Strategy in TECH...
Denon announced yesterday a new series of wireless multiroom speakers featuring their HEOS Built-in technology. The new models, said to be part of their Denon Home series, brings all the advantages of the wireless, multiroom category…with the added benefit of hi-resolution sound thrown in to boot.
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.
The day has finally arrived. A day long rumored…but never announced. A project shrouded in mystery…willfully maintained, with leaks locked as tight as a special counsel investigation. But now, at long last, all is revealed…for on this day Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) launches their all-new concept – the Formation line of products. And the mystery is finally unveiled. Best of all…Strata-gee recently got a sneak peek that we can reveal now.
You practically need a scorecard to keep track of the revolving group of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) that have come and gone from Nashville-based Thiel Audio. The specialty speaker company has had five CEOs in four years – leading to an unending series of disjointed actions from a disconnected group of high-powered executives, each with their own vision of where to take the company.
Artison announced last week the availability of a new freestanding subwoofer called the RCC Nano 1. This seemingly mighty miniature looked appealing on several fronts and we were curious to learn more. We read the release with interest…something about the Nano looked and sounded familiar to us. Then we remembered…we’ve seen it before!
Soundcast, a marketer of primarily wireless outdoor speaker products, announced on Tuesday that it has been acquired by Hancock Park Associates, a private equity company out of Los Angeles, with offices in Houston and Denver. The announcement says that the new owners have also appointed The OAC Group “to manage and run Soundcast.”
Hitachi America, Ltd. announced on Tuesday that it has entered the wireless speaker business with three self-contained wireless speaker systems using Qualcomm’s AllPlay technology. According to Hitachi, their new hardware/software “smart media” platform makes it simple for consumers to stream any local or cloud-based media from any type of device via Wi-Fi.
Government data makes a strong case for a sustainable recovery under way – but most people in the consumer electronics industry tell me that this recovery is, at best, mediocre and, at worst, not happening. And as challenging as most are finding the economy, start-up companies tell me the headwinds are more like those of a Category 1 hurricane as they try to launch new products and services – hoping to get traction – in a very hostile start-up environment.
But one new start-up that has caught our attention – Wren Sound Systems – seems to be gaining ground with its new wireless speaker system…a product we find unique and interesting.
