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Major Transition Hits Specialty Stalwart Parasound as Founder Retires

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Parasound Halo JC1+ amplifier
Parasound Halo JC 1+

Parasound is a unique company. A long-time specialty segment stalwart, the company has been delighting audio enthusiasts for more than forty years! That is no small achievement when you consider the twists and turns of the specialty segment over that time frame.

And the credit for that success is largely due to the commitment to quality – and, frankly, just the bulldog temerity – of founder and CEO Richard Schram. So it is a development worthy of note that, yesterday, Schram announced his retirement from the company and its sale to a new owner.

Learn more about Schram’s retirement and Parasound’s transition to new ownership

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Savant Tests a 2nd NYC Experience Center, The Savant SOHO Smart Home Gallery

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Exterior of the Savant SOHO Smart Home Gallery

In a dramatic move that represents a tremendous investment in consumer marketing, Savant Systems, Inc. (Savant) is piloting a second New York City showroom concept in Manhattan’s trendy SOHO district called, appropriately enough, Savant SOHO Smart Home Gallery. This new space joins the company’s long-running Flagship Experience Center, which is also in SOHO.

Why a second experience center in the same part of New York City? Read on…

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Masimo, Sound United Parent, to Expand Denon’s HEOS System

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Masimo image showing Sound United brand HEOS

Company Finally Gives a Glimpse of Its Sound United Strategy

In what may turn out to be the best test yet of Masimo’s long-term plans for Sound United, the company announced today that it is launching an expansion of HEOS, the wireless home system initially developed by the company’s Denon division as part of a whole-home wireless music system. When Masimo acquired Sound United back in February of this year, Denon’s “cloud-connected home ecosystem” was one of the items it specifically mentioned as what attracted them to make the acquisition.

With today’s announcement, the company says that the launch of this “…expansion of the HEOS platform [will] provide a robust and always-on connection to the Masimo Health secure cloud.”

See more on this latest announcement by Masimo

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Vinyl Record Resurgence: Unique to U.S….Or a Global Phenomenon?

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Tower Records opened a store in Japan selling vinyl records in 2021
Tower Records opened a location in Japan offering vinyl records in late 2021. ‘City Pop’ is a style of music from the 70s that is popular again in Japan [Click to enlarge]

By now, data clearly shows that vinyl record sales here in the U.S. have been growing steadily for more than a decade. When initially detected, many thought it was simply a fad… They thought that at first CDs…and then digital downloads…and finally digital streaming would supplant vinyl. Now we know that is just not the case and that vinyl is continuing to grow in importance again to the music industry.

Think this is just a U.S. phenomenon? Think again! A report by the Nikkei in Japan notes the dramatic growth of vinyl sales there, as well.

See more on the growing global influence of vinyl record sales…

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B&W Offers a Racy McLaren Edition of Px8 HFs

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Can headphone design really be inspired by a rad-looking “supercar”? Apparently, as high-end, high-performance speaker maker Bowers & Wilkins (B&W), a division of Sound United, announced today a special McLaren Edition of their flagship Px8 reference-grade, over-ear, wireless, noise-canceling headphones.

The company said it created the special model to celebrate its 5-year relationship with luxury, high-performance car manufacturer McLaren Automotive.

See more on Bower & Wilkins special McLaren Edition Px8 headphone

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WiSA Raises $7.6 Million in Public Offering; Takes Down ‘For Sale’ Sign & Launches App

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WiSA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: WISA), “a developer of spatial, wireless sound technology for smart devices and next-generation home entertainment systems,” announced recently that it has successfully closed on a $7.6 million public offering…breathing new life into the struggling organization. The offering was made pursuant to an S-1 filing with the SEC, which declared the registration as effective on November 29, 2022.

See more on this news from WiSA Technologies…

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Savant Power Raises Savant’s Power in the Market by Partnering with Sunnova

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Sunnova, new partner of Savant

Savant Systems, Inc. (Savant) announced on Monday it’s Savant Power division has partnered with heavyweight energy solutions and services provider Sunnova Energy International, Inc. (Sunnova) (NYSE: NOVA). This is the kind of deal that can turbocharge Savant’s growth in the energy monitoring and control segment – a segment in which they are already a leader in the custom integration space.

Learn all about this deal between Savant Power and Sunnova…

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Why is Snap One Stock Dropping to New 52-Week Lows Recently?

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slide from Snap One earnings report

Snap One (NASDAQ: SNPO), a major player in the custom integration/smart home channel, recently reported its fiscal 2022, third-quarter results last month, showing both revenue gains and reduced losses. The company says sales are slowing and they revised their forward-looking guidance for yearly performance downward.

Since this earnings report was released, the value of Snap One stock has really struggled, dropping 19% and setting several new 52-week lows.

See why Snap One stock struggles in the wake of their Q3 performance report

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Amazon Alexa and Devices Division On Pace to Lose $10B; Div. in Crisis Mode

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Photo from Amazon Keynote
Charlie Kindel, then with Amazon, pitches Alexa and tells integrators that Amazon wants to work with them at CEDIA Expo 2016

This has to rank up there with one of the most spectacular product failures in tech history. According to leaked documents acquired by Insider, Amazon’s “Worldwide Digital” unit – the unit that includes Echo smart speakers, Alexa voice technology, and Prime Video streaming – lost over $3 billion in just the first quarter of this year. It is on pace to lose $10 billion for the year and the company has announced its largest layoffs ever – cutting more than 10,000 jobs…many targeted to hit this division specifically…as Amazon reorients their business strategy.

See the latest news on the failing Amazon Alexa business

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EXCLUSIVE: AVIXA CEO Weighs In on Trade Assocs., Shows, Emerald & More

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Photo from InfoComm show, an AVIXA production

About five seconds into our phone call, before I even had a chance to explain myself, AVIXA CEO David Labuskes suddenly burst out: “Oh! I know why you called me!” This reaction caught me off-guard as we’d never spoken before. But when he went on to tell me why he thought I had called him, he was right on the money. It was a clue that he is a deeper thinker than many executives I reach out to, and as we spoke further, that impression only got stronger.

Another surprise was that Labuskes knew me (and Strata-gee) better than I realized…

Learn what the CEO of AVIXA shared with me in this EXCLUSIVE interview…

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