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Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

asia.nikkei.com

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Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#41

expect more. Japan Inc. has been running on fumes for decades. The US only started 2 years ago, and will likely last another 20~40 years of stagnation.

Japan has a demographic crisis for sure. A weak Yen may actually help them stay competitive in the manufacturing space though.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not saying your wrong, but why 2 years ago specifically?

When we started our quest to double, triple, even quadruple the money supply.

The US has been talking about the "Japan [central bank] Model" as a model of success for much longer than two years.

This meme first got really big in central-banking circles after the 2008 crash. Japan has been following this model for 35-40 years of managed-decline. The US has been toying with the same model for more like 10-15 years than 2-3 suggested above.

The US so far has managed its decline better, but not for nothing has "abundance agenda" become a meme lately even on the left -- as more and more people sense that managing the decline is the goal of current policy and they don't actually want to decline.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#43

They screwed up their receivers circuit board from 2009 to 2015 ish. All their receivers would fail after 5 years and Onkyo did a massive recall campaign to replace the main circuit board (with all the amps attached.) That must have costed them.

I have one of those receivers, but unfortunately it failed after the recall period ended.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#44
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many modern receivers support both Chromecast and Airplay, as well as some level of HomeKit / Google Home / Alexa integration. I think for Onkyo, they just fell in an awkward middle. Not as high end as Denon/Marantz/etc. and not as cheap as . Combined with the drastic decrease in people "needing" receivers and speakers (many people now just get a sound bar, or Bluetooth speakers) and the market squeezed them.

The middle of the market is actually all messy generally these days. The very high end wants systems that feel like current systems, but if you want something in the middle, you don't actually really want the awkwardness associated with having an audio system today. A system of passive speakers, an amplifier or two, and the complexities of the user interface (I can't hear the TV, which of these three remotes do I nee…

There are products there… plenty of good powered monitors available. Some of them have integrated DAC with an optical, line and USB inputs. Those are pretty easy to connect to a TV or whatever.

I’m actually hacking on a project to make it easier to sift through all this stuff. The work that Audio Science Review and a (very) few others are pumping out some great objective data on audio equipment performance. My goal is to pull that together in a data-first way that will allow for robust cost/quality/criteria queries.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#45

They screwed up their receivers circuit board from 2009 to 2015 ish. All their receivers would fail after 5 years and Onkyo did a massive recall campaign to replace the main circuit board (with all the amps attached.) That must have costed them.

Uh, I have a TX-8020 from around that time. Nothing fancy, and I don't use it too much as it's not in my main setup. So far it has developed only one quirk: the power button doesn't work properly, you have to press it several times or in a certain spot for it to react, and sometimes, when you want to turn it off it instead says "tone mode: direct" in the display, as if I had pressed another button. Still not sure if this is a mechanical or circuit board problem.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is sad. Many classic brands have gone by the wayside. Not all have been satisfactorily replaced. Onkyo had some very good quality, for a fairly reasonable price.

Very true -- though the expectations we have for audio equipment has changed in ways that make what Onkyo was really good at less important.

The switch to little bitty teeny tiny speakers just makes me sad. I miss my towers with multiple drivers and crossovers accordingly.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#47

They screwed up their receivers circuit board from 2009 to 2015 ish. All their receivers would fail after 5 years and Onkyo did a massive recall campaign to replace the main circuit board (with all the amps attached.) That must have costed them.

I always thought that was part of the capacitor plague but I guess not since the timing doesn’t quite line up with what you’re saying:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

I had an Onkyo from the bad cap era that blew its capacitors, it was maybe 15 years old when it died, FWIW..

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#48

They screwed up their receivers circuit board from 2009 to 2015 ish. All their receivers would fail after 5 years and Onkyo did a massive recall campaign to replace the main circuit board (with all the amps attached.) That must have costed them.

A pretty common failure was the capacitors on their HDMI boards, which is a pretty easy DIY fix if you have some soldering skills.

Yes! TX-NR609 (11yrs old) here. Send in for repair (recall - free out of warranty) and no problems ever since.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#49

This isn’t big news, the actual “Onkyo” that consumers know will carry on, the Bankruptcy is the remains of the company that had already sold off the hardware divisions. “The company sold its core home audiovisual business to Sharp and U.S.-based Voxx International and its earphones and headphones business to an investment fund, both in September. A joint venture between Sharp and Voxx is expected to continue using t…

Bankruptcy in Japan doesn't work the way it does in the West - it's pretty much a death sentence commercially in Japan. The brand will never be used again and the assets will be liquidated. The loss of face and reputation makes it very different.

Re: Japanese audio brand Onkyo files for bankruptcy

#50
I had an Onkyo 5.1 system in service from 2002 - 2018. Great stuff! First movie I watched on the system with a 28" CRT TV was "Driven" on DVD. Going from TV-speakers to a full set of speakers including subwoofer was amazing! Later on it serviced Blu-ray:s and a PS4 beautifully.
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