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Who's In- Who's Out: 2017 Major Brands Stop Making Stereos

ChefE

ChefE

Active Member
I still listen to 8-track tapes in 4 channel. I love my cassette deck(s), all 14 of them. Vinyl records- yep, tons! Stereo is on every day at some point. As my audio addiction/hobby/collection grew so did my desire for knowledge of all things audio related. I remember the "golden years" when I was a kid and hearing people talk s*#t to their friends or who ever "...my Fisher will cream your Carver..." or something like that. But at that time I was more into BMX, skateboards, and Star Wars.
Fast forward to 2017 and I'm still into the same things plus much much more, especially vintage audio. About 90% of the music I like was produced in the 70's thru the 90's: classic rock, heavy metal, bluegrass, acid jazz, electronica/techno/jungle/gabber, funk, and weird stuff. I'm just not into the music that's being put out in the last 17 years. Music seems to have lost some "balls". Same with audio equipment in general. Like the law of entropy, people moved towards ear buds from 15" woofers, MP3 from reel to reel. I can understand the resurgence of vinyl. However the business world in audio has shifted or took the nearest exit.
I wanted to get my girlfriend a new stereo receiver. When I looked up what's available, I was shocked. Seems a lot of company's left the home audio business, they stopped making stereos, amps, speakers, etc.
Sony- gone.
Kenwood- gone
JVC- gone
Denon- almost gone
Yamaha- still kick in'
Infinity- was super good, then sucked, almost gone
JBL- was darn good, then sucked, almost gone
Altec Lansing- great, good, gone
AR- great, good, gone

As of 2017- who makes a 2-channel stereo receiver, separates, etc? I mean strictly audio. No video crap.
No home theater crap. Just audio!
 
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If you look beyond Japanese receivers and manufacturers there is a whole slew of two channel gear being made. As for speakers, join the world of today.

Here's a start for gear:
Emotiva
Parasound
Outlaw Audio

Here's a start for speakers:
CV (XLS Series)
Paradigm
Elac

There are more manufacturers of both. Just look around. Expand your horizons.
 
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ChefE said:
Sony- gone.
Click to expand...
Two from Sony: https://www.sony.com/electronics/audio-components/ta-a1es
d5948f816bd056babbf5226d44234c3d

and https://www.sony.com/electronics/av-receivers/str-dh130


Harmon Kardon, Cambridge, Marantz
 
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Amps or receivers:
Rogue, made in USA (oops, not a major brand)
NAD

Speakers:
Ohm, made in USA
 
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ChefE said:
Sony- gone.
Kenwood- gone
JVC- gone
Denon- almost gone
Yamaha- still kick in'
Infinity- was super good, then sucked, almost gone
JBL- was darn good, then sucked, almost gone
Altec Lansing- great, good, gone
AR- great, good, gone

As of 2017- who makes a 2-channel stereo receiver, separates, etc? I mean strictly audio. No video crap.
No home theater crap. Just audio!
Click to expand...

Yes, Kenwood and JVC are gone, as far as full-size components, in this country.
Denon still makes full size 2 channel stereo components. They're just not available in the US.
Sony still has a stereo receiver in its line. It's available from Amazon, Crutchfield, etc. Sony makes ES series HT receivers too. Sony speakers range from its Core series to the $25,000/pair AR-1 speakers.....all are very well-reviewed.
Pioneer currently has 3 stereo receivers in its line, with two being from its Elite line.
Onkyo has several stereo receivers, on top of its integrated amps. Same with Yamaha.
Outlaw Audio and Cambridge Audio each have a stereo receiver in their respective line.

Harman International, which owns Infinity and JBL, was recently purchased by Samsung. Unclear as to Infinity and JBL's future, but each brand have had good sounding recent speakers.
AR, along with Advent, Energy, and Mirage, were first purchased by Klipsch. Klipsch in turn was bought out by Audiovox (now known as VOXX International), and with the exception of AR, all of of them are dead. AR makes a high performance digital music player that was favorably reviewed by Stereophile magazine a couple of years back.
 
ChefE said:
I still listen to 8-track tapes in 4 channel. I love my cassette deck(s), all 14 of them. Vinyl records- yep, tons! Stereo is on every day at some point. As my audio addiction/hobby/collection grew so did my desire for knowledge of all things audio related. I remember the "golden years" when I was a kid and hearing people talk s*#t to their friends or who ever "...my Fisher will cream your Carver..." or something like that. But at that time I was more into BMX, skateboards, and Star Wars.
Fast forward to 2017 and I'm still into the same things plus much much more, especially vintage audio. About 90% of the music I like was produced in the 70's thru the 90's: classic rock, heavy metal, bluegrass, acid jazz, electronica/techno/jungle/gabber, funk, and weird stuff. I'm just not into the music that's being put out in the last 17 years. Music seems to have lost some "balls". Same with audio equipment in general. Like the law of entropy, people moved towards ear buds from 15" woofers, MP3 from reel to reel. I can understand the resurgence of vinyl. However the business world in audio has shifted or took the nearest exit.
I wanted to get my girlfriend a new stereo receiver. When I looked up what's available, I was shocked. Seems a lot of company's left the home audio business, they stopped making stereos, amps, speakers, etc.
Sony- gone.
Kenwood- gone
JVC- gone
Denon- almost gone
Yamaha- still kick in'
Infinity- was super good, then sucked, almost gone
JBL- was darn good, then sucked, almost gone
Altec Lansing- great, good, gone
AR- great, good, gone

As of 2017- who makes a 2-channel stereo receiver, separates, etc? I mean strictly audio. No video crap.
No home theater crap. Just audio!
Click to expand...
Much of this is just funny. Sony - Gone? Not hardly. JBL - almost gone? Not hardly. Maybe you ought to get your 50 year old glasses updated. Clearly you have little to no grasp of what you're saying. o_O
 
Random one off totl units don't count. :)

I'd get the new Technics stuff in a heartbeat. Whats their new amp? Like 12K or something? F4ckoff.
 
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ChefE said:
I still listen to 8-track tapes in 4 channel. I love my cassette deck(s), all 14 of them. Vinyl records- yep, tons! Stereo is on every day at some point. As my audio addiction/hobby/collection grew so did my desire for knowledge of all things audio related. I remember the "golden years" when I was a kid and hearing people talk s*#t to their friends or who ever "...my Fisher will cream your Carver..." or something like that. But at that time I was more into BMX, skateboards, and Star Wars.
Fast forward to 2017 and I'm still into the same things plus much much more, especially vintage audio. About 90% of the music I like was produced in the 70's thru the 90's: classic rock, heavy metal, bluegrass, acid jazz, electronica/techno/jungle/gabber, funk, and weird stuff. I'm just not into the music that's being put out in the last 17 years. Music seems to have lost some "balls". Same with audio equipment in general. Like the law of entropy, people moved towards ear buds from 15" woofers, MP3 from reel to reel. I can understand the resurgence of vinyl. However the business world in audio has shifted or took the nearest exit.
I wanted to get my girlfriend a new stereo receiver. When I looked up what's available, I was shocked. Seems a lot of company's left the home audio business, they stopped making stereos, amps, speakers, etc.
Sony- gone??
Kenwood- gone
JVC- gone
Denon- almost gone
Yamaha- still kick in'
Infinity- was super good, then sucked, almost gone
JBL- was darn good, then sucked, almost gone
Altec Lansing- great, good, gone
AR- great, good, gone

As of 2017- who makes a 2-channel stereo receiver, separates, etc? I mean strictly audio. No video crap.
No home theater crap. Just audio!
Click to expand...

Sony is not gone, take a look at the Sony HAP-S1, they make more "Hi-Rez" gear now but they are still around.

Good on you for getting your gal a set up!

Kind Regards,
John
 
If Samsung made equipment, I'd be pleased as punch! Love their stuff! (other than the phones that started on fire).
 
Does anyone know the name of that movie that Brendan Fraser came out of the bunker from the 50s into todays world? :idea:

never mind.

 
4-2-7 said:
Does anyone know the name of that movie that Brendan Fraser came out of the bunker from the 50s into todays world? :idea:

never mind.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much what springs to mind when people start sharing the view from their rose colored glasses.

There is great vintage gear and great new gear being produced. There is great old music and great new music being produced, well recorded even if that's what the artist is into. Heck, I found a few I'd never heard just the other day in the "This sounds good on my system" thread.

I can say I liked the 80's and 90's not because things were that much better but because I was younger and didn't have so many responsibilities/aches and pains. That being said now isn't all that bad either. Yeah I'm older and a somewhat cynical bastard BUT I've got a nifty two channel setup with tons of well recorded media AND what would have been considered an insanely powerful computer that's connected to the ENTIRE WORLD which fits in my hand. Plus I can stay out as late as I want and my parents won't bitch at me. Not that I do however since I like to turn in around 10 so I can get up early and yell at the kids on my lawn.
 
Sony
Pioneer
Marantz
Yamaha
NAD
Onkyo

Are just a few who come to mind that make two channel gear.

As stated earlier, Google is your friend, so are Amazon and Crutchfield.
 
ChefE, don't mind the contrarian ones who actually get offended over a simple expressed opinion on the internet(yep, something that will never fade away is thin skin). I get what you're saying. Sony, Denon, Harman Kardon, Pioneer, and Onkyo are now a shell of their former selves when it comes to 2 channel audio. They all used to make dozens of 2 channel gear and now put out very little by comparison.

One other company that hasn't been mentioned started up less than 10 years ago. They manufacture exclusively in the U.S.A. With almost all parts being sourced in the U.S.A., which by itself is pretty impressive when you think of all the rest being made in Taiwan, Malaysia or China with cheap labor and less in the way of government regulations.

Schiit Audio is worth a look, and yes, the "c" and second "i" are silent. They specialize in DACs and headphone amps, but less than a year ago come out with a couple of good pre-amps, and an amp that is 100 wpc at 8 ohms, 200 wpc at 4 ohms, or 400 wpc as a mono block. Not bad for $699.
 
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