like how Porches and Audis are really Volkswagons.
sqlsavior
Lunatic Member
Not exactly true.
https://www.us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductListing.aspx?CatId=ReferenceSeries
If you don't live in the U.S., you can even get them in silver!
Dazaa
Super Member
Not exactly true.
https://www.us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductListing.aspx?CatId=ReferenceSeries
If you don't live in the U.S., you can even get them in silver!
Sure Marantz have a few nice pieces, if you check the Pioneer website it's a very different story.
invaderzim
Super Member
I've been intrigued for some time by their Albany bookshelf speaker (Acoustic suspension, 92db, 35-23k Hz)
Prisoners and I were at the Classe booth at Axpona. They said they still developed their own gear, but it was taking advantage of the buying power of certain widely used components to keep costs down. Not sure how different hi fi brands differentiate themselves though. Plus having worked with soul-less equity companies, there is no way the product doesn't get dumbed down if they don't make the numbers.
My exciting audio finds this year are an amp from the late 80s and a preamp from the 90s and a DAC from 2010. And I mean really a step forward in sound quality. So what do I care. 
Seriously though, this does suck.
Seriously though, this does suck.
soundboy
Super Member
Pioneer still makes high-end components.....it just don't sell them in the US. Same with Denon.
The Pioneer PD-70 CD/SACD player and the UDP-LX-800 universal player are two such products (the US does get the $1,000 UDP-LX-500 universal player)
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donprice
Wound up workin' at a gas station....
Hmmmm...$1000 universal player vs $15/month for Netflix (or music service) via any number of devices that probably match the performance of the AVR or PC actually used for making noise....
Sorry guys. We can't win this one. Fire TV, a budget AVR, and some really modest bookshelf speakers w/subwoofer is the new reality.
As hard as he tried, Henry J at Gibson couldn't...or didn't...kill Onkyo, Pioneer and who else, Phillips Electronics? There might be just a small modicum of hope yet.
It really all died in 1980.
So? They do know about making money and money is what keeps companies in business. A lot of these brands would have been gone a long time ago if it were not for equity groups like these to keep them alive.
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