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Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

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Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#61
I've got a Samsung TV and a Samsung monitor in the same room. About 20% of the time when I use the TV remote from the couch to turn off the TV it also turns of the monitor.

If I'm at the computer and turn off the TV with the TV remote it turns off the monitor the majority of the time.

I wonder if Samsung will manage to make to so Denon and Marantz receivers will also sometimes turn off when you turn off a Samsung TV?

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing is, traditional receivers wanted to be the "brains" of home theater, switching video inputs, managing audio, turning everything on. That role is no longer sensible when used with smart TVs/Apple TV boxes/Android TV boxes. As a result, traditional receivers are relegated to be being audio decoders and amplifiers. Honestly, I think there's already more manufactured and lying around than the world really needs…

Yes, but vinyl is making a strong comeback, and with that comes the need for traditional receivers. Even CDs are making a comeback -- as many indie artists publish CDs (and some do vinyl), which implies demand for standalone CD players with a receiver (like those made by the Denon, Onkyo, etc.) I have a HomePod in my living room and it gets used, but I also have a traditional receiver hooked up to my external speaker…

I was going to say something similar - I think there will still be some market for high-quality audio preamp/receiver/mixer-type devices that have actual EQ/tone controls rather than endless menus, and focus on actual fidelity over features. Sony, Onkyo, Sansui & Yamaha are brands I've trusted for this over the years.

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#63
post #4

There are lots of speaker manufacturers; I'm not too concerned about Polk and B&W. But! There are relatively few home theater receiver makers, and the Denon/Marantz siblings have been a big chunk of them for decades. (Sony, Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon. Nobody else covers the low and mid cost market.)

AFAIK B&W 800D is used in many mastering studio's. I wonder what they will do with their high-end / pro audio segment, since it's quite different from your average home stereo (or even hi-fi) markets.

I wondered the same thing...FWIW under Samsung the pro/pro-sumer audio Harman brands (JBL in particular) have managed to keep making well-regarded products from consumer Bluetooth speakers up to live PA systems and studio monitors. On the other hand, Lexicon is a former top-shelf audio brand that has pretty much languished under Harman - they no longer employ some of the world's best audio DSP talents, and have been slow to update the highly regarded Lexicon DAW plugins for native Apple Silicon.

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are 2 problems currently with movie audio. One is that the channel separation is not as good as it used to be. New movies have 5.1 audio the effect is minimal which no longer justifies the expense on the sound system. People online are saying this is because many movies are made for primarily for streaming and that majority of people listen on their TV or sound bar instead of dedicated surround systems. The sec…

For most people a good 2.1 system vs surround or soundbars is where it’s at these days. As you say most surround mixing is an afterthought now anyway. The physics of moving air to create sound hasn’t really changed in any meaningful ways; the biggest upgrade is usually larger drivers fed with more power. I think most would experience that as much more of a theatre like experience than 7+ tiny underpowered satellites…

I'd say "specific format surround mixing" like 5.1 or 7.1 is mostly an afterthought, but Dolby Atmos (which is "mix once and it automatically folds down properly to the actual number of atmos speakers" has become huge in the audio world according to multiple interviews I've read with pro audio mixers and film/video/TV post folks.

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#65
post #26

I feel that sound bars + speakers directly attached to TVs has decimated the "home theatre receiver." "Back in the day", home theatre receivers made sense when you wanted Radio + CD inputs in addition to the TV input. But radio and CD players are gone. There is just TV. Even when I do audio, I run it through the TV. Thus why do you need a separate box? It just seems like a waste. Instead everyone these days are just…

> Thus why do you need a separate box? It just seems like a waste The sound quality of modern TV is absymal. The digital compression does play its part, but the speakers and the case are crap.

I have a Sonos hooked up to my TV via the arc-X port. I do not disagree that TV speakers are generally horrible.

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing is, traditional receivers wanted to be the "brains" of home theater, switching video inputs, managing audio, turning everything on. That role is no longer sensible when used with smart TVs/Apple TV boxes/Android TV boxes. As a result, traditional receivers are relegated to be being audio decoders and amplifiers. Honestly, I think there's already more manufactured and lying around than the world really needs…

This is one of the things that kept me from getting a proper home theater setup. It always seemed like more complexity than I wanted under my TV. I could do it, but I simply objected to the idea. Not to mention, I like for someone to be able to come to my house and use my TV without taking a class first.

I got one recently for a room that was already wired with speakers, and man the ability to control the volume on Apple TV remote app on your phone is amazing. For whatever reason none of my other Apple TV's will allow that (could be the tv's fault, but obviously somewhere along the line they at least expect a speaker bar). I'm sure it's a fault of the HDMI spec somewhere that you can't easily change the volume on the tv itself but you can on downstream devices.

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#67
Samsung acquired Harman Audio some years ago. Harman owns several well-known brands like JBL, Infinity, and Revel. They've invested billions in audio R&D, and Samsung has clearly benefited from that. Their soundbars now exceed the sound quality of Sonos systems that cost twice as much (or three times as much during sales).

Denon and Marantz are arguably the best AVR manufacturers. It’ll be interesting to see what Samsung does with them. The home theater market is pretty outdated compared to other areas of audio. Car audio, soundbars, and professional systems mostly use active speakers and tightly integrated setups. Meanwhile, home theater is still stuck with passive speakers and a component-based approach.

While some might see this as a monopoly concern, there's a chance Samsung could use its combined brands to modernize home audio. Imagine a fully wireless, all-in-one home theater system with active speakers and centralized room correction. That could be a real step forward.

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#68
post #26

I feel that sound bars + speakers directly attached to TVs has decimated the "home theatre receiver." "Back in the day", home theatre receivers made sense when you wanted Radio + CD inputs in addition to the TV input. But radio and CD players are gone. There is just TV. Even when I do audio, I run it through the TV. Thus why do you need a separate box? It just seems like a waste. Instead everyone these days are just…

> Thus why do you need a separate box? It just seems like a waste The sound quality of modern TV is absymal. The digital compression does play its part, but the speakers and the case are crap.

Most TVs have downward firing speakers which splat the audio all about -- bouncing around before entering your ears. I wonder if it's easy to detach the speaker and pull it out and face it forward just like my old Vizio did 15 years ago...

Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk

#70
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could estimate it from sales or something, but Walmart has a huge wall full of various TVs, and barely one half of one aisle-side of soundbars, and no receivers/speaker setups. I suspect something like 80% of people use the TV, and of those who upgrade, use a soundbar, maybe. And even those with a dedicated theatre room, probably have other TVs that are just TV audio.

That's a really sad percentage of people listening to such subpar sound that they might as well not be. I understand not everyone can afford nice audio, but a soundbar is such a drastic improvement, VHS=>DVD level of improvement, while a soundbar to surround is a DVD=>BluRay improvement. It's great for those with discerning taste, but not noticed by the vast majority. Granted, I'm not an audiophile, but I've been in/…

the mastering of most shows and movies is shit today anyway, and the downmixing of that shit to -e.g. 2.1 is even worse.
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