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Music System Sales Sagging, Sonos Un-Leashes Lawyers to Raise Revenues

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BREAKING NEWS

Sonos system photo

Strata-gee reported just yesterday that Sonos, Inc. has sued Lenbrook Industries Ltd. & Lenbrook America – the maker & marketer of Bluesound – for patent infringement. Undoubtedly emboldened by their near-complete victory over Denon’s HEOS brand a little over a year ago, Sonos appears to have targeted Lenbrook to be next in line.

However, Strata-gee has learned that Lenbrook is not the only company targeted for such potential actions by Sonos. There are more – perhaps many more – in our industry lined up for this “hit” parade.

See what Strata-gee learned about Sono’s legal strategy…

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Denon Defeated, Sonos Sics Lawyers on Lenbrook

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Sonos logo

On Thursday last week, Sonos, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO) filed another patent infringement lawsuit, this time against Lenbrook Industries Limited and Lenbrook America Corp. At issue here is Lenbrook’s Bluesound brand launched back in 2013 to great fanfare as Strata-gee reported on at the time…and also discussed here…and which Sonos claims infringes on multiple Sonos patents.

See more on the Sonos suit vs Lenbrook…

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Lenbrook Previews NAD M10 Hi-Res Streamer to NY Press

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Lenbrook's Greg Stidsen presenting the NAD M10 BluOS Streaming Amplifier

On Tuesday, Lenbrook invited members of the media to an “intimate album listening party” in Manhattan’s trendy Soho district. Despite the fact that the weather was less than cooperative – with warm, extremely humid temps, and at times torrential rainfall – there was an bar and hors d’oeuvres, which is always a strong draw. Maybe a strong enough draw to entice an editor from New Jersey into Manhattan in the traffic and the rain!

But this listening party turned out to be a bit of a preview opportunity for an interesting and relatively new product – a streaming amplifier. And not just any streaming amplifier, mind you – but a streaming amplifier being launched in the NAD Master series. That got my attention…

See NAD’s interesting new M10 Masters Streaming Amplifier…

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The Real Story of Why Control4 Wanted to be Acquired

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Photo of Martin Plaehn, Control4 CEO

In the wake of the recent announcement about the acquisition of Control4 by SnapAV, all executives associated with this deal have not been available to the media…their lips are sealed. But Control4 is a public company – at least until this deal closes and they go private – and a recent filing gives a dramatic, detailed view of how hard the parties worked to make this deal happen, and why Control4 really, really wanted to be acquired.

See new details on how the SnapAV/Control4 deal came to be…

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Sound United to Acquire Onkyo’s Audio Division

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Sound United logo

We seem to be in a week of big deals. First, we learned that SnapAV had acquired Control4, then we learned that the original founder of Paradigm has acquired back the Paradigm, Anthem, and Martin Logan brands from the private equity company that had bought the company from him some time back. Now we learn that Sound United, owner of Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, HEOS, Classé, and Boston Acoustics has entered into an agreement with Onkyo Corp. to purchase Onkyo’s premier lineup of brands, including: Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer and Pioneer Elite.

But does Sound United’s purchase of Onkyo make sense?…

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SnapAV Snaps Up Control4 in Deal Valued at $680M

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SnapAV logo

The world exploded this morning with the news that SnapAV and Control4 are merging their operations in a transaction that no one saw coming. Although publicized as a merger, actually SnapAV is acquiring Control4, agreeing to pay $23.91/share in a deal that is worth a total of about $680 million.

See how SnapAV’s acquisition of Control4 is reshaping the industry…

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8 Years Later, Lenbrook Returns to Independent Reps

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From Independent…to Direct…to ‘Hybrid’

Lenbrook Americas logo

It was clearly one of the most explosive stories I wrote back in May 2011 generating tons of email and phone calls in response. The topic? Lenbrook, darling of the specialty A/V channel that for decades had been selling specialty products through specialty reps to specialty dealers – had decided to terminate their entire network of independent specialty sales representatives. Dean Miller, who had just joined the organization, would go on to construct a dedicated full-time staff of salespeople that would represent only NAD and PSB products.

Now, almost exactly eight years later, Lenbrook has decided to return to utilizing independent sales representatives in their sales network. But why?

See why Lenbrook is going back to reps…

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James Loudspeaker Launches New Mavericks Division

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James Loudspeaker logo

Innovative architectural loudspeaker designer/manufacturer James Loudspeaker announced this week that it will split off its Mavericks theater products into their own division, the Mavericks Architectural Cinema (MAC) division. This new division will offer the company’s dramatic Mavericks theater speakers for both the high-end residential and commercial cinema installation markets.

See more on James’ new Mavericks division…

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Formation – A Formidable Foray into Digital for B&W

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Formation Audio wireless hub

Ever since EVA Automation acquired Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) back in 2016, I have nervously watched to see the impact of this clash of cultures – new wave with old school. Strata-gee had already exhaustively reported on the painful slow-motion train wreck of Thiel Audio – another high-end audio brand purchased by private equity. In that case, its ultimate demise was in part due to the launch of affordably-priced, but common Bluetooth technology speakers relying on the power of the Thiel brand to justify the non-common selling price.

Would audiophile darling B&W suffer the same fate?

See more on B&W’s new Formation wireless line…

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The Ticket is $3,000 to See a Cinema at This Most Exclusive Theater

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Red Carpet Home Cinema logo

Are you a one percenter who loves movies, but doesn’t love sharing a theater experience of dirty seats and sticky floors with the unwashed masses? Then Red Carpet Home Cinema is for you! You can see first-run, genuine (non-bootleg) blockbuster Hollywood movies in the comfort of your very own plush home theater for the positively pedestrian sum of a mere $3,000! And you can absolutely see them on the same date & time they are in commercial theaters! Hurrah!

See more on Red Carpet Home Cinema…

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