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AKM Fire Update: Co. Makes Progress, Interim Solution Shows Promise

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burned out AKM factory
[Click to enlarge] [Photo: nikogorio (Twitter)]

Commits to Deliver New DACs & ADCs in 2022!

In one of the most-read stories ever posted on Strata-gee.com, I reported on a fire in October 2020 at an AKM factory in Japan. AKM is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) used in a variety of products, including digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for the audio industry. In that post, I warned you that this fire threatens to “disrupt the global supply of critical digital ICs.” It was the bright red flag of what was to become a massive supply chain headache that the world continues to struggle with to this day.

UPDATE: What’s happening now after the AKM fire

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Sony Forecasts a Record Profit; Says NOT Entering the Car Building Biz

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New Financial Info Shows Sony Continues to Transform Biz

On the eve of closing out their current fiscal year (fiscal 2021) on March 30, 2022, Sony Group announced their latest financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year…and included a surprising new upgrade of their forecast, now saying they’ll have a record operating profit for the year. This was a high note for the company, a company that has benefitted from consumers spending more time at home playing video games on their PlayStation, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the company also answered the question that many – including me – had about Sony entering the automobile business via their new Sony Mobile division – and in so doing, reiterated their plan to move away from a hardware-centric business.

See more on where tech leader Sony is headed

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U.S. Economy Grew at Record Pace in 2021

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The U.S. economy showed great positive momentum in 2021 with the gross domestic product (GDP) growing at a record pace, recouping much of the drop in GDP in 2020. In fact, a new report from Axios shows that the current GDP growth trend is now within just 1% of the pre-pandemic trend.

See more on the economic rebound

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Joe Whitaker Leaves His Integration Company to Take a Position at Origin Acoustics

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Origin Acoustics logo

Joe Whitaker, a former partner in Thoughtful Integrations out of St. Louis, MO/Dallas, TX, is leaving his integration life behind to join Origin Acoustics as its Vice President of Business Development. Whitaker has been an active promoter of Origin products in his former life as an integrator and has already been consulting with the company on products for years.

See more on Whitaker at Origin Acoustics

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Dave Nauber, Head of Classé for Nearly 20-Yrs, Leaves Company at End of March

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Dave Nauber - Sound United Director of Brand for Classe

BREAKING NEWS

In an internal email circulated to company employees on Monday, Joel Sietsema, Sound United’s Brand President of Marantz and Classé, announced a “change to the leadership structure of the Marantz and Classé organization.” That change is a big one – Dave Nauber, leader of the Classé brand for nearly 20-years, will be leaving the company at the end of March, “to pursue new opportunities.”

Read more about this change at the top of Classé

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Leaked Internal Amazon Docs Show Users Quickly Tire of Smart Speakers

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Amazon products

End of the Smart Speaker Era?

Amazon is widely credited with having created the entire smart speaker category with their Alexa voice-controlled Echo smart speaker and other products. The company has sold millions of them since their introduction in 2015, especially at often insane sale prices during the holiday selling season. But Bloomberg Businessweek has come into possession of leaked internal Amazon documents that paint a portrait of a category that appears to be in serious trouble, principally because it fails – often miserably – to retain consumer interest.

And, the documents show, not only do consumers lose their interest…they lose it quickly.

See more on smart speaker problems identified in Amazon internal docs

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New Residential Sales Jump to 9-Month High

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New residential sales data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development show a sharp rise in the sale of newly constructed homes for the month of December. This is the second month in a row when sales of new homes rose as compared to the sales the previous month and are at the highest rate of sales since March – a nine-month high.

See more on new residential sales

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Let’s Get Physical! Vinyl Sales Up >51%, CD Sales Up for First Time in 17-yrs

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Musicians Counterattack, Gain Against the Geeks

In the latest report from the music world, we learned two surprising facts: First, for the first time in 17-years, retail sales of physical compact discs actually increased. And second, for the first time since 1991, vinyl records are the most popular physical media format. It’s big news and much of the media – even mainstream news outlets like CNN – reported on this development. It appears to be part of a surprising swing by consumers back to physical media, as sales of vinyl records in 2021 saw a stunning year-over-year increase of 51.4% – the biggest increase of ANY format, physical or streaming.

What the heck is going on here?

See more on physical media clawing its way back into the hearts of consumers

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Snap One Acquires Canadian Distributor Staub Electronics

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Snap One acquires Staub Electronics

Snap One announced on Thursday that it has acquired Staub Electronics, a distributor based in Canada who has been the Snap One distributor there for ten years as an independent entity. Snap One says this “strategic move” will “elevate [the] partner experience in Canada.”

See more on Snap One’s acquisition of Staub Electronics

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Kaleidescape Appoints Craig Sholder as Chief Revenue Officer

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Kaleidescape CRO Craig Sholder

Kaleidescape announced on Wednesday that they have appointed Craig Sholder as chief revenue officer (CRO). The appointment is effective immediately.

See more on Kaleidescape’s new CRO

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