Core Brands, LLC, a division of Nortek, Inc., announced Tuesday that Atlantic Integrated, a Rockleigh, NJ-based sales representative company, has been awarded most of its brands for representation in the New York Metropolitan region and Fairfield County, CT. This appointment is effective immediately and represents a realignment of the brands under one rep firm.
News
Atmos Attacks at CE Week 2014
One of the big themes at CE Week 2014 was the unofficial official rollout of Dolby’s latest surround sound technology – Atmos. Both Onkyo and Pioneer intro’d, displayed, and demo’d Atmos systems. However, since both companies showed prototypes, what we heard was only an approximation of what the final production units should sound like.
We participated in demos of, and closely listened to, BOTH the Onkyo and the Pioneer Atmos systems.
What did we think of our first Atmos demos? See more below… [Read more…] about Atmos Attacks at CE Week 2014
CE Week 2014 – As Others Talk Atmos, Denon Talks Heos
At times during CE Week 2014 we felt as though we were caught in some kind of a clash of the unknown Greek gods – Atmos vs. Heos. In one corner – Pioneer and Onkyo announced, displayed, and demonstrated the all-new 7+ channel Dolby Atmos surround sound systems…with a fair amount of fanfare. In the other corner, calmly confident Denon executives showed HEOS, the company’s new wireless multi-room Sonos-killing (they hope) system. Who would win the day???
See more on Denon’s HEOS system… [Read more…] about CE Week 2014 – As Others Talk Atmos, Denon Talks Heos
CE Week: An Odd, Undefined Show Actually Surprises This Year
Heading to the train station at 6:15am Wednesday morning, I exited my air-conditioned home and was immediately slapped across the face with so much humidity my glasses instantly fogged up – momentarily blinding me. And although it was still somewhat cool this early in the morning, the sun rays made it clear we’d be headed into the mid- to upper 80s in just a few short hours. Here we go again, I told myself. Welcome to another hot, humid, sweaty June in New York. Must be time for CE Week.
I didn’t know it at the time, but CE Week was actually going to surprise me this year…
[Read more…] about CE Week: An Odd, Undefined Show Actually Surprises This Year
Velodyne President Calls Strata-gee to Set the Record Straight
Regular readers of Strata-gee know that we have recently covered news of layoffs and distribution changes by Velodyne – a long-time specialty industry player. Although we had made many attempts to get the company to comment prior to our posting of these stories, we were told that no company executives were available at that time.
However, the day after our second story appeared, we heard from Velodyne’s press representative who said the company’s President was now available to speak with us about what is going on at Velodyne.
See what Velodyne’s President told us about these recent events… [Read more…] about Velodyne President Calls Strata-gee to Set the Record Straight
Pioneer Sells AV Business to Private Equity Company & Onkyo
BREAKING NEWS
We first told you about Pioneer’s plans to sell off their struggling AV division just last month in a SYNCH Breaking News exclusive. Now word comes out of Japan as to the identity of the buyer for this business – a group that includes a private equity company and Onkyo.
See some very interesting details on this announcement… [Read more…] about Pioneer Sells AV Business to Private Equity Company & Onkyo
HDBaseT Alliance Announces Sony Will Join Group
The HDBaseT Alliance, an organization formed to promote the HDBaseT technology and grow its market, announced today that Sony Corporation will join the group as a Contributor member. One of their biggest “gets” yet, Sony is said to be introducing new energy-efficient HD projectors with the HDBaseT functionality.
See more on this significant announcement from the ever-growing alliance… [Read more…] about HDBaseT Alliance Announces Sony Will Join Group
Core Brands Director of CI Leaves to Join SurgeX

Power protection manufacturer SurgeX announced today that Jimmy Paschke, former Core Brands Director of CI, has joined the company as its new Southern Regional Sales Manager. The appointment is effective immediately.
See more on this interesting move by Paschke… [Read more…] about Core Brands Director of CI Leaves to Join SurgeX
Harman Acquires Headphone Maker Yurbuds
Harman International Industries, Inc. announced today that is has acquired St. Louis-based Yurbuds, LLC., a manufacturer of headphones. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition seems surprising, given the fact that Harman already owns brands such as JBL and AKG that already offer headphones.
Why would a company that already offers headphones, acquire a headphone company? See more… [Read more…] about Harman Acquires Headphone Maker Yurbuds
Velodyne Authorizes Powerhouse Alliance as National Distribution Partner for Subwoofers
Just one day after we reported on layoffs at Velodyne’s audio division, we received word from the company that it is authorizing the Powerhouse Alliance, a national group of distributors, for its line of subwoofers. The agreement will make Velodyne subwoofers available to Powerhouse Alliances’ nationwide network of retailers and installers.





