Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) announced Wednesday that it has completely re-engineered their top-of-the-line 800 Series Diamond loudspeaker line, a favorite of many discerning audiophiles. Changing your flagship product is an incredibly daunting (and risky) task – how do you improve on perfection? – but it’s all in a day’s work for a company that, since 1966, has been in a “Quest for Perfection.”
Brands
More Than 7 Out of 10 Music Industry Execs Say Tidal Won’t Last a Year
If I were Jay Z’s publicist, I’d be nervous right now. The popular rapper’s reputation as a savvy businessman is in serious jeopardy. Billboard, one of the oldest and most prominent music industry publications, has recently launched a new annual survey of the top “A-list music business professionals.” In order to capture their honest opinions, the survey is conducted on an anonymous basis. While not exceptionally detailed or deep, the survey is meant to cover a “broad range of temperature-taking topics.”
The results of this inaugural effort offered some surprises – including the fact that more than 7 out of 10 of these top music industry executives predict that the Tidal music streaming service won’t survive its first year – a remarkable no-confidence vote in Jay Z, Tidal’s owner.
See more on the surprising results from this first every survey… [Read more…] about More Than 7 Out of 10 Music Industry Execs Say Tidal Won’t Last a Year
Investment Advisor on Potential Nortek Acquisition: ‘Nortek is a Bit of a Train Wreck’
After the Wall Street Journal revealed late last month that United Technologies Corp. (UTC) was in talks to potentially acquire Nortek, Inc., we questioned why UTC would even want to acquire Nortek. Within days of our post, investment advisory firm The Motley Fool (TMF) also raised the issue in a post last week about this not-quite-so-obvious marriage. Well, maybe it’s more like a dalliance than a marriage…at least at this point.
We found the Motley Fool’s analysis interesting – both in their clear-eyed assessment of Nortek and why the acquisition may in fact make sense for United Technologies.
See more on this Motley Fool discussion of the potential UTC-Nortek deal… [Read more…] about Investment Advisor on Potential Nortek Acquisition: ‘Nortek is a Bit of a Train Wreck’
Bluesound: Talkin’ ‘Bout Our Generation
New Brand Hits Key Milestone – Launches ‘Generation 2’ Products
This week in New York City, executives from Lenbrook America and Bluesound conducted a media presentation informing them of a major update to the Bluesound brand, which is distributed in the U.S. by Lenbrook America along with NAD and PSB. It is the first major line update since the brand was first launched in 2013. With this update, called “Generation 2,” the Bluesound brand appears to have gained solid momentum – or at least enough traction for the company to justify a significant investment in further product development.
See more of what we learned, including both product and business updates… [Read more…] about Bluesound: Talkin’ ‘Bout Our Generation
Why Would United Technologies Want to Acquire Nortek?
The Wall Street Journal broke the news yesterday that United Technologies Corp. is in talks to possibly acquire Nortek, Inc. Nortek is best known in our industry as the parent company of Core Brands, a collection of several prominent lines – such as Niles, Elan, SpeakerCraft (and others) – that are focused largely on the custom integration business, but also produces commercial and residential HVAC and air handling equipment. United Technologies is a large conglomerate with diversified holdings such as Pratt & Whitney jet engines, Otis elevators, and Carrier air-conditioning equipment.
See more on what we know so far on this potential deal, which isn’t much… [Read more…] about Why Would United Technologies Want to Acquire Nortek?
Russound Expands XStream Line with Two New Components
Russound announced today that it is adding two new components to its popular XStream line that seamlessly integrates streaming music services to any system installation, residential or commercial. The new models are the XSource Streaming Audio Player and the XZone4 Four-Stream, Four-Zone Audio System.
See more about these brand new models from Russound… [Read more…] about Russound Expands XStream Line with Two New Components
Planar Systems Acquired by Chinese Video Wall Maker Leyard Optoelectronic
Planar Systems, Inc. announced today that it has agreed to be acquired by Leyard Optoelectronic Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese provider of fine pitch LED video wall systems. Leyard will purchase all outstanding shares of Planar stock paying $6.58 per share, valuing the deal at $156.8 million. This represents a 42% premium over the value of the stock at closing before the deal was announced.
See more on this Leyard and this deal… [Read more…] about Planar Systems Acquired by Chinese Video Wall Maker Leyard Optoelectronic
Azione Unlimited Adds Select Core Brands Lines
Azione Unlimited, a national buying group of specialty retailers and integrators, said today it has added several lines of products from the Core Brands’ stable of brands to its mix. The Core Brands lines added include BlueBOLT, Furman, Panamax, and Xantech.
See more on this newly expanded Azione assortment… [Read more…] about Azione Unlimited Adds Select Core Brands Lines
Is HydraConnect Out of Business?
BREAKING NEWS
*STORY UPDATED* (See note below…)
It started innocently enough when we received calls and email messages asking us what we knew of what was going on at HydraConnect, the manufacturer of unique and useful HDMI matrixes and other devices. Rumors were swirling that the company was out of business. The plot thickened when we visited the HydraConnect website and found that it was down. Now we had a bit of a mystery. Phones at the company went straight to voicemail and we weren’t getting called back.
More twists and turns at the HDMI specialist company… [Read more…] about Is HydraConnect Out of Business?
Nortek Management Scrambles in Wake of Troubling Q2 Results
Company Loses Almost 6% of Total Market Value in Just a Few Hours
Nortek, Inc. released the results for its fiscal second quarter after the market’s close on Monday and took the unusual step of issuing optimistic performance guidance for the remainder of the year. The company does not typically release future performance guidance as a matter of policy, but did so in an apparent attempt to calm investor reaction to their troubling report. It didn’t work – investors reacted strongly on Tuesday by driving Nortek’s stock to a close of $75.23 per share, down sharply from the previous close of $79.88. In just a matter of hours, the total market value of Nortek collapsed almost 6%.