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Masimo Shareholders Elect Politan Nominees to Board; Sound United Future is Cloudy

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Politan director nominees who won their seat on the board

Masimo Corp. [NASDAQ: MASI] shareholders voted to elect two new independent board candidates nominated by activist investor Politan Capital Management, including Politan’s Chief Investment Officer Quentin Koffey, as reported by Reuters. The election took place on Monday, June 26th at the annual stockholder’s meeting, and it was announced late in the day that the Politan candidates prevailed.

The news is a shocking repudiation of the existing Masimo Board and CEO Joe Kiani – and it puts Sound United’s future with the company in serious doubt.

Learn more about Masimo stockholders voting with Politan

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Big AI Backer Google Quietly Warns Its Staff About Chatbots, Even Bard

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Google's Bard screen

Are Your Employees Opening Your Company Up to Liability?

Alphabet, Inc. (Google) seems to find itself caught up in an unusual paradox. On the one hand, it is outwardly and aggressively marketing Bard, its own generative AI chatbot – while on the other hand, it is inwardly…but quietly…warning its own employees about the dangers of AI chatbots. This is according to a report by Reuters based on independent information from four different sources, each in a position to know.

See more on Google’s AI chatbot paradox

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Likely New Owner of Audio Research Corp Says Company to Stay in Minn

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Valerio Cora and Trent Suggs, new owner and old owner of Audio Research
Valerio Cora & Trent Suggs – new owner & old owner of Audio Research

The day after the Strata-gee story titled, Audio Research Corp is Sold; Or Is It? ran last month, I received an unexpected call from Valerio Cora, CEO of Acora Acoustics, the winning bidder and the likely new owner of Audio Research Corp (Audio Research or ARC). Cora was concerned that Strata-gee’s coverage of Audio Research’s issues had raised some questions – even going so far as to suggest that he felt my coverage was scaring people. He wanted to set the record straight on what is going on with Audio Research.

Learn more of what the Acora Acoustics CEO had to say

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Masimo in Massive Proxy War with Politan; Future of Sound United Hangs in the Balance

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Cover of a Masimo investor presentation
Cover of Masimo investor presentation

These are turbulent times at Masimo Corp. [NASDAQ: MASI] as the company continues its pitched battles against Apple Inc. for patent infringement and against activist investment group Politan Capital Management which seeks two Board seats for new oversight at the company. Mailings to MASI investors began in early May and continue to increase in frequency – and intensity – in the days leading up to the company’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 26, 2023.

What’s it all about? Largely, it is about Masimo’s $1 billion acquisition of Sound United (now Masimo Consumer) which caused the company’s market value to drop over $5 billion the day after the acquisition was announced. It appeared to be a clear repudiation of the management strategy by Masimo investors.

Learn more on the proxy war with Politan and what it means for Sound United

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Parasound CEO Sheriff Presents His Plan to Dealers; Some Won’t Be Around to Benefit

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Parasound CEO David Sheriff

Last week, in a national online Teams conference with dealers, Parasound CEO David Sheriff presented his plans for the company’s future. Tightly scripted, the CEO spoke with a firm resolve in a no-nonsense manner. It was clear that the initiatives he announced that day were not topics for more discussion or debate, but rather what is going to happen. And he made it clear that some dealers viewing the online presentation that day will likely not agree with these plans, and that’s fine.

“Let’s talk about parting ways,” Sheriff said, looking directly into the camera without blinking.

Learn more about the Parasound dealer conference

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Enthusiasm Builds at Inaugural Spring Conference; OASYS has Arrived

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Nashville downtown with Oasys logo

Last week, I was invited to attend the inaugural OASYS Spring Conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Nashville, TN, aka Music City. Formerly known as HTSN (Home Technology Specialists of Nationwide), the group has been rebranded and infused with new energy as Oasys Residential Technology Group. This spring gathering was its inaugural event launching a new brand, a new operating process, and – I have to say – a new attitude.

It was an eye-opening experience that helped me realize just how serious Nationwide is at cementing Oasys as the bedrock foundation of its buying group dominance.

See more on Oasys Residential Technology Group

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Audio Research Corp is Sold; Or Is It?

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Audio Research Corp headquarters

An announcement recently appeared on an audio enthusiast website that appears to announce the sale of Audio Research Corp. to a Canadian high-end speaker manufacturer. However, when reached for confirmation of this news, the officially appointed receiver issued a terse “no comment.”

So IS Audio Research Corp sold?

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Premium Audio Company Elevates Rob Standley and Lowers Prices

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A system with Klipsch speakers, part of Premium Audio Company

A couple of interesting announcements this week from Premium Audio Company (PAC), the Voxx Int’l subsidiary that markets the company’s premier audio brands such as Klipsch, Onkyo, Integra, Jamo, Pioneer, Elite, and more. First up, Rob Standley gets a big promotion to President of Technology and Product, a big step up. Second, and I would say counter-intuitively, the company says it’s lowering prices on many of its “most popular and best-selling audio solutions.”

Learn more on these latest moves from Premium Audio Company

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HTSN Becomes Oasys, Welcomes an Expanded Class of Dealers as Part of Nationwide’s ‘Drive to 1,000’

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HTSN is now Oaysis

Home Technology Specialists Nationwide (HTSN), part of the Nationwide Marketing Group’s stable of dealer/integrator buying organizations, announced today that it is rebranding its group, signifying an all-new image and an expanded mission to welcome an underserved class of dealers as part Nationwide’s “path to 1,000” members. HTSN will now be known as Oasys Residential Technology Group (ORTG).

Learn more about Oasys and Its expanding role

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Snap One Reports Mixed Results for Fiscal ’22 Q4 & Full Year; Forecasts 2023 Resi Decline

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Cover page of Snap One presentation to financial analysts

Red Flags: Residential Market is ‘Softening’; Consumers are ‘Cautious’; Channel Inventory ‘Destocking’

Snap One Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SNPO) released their fiscal 2022 fourth quarter and full-year results after the close of the market on Tuesday and held a conference call for investment analysts shortly afterward with more details. The company produced a prodigious amount of data that they suggest shows success in the face of adversity, and forecast a decline in their performance in fiscal 2023.

They also said the industry slowed down in 2022 and will continue to be slow for the first three quarters of 2023.

See more on the latest Snap One earnings report and forecast

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