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Sonance Expands WAVE Electronics Relationship to a Full-Line Distributor

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Sonance logo

Sonance, an industry-leading custom integration (CI) brand renowned around the world as a top marketer of the finest luxury audio products, announced this week that it has expanded its relationship with WAVE Electronics, a leading specialty CI distributor, to one in which it will offer the full Sonance line, further increasing its support for the luxury CI channel. This partnership looks to boost availability and support for Sonance brands throughout WAVE’s expanding service area, predominantly in the Southwest and West regions.

See more on this partnership between Sonance and WAVE

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On Eve of Big Vote, Masimo & Politan Make One Last Pitch; Politan Sues Over Vote Manipulation

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Politan lawsuit against Masimo and RTW

Despite explosions going off everywhere all around the combatants, Masimo Corporation’s 2024 Annual Stockholders Meeting will in fact take place as rescheduled tomorrow, September 19, 2024. It has been a long and bloody battle to get to this point and it is not entirely clear who will prevail. But both sides took a last shot at reaching out to investors to try and gain their votes.

Politan’s swing was a little more powerful as it announced it would expand its lawsuit in the Delaware Court of the Chancery – with a new party to be sued, based on evidence it uncovered as part of Masimo’s lawsuit against it in California District Court.

See more on this last blast in the proxy war between Politan and Masimo

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Masimo Strikes Back: Judge Finds Politan & Koffey in Contempt of Court

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Masimo CEO Joe Kiani

Will Politan Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory?

Last Friday, just hours after I reported to you on what appeared to be a significant “win” for Politan Capital Management L.P. et. al. in its proxy battle with Masimo Corporation, a new ruling is handed down from U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna in which he holds Politan and its Chief Investment Officer Quentin Koffey in Contempt of Court based on a Masimo Ex Parte motion. Judge Selna’s ruling showed some real anger at Koffey and Politan and he has scheduled a new hearing on the sanctions to be administered in the matter, although at this moment, Masimo’s Annual Stockholders Meeting is scheduled to go ahead with its proxy vote this Thursday.

See the latest on this continuing heated battle

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BREAKING NEWS: Politan Wins…Court Denies Masimo Request for Preliminary Injunction

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Politan CIO Quentin Koffey

Politan Candidates & Proxy Vote Goes Forward Next Week; Masimo Demands a ‘Contempt’ Order

Late on Thursday, Politan announced that Judge James V. Selna of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California has denied Masimo’s request for a preliminary injunction in the matter of Masimo Corporation v. Politan Capital Management et.al. that sought to block Politan’s nominees for the Masimo Board of Directors. This is a big win for Quentin Koffey and Politan as it means that despite Masimo’s effort to disqualify its candidates, they remain eligible to run for the open Board positions and that the vote by investors can continue as planned at the Masimo 2024 Annual Stockholders Meeting, scheduled less than a week away, on Thursday, September 19, 2024.

Learn more about this big news in Masimo v. Politan

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A Huge Merger of Major Specialty Distributors; WAVE Elects. Acquires KOA Elects.

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WAVE CEO Mark Fukuda & KOA CEO Anton Tomassian
Mark Fukuda (L) CEO of WAVE Electronics and Anton Tomassian CEO of KOA Electronics Distribution

BREAKING NEWS

Houston, TX-based WAVE Electronics, one of the nation’s largest independent distributors for the custom integration industry, announced today that it has acquired KOA Electronics Distribution, itself a leading CI distributor based in Panorama City, CA. This merger creates a mega-distribution business spanning multiple locations in multiple states.

Learn more about this WAVE & KOA acquisition

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On Eve of CEDIA Expo 2024, Oasys Announces Partnership with Sonos

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Sonos booth at the 2022 CEDIa Expo

Oasys Residential Technology Group, a division of Nationwide Marketing Group, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Sonos, a leading wireless audio brand popular with consumers. The announcement comes on the eve of today’s opening of CEDIA Expo 2024, taking place in Denver, CO from September 5-7, 2024.

Oasys group managers say that this is a significant deal with “a massive brand.”

See more on Oasys partnering with Sonos

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Proposals That Build Themselves – See the Game-Changing ‘AI Proposals’ From Portal

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AI Proposals by Portal

Automated Proposals Built Literally in Minutes Before Your Eyes

Portal executives Kirk Chisholm and Josh Willits recently gave me a sneak preview at a dramatic new feature they have developed for Portal users that is a potential game changer for those seeking to increase companywide efficiency by streamlining an essential but time-consuming process all integrators face – building compelling, complete, and accurate proposals. With Portal’s new AI Proposals, your proposals practically build themselves – literally in seconds on simple installations or in a minute or two on more sophisticated projects.

AI Proposals is a new use for artificial intelligence (AI) with real-world consequences that benefit integrators and their clients.

Learn more about the all-new AI Proposals from Portal

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It’s a Sonance Tsunami of Innovation at CEDIA Expo 2024

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Photo of a kitchen with Sonance Small Aperture Series speakers
Sonance says ‘Life is Better with Music’ as this couple dances to Small Aperture Speakers [Click to enlarge]

See Sonance at CEDIA Expo 2024 in Booth #3501

In a torrent of multiple releases from Sonance, it has unleashed a veritable tsunami of innovation covering several product categories and market segments. Scheduled to be shown at this week’s CEDIA Expo 2024 show in Denver will be a wide array of new products from Sonance and its entire family of brands, including James, IPORT, and TRUFIG. The company will also launch new modules for its Sonance Design Gallery – winner of the “Best New Software” award at last year’s CEDIA Expo 2023.

Also to be unveiled is a redesigned Sonance.com website and a fully functional my.Sonance.com platform with added configuration enhancements. Finally, the company will be demonstrating a new immersive music experience for attendees every 15 minutes. Like I said, it’s a Sonance tsunami of innovation.

See more on these and other new items from Sonance at CEDIA Expo 2024

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Voxx Jettisons Jamo & Energy Brands as It Tries to Stop the Bleeding

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Jamo founders in 1968; Jamo is part of Klipsch which is part of Voxx International
Jamo founders Preben Jacobsen and Julius Mortensen in 1968

Will Voxx International Itself Be Sold? It Says It’s Exploring *All* Options

Premium Audio Company (PAC), a division of Voxx International Corporation (Nasdaq: VOXX), announced today that Voxx has sold off both the Jamo and Energy brands as part of its plan to divest multiple brands in an effort to stave off its financial decline and revitalize its profits. The brands were sold to a Chinese manufacturing company and a Chinese distributor. Oddly, this announcement was retroactive, as the transaction was said to have taken place on August 15, 2024. No reason was given for why this announcement of the transaction was withheld until now.

See more on Voxx selling off underperforming brands

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Russound Raises Its Game with New Smarter-Design Models

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Russound Cinema Bar 3.0 with speaker grille removed
Cinema Bar 3.0 w/grille removed to show speaker configuration [Click to enlarge]

Earlier this summer, executives from Russound visited me to offer me (and Strata-gee readers) a pre-CEDIA Expo sneak peek at some newly redesigned models that are in many ways smarter. I say smarter because these new designs reflect input from integrators (as well as some industry trends) and have launched new sleeker (such as 1U models) and smaller footprint products (such as its popular mini-AVR models). The company is also previewing a new industrial design that I like a lot.

See new models from Russound

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