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CES 2026: With Onkyo, Premium Audio Co Proves It Can Walk & Chew Gum at the Same Time

January 8, 2026 by Ted Leave a Comment

See Onkyo at CES 2026, VOXX Booth #17204

I have to say that the team at Premium Audio Company (PAC), part of the VOXX division of Gentex Corp., does a nice job of paying homage to the long, 80-year history of technical innovation and market success of its Onkyo brand, while at the same time, launching innovative new models to propel the brand into a space-age future. While conventional wisdom might suggest otherwise, you could say that they prove that they can walk and chew gum at the same time.

See more on Onkyo & Klipsch at CES 2026…

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Strata-gee Wishes You A Happy New Year, and Welcome to 2026!

December 31, 2025 by Ted 4 Comments

Happy New Year from Strata-gee.com. Thanks to you, we had another great year! Big things happened in 2025, some challenging, some rewarding. But all is well that ends well, and while 2025 was a little dicey early on, it appears to be ending pretty well for most of us.

See my Happy New Year message below…

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Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays 2025!

December 23, 2025 by Ted 4 Comments

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or so goes a popular Christmas song…a sentiment with which I tend to agree. It’s a season – in ambition, anyway – of peace on earth and goodwill toward all. After a long, hard year, it’s good to take time away from the hustle and bustle of work and relax and refocus on valued friends and precious family.

See more of my thoughts on Happy Holidays…

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Pending Court Approval, Howard’s Appliance Will Soon Disappear Forever

December 18, 2025 by Ted 3 Comments

A Howard's Appliance store, partially covered by its liquidation plan

Howard’s Appliances, Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, and we now know the path the company’s directors have chosen to take in this transition for the company. In addition to filing a comprehensive Voluntary Petition for Non-Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy, along with a series of attachments containing, among other things, huge inventory lists, the Howard’s team also added a series of Motions requesting the court grant immediate “Hearings on Emergency Basis.”

What was I able to glean from literally hundreds of pages of document filings? Read on…

See more on the Howard’s Appliance bankruptcy filing…

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Apparently for Sale, Emerald Board is Reviewing Multiple Offers to be Acquired

December 18, 2025 by Ted 2 Comments

BREAKING NEWS

Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE: EEX) – parent company of Emerald Expositions, CEDIA Expo, CEPro, Commercial Integrator, and many more – announced Tuesday that it’s Board of Directors has begun “a review of potential strategic options.” Why does it have to consider “strategic options?” Because Emerald says it has received “inquiries” about offers for a possible acquisition of the company.

Yes, it appears that Emerald is on the market, looking for a new owner…

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Highly Respected Industry Veteran Chris Byrne Has Died

December 17, 2025 by Ted 3 Comments

Chris Byrne relaxing with a furry family member

I have sad news to report as highly respected industry veteran Chris Byrne has died on December 5th in Napa, California. Byrne had a long, illustrious career in audio, playing a prominent role with several key brands, including at the launch of the compact disc, when he was VP of Marketing for Pioneer Electronics. However, most in the industry know him best as co-founder of NHT (Now Hear This) loudspeakers, his business home for 30+ years.

Learn more on the passing of Chris Byrne…

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After Nearly 80 Years of Operations, Howard’s Appliance Suddenly Closes All Locations

December 11, 2025 by Ted 4 Comments

A Howard's Appliance Experience Center — *Howard’s Experience Center in Murrieta, CA*

Blames Tariffs & Slowing Spending; Company to File Bankruptcy

Shocking news emerged at the end of last week as we learned that Southern California multi-location retailer Howard’s Appliance suddenly closed all stores. Local media is struggling to get details on the situation, but here is what we know so far: Howard’s Appliances, a large and formerly successful independent TV, Appliance, and Mattress retailer in Southern California, just days after Black Friday, suddenly announced to employees it would be closing in two days. No reason was provided, and all employees were laid off as of December 6.

There was no formal announcement circulated to customers, and some have taken to social media to complain that they had deposits on various appliances and were waiting for delivery…delivery that is apparently not coming.

Learn more about Howard Appliances closing…

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Forget the Flip-Phone, Samsung Launches Its First Tri-Fold Smartphone

December 4, 2025 by Ted Leave a Comment

New Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone — *[Click to enlarge] [Photo: Nikkei]*

A Trial Balloon That Might Be a Catalyst to Segment Growth

Years ago, way before Samsung smartphones were a thing and when mobile phones were pretty much just phones that went with you and not full-scale data/entertainment centers, my wife loved her Motorola Star TAC flip-phone. It offered the power of mobile connectivity in a convenient, small form factor for maximum portability. However, mobile technology moved on, and smartphones emerged, offering so much more capability…but at the expense of portability.

New types of flip-phones (really more of a foldable design than a flip-phone) have recently emerged, thanks in large part to advances in display technology. And now Samsung has introduced a new tri-fold smartphone that looks to 1-up the competition. But will consumers pay thousands of dollars to buy it?

See the new Samsung tri-fold smartphone…

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Consumer Confidence Drops Sharply in November

December 3, 2025 by Ted Leave a Comment

Consumer confidence can drive consumer spending

Last week, business group The Conference Board released the results for its November Consumer Confidence Index, a survey to gauge how consumers are feeling about the current and near-term future economy. The group reported a significant decline of 6.8 points in consumer confidence, a result that tends to support a similar finding by the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, as I previously reported earlier in November.

Learn more on the November Consumer Confidence Index…

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Feature

CES 2026: With Onkyo, Premium Audio Co Proves It Can Walk & Chew Gum at the Same Time