Marantz used to be top of the line home audio gear, hand built, point to point wired. Now just another stick-on label on generic Korean mass produced systems. Sad to see them and other former great names in audio reduced to that.
Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
71–80 of 344 posts
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#72There 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.)
Consolidation is a problem. We end up with 5 companies owning all brands. That is not good for competition and for the customer.
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#73Well, that's four brands I'm never touching again. Far too many bad Samsung experiences.
Last year I bought a Denon RCD-N12 - a mini system - for my office. I mostly use it to play CDs but can stream to it from my iPad too. The thing is great and for me, playing CDs while I work is perfect because it forces me to get up every 45 minutes or so to swap out the CD.
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
I have an AppleTV on 2 different TVs and it works to change the volume on both of them.
Sometimes it stops working, but a reboot of the remote fixes it. The idea that I need to reboot a remote hurts my soul a little, but at least it works. Hold the TV and Volume Down buttons until the LED on the Apple TV turns off. Wait a bit and you’ll see a notice that it disconnects. Wait a while longer and press a button (volume seems safest) and it will connect again.
There are also some settings around the remote and volume. It can be set to use HDMI, the TV’s IR, and there is a learn option. The TV I’m currently on is using the IR direct to the TV… I guess this is why it doesn’t work when I try to use the app, but I almost never use that anyway.
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#75[deleted]
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any article posted here about smart TVs draws a large number of comments about limitations and annoyances of smart TV platforms. 90+% of the things people complain about would no longer be a problem if they got a traditional A/V receiver, plugged all their sources such as streaming boxes and game consoles into the receiver, and just used the smart TV as a monitor (and as a tuner if they watch OTA television). Until t…
The problem isn't the number of boxes plugged in, its that the TV has its own OS and built-in apps that people want to use that doesn't work with anything outside the TV. I don't think too many people have, for example, a Samsung TV and a Firestick and use the 2 interchangeably for different apps. I had this problem until the Samsung interface got too unbearably slow (6 year old tv), so I just bought a Google TV and…
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Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#77Now there are more avenues for Samsung to shove bloatware down our throats. I have a modestly high-end home theater and it is utterly maddening waiting for devices to “boot” and “handshake”. And after the wait, I’m presented with another “User Agreement” to sign that insists on shoveling ads down my throat and harvesting data.
How much do you have to pay for a quick boot, no ads, and a private movie or music experience? Just like every retailer has embraced usury with their credit card programs, every technology company has decided they are in the data harvesting business. I’m so over it.
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#78Earlier 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/…
Average person just can’t tell the difference. My parents have a sound bar but half the time I visit the tv is set to use the built in speakers and they don’t even notice.
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
A few months ago I tried a new JBL receiver. It was trash (the worst I have tried and I tried 5 or 6 different ones for my room). I also saw their soundbar and their vintage speakers. I wouldn’t agree that JBL makes quality products, but that is just my experience.
Re: Samsung is paying $350M for audio brands B&W, Denon, Marantz and Polk
#80Earlier 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…
Really good call out, that the TV now often is the center of the AV experience, where-as the "receiver" (and amplifier) used to be driving the show. I really really wish there were digital audio decoder/processors available. It sucks so bad that you either buy a semi affordable consumer amplifier with 7.2.2 Dolby Atmos out and ok amplification, or if you want to step up you need a $4000+ processor whose only real job…
MiniDSP? https://www.minidsp.com/
I used their stuff for a four-speaker audio setup but they do affordable home theater devices as well.