Strategy in TECH...
With almost two years away from the market after their acquisition by Sound United in January 2018, Classé says it will return to the audiophile electronics market in January 2020 with the launch of their new even more upscale Delta Series line consisting of two new amplifiers and one new preamplifier/DAC. But after so long away, what will it take for the company to re-establish the brand?
It was January 2018 when I reported that Sound United had completed its acquisition of Classé, an acquisition which had been first announced in December of 2017. In the weeks leading up to that December, former owner Bowers & Wilkins was considering getting out of the electronics business…maybe. After months of confusion, where on any day executives at Classé teetered back-and-forth between survival and demise – it now seemed that Sound United had thrown them a lifeline…a chance to live to fight another day.
And then they dropped out of sight for the last two years…
After receiving a stipulation allowing them more time to respond, Lenbrook Industries Ltd, and Lenbrook America, last week filed their response to the Sonos patent litigation they were hit with in June. It was a robust and smart response that clearly communicated that Lenbrook planned to give no ground in this dispute.
While perhaps not quite as audacious as the D&M response when they were first dealt the blow of litigation…Lenbrook offered a smart and savvy response that not only pushed back but seemingly undercuts many of Sonos’ core allegations..and patents.
Always an entertaining stop at CEDIA, Origin Acoustics didn’t disappoint again this year with a significant number of new models, some other updated models, and new announcements. See what caught my eye at this CEDIA Expo…
While others are just now discovering them, Strata-gee first told you about Red Carpet Home Cinema back in April of 2019. At that time, they were really just a concept. But now, CEO Fred Rosen told me at CEDIA, the premium home movie delivery service has arrived and they are now in active beta testing in about 100 homes…
OSD Audio, a specialty supplier of a wide assortment of audio solutions, continues to expand their offerings with new subwoofers, amplifiers, and streaming devices shown at last month’s 2019 CEDIA Expo. The company also featured a dramatic 7.3.4 Dolby Atmos theater system which not only showcased their new Trevoce12 subwoofers (three of them, no less) but also their monster Theatro X11 amplifier with 11-channels of 380 wpc. To say it just about knocked my socks off would be an understatement.
At the the CEDIA Expo earlier this month, Lenbrook had a substantial launch of multiple new models from their collection of brands. Firmly positioned in the mid- to high-end technology market, the new products from Bluesound, Dali, NAD, and PSB continued to forge a path into the new digital audiophile market with high-quality streaming models and high-end in-wall and on-wall speaker and subwoofer solutions.
And in the case of one model, it was an award-winning presentation…
AudioControl flexed its muscles this year at the 2019 CEDIA Expo – launching the greatest number of new products ever in the company’s history. But not only that, the company surprised us with an entirely new industrial design across a wide swath of products that is sleek, savvy, and exciting.
Onkyo USA announced this week that it will become a retailer of Sonos wireless music systems – selling the company’s wireless music systems on Onkyo USA’s website. The company also says it will distribute the brand nationally as well.
A new AV-over-IP solution popular in the pro channel is launching at CEDIA Expo – Dante by Audinate. According to the company’s announcement, Dante “dominates the world of professional audio.” The company also claims that it is rapidly being adopted by several manufacturers of residential gear as well. A fact which brings them to CEDIA.
