BostonAcoustics
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Polk Audio parent company nabs Hi-Fi brands Denon, Marantz
There's big news for audiophiles: Sound United, the company behind Polk Audio and Definitive Technology, has purchased D+M Group, the owner of Denon, Marantz and Boston Acoustics brands. That will let Sound United, a company mostly known for speakers, sell some of the best-known (and priciest) receivers and home theater systems around.
Boston Acoustics VS 344 speaker dishes up lots of four on the floor
Thin is all the rage for TVs, so why not loudspeakers, too? At least that's what Boston Acoustics' VS 344 speakers hope -- the addition to the Vista VS line packs four 4.5-inch woofers alongside a 4-inch midrange and 1-inch tweeter into each slender cabinet, and the relatively tall 44-inch profile only enhances the svelte look. That's a bunch of fours in the specs that we'll just keep rolling with -- $5,000 for a set of four (but available individually). Of course, everything is an acoustic and aesthetic match to other VS speakers, with glossy cabinets capped by wood panels, Super Wide Bandwidth tweeters and Organic Composite Cone Material woofers and mids.
Boston Acoustics' SoundWare XS 5.1 speaker system -- think "extra small," not "excess"
With each of the five satellite speakers measuring less than 4-inches (on a side) each and missing any obvious Goldmund badging, we're going to go out on a limb and guess that the "XS" in Boston Acoustics' SoundWare XS 5.1-channel speaker system stands for "extra small" rather than "excess." We have to take issue with calling the 2.5-inch driver in each satellite a "woofer," and just hope that Boston Acoustics isn't trying to get into a race for the "smallest speakers available that don't fit in your ears" title. Boston Acoustics mercifully adds an 8-inch, 100-Watt subwoofer module to restore any tones below a few hundred Hertz for the psychologically safe price of $499, your choice of black or white.
Tough economy sidelines D&M Holdings, Planar at CEDIA Expo 2009
If you thought the well-to-do crowd wasn't feeling the pinch from the rotten economy, consider this -- D&M is not going to be at CEDIA Expo 2009 in a couple of months. You know, the show that features pricey, high-end custom install toys. Not being able to get our paws on the latest toys from Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, Boston Acoustics, Snell and Escient breaks our hearts, but D&M has decided to commit its resources to dealer training (and promotions, we hope); all the better to drive new customer sales. To be clear, D&M will have a presence at CEDIA, it just won't be on the Expo floor -- meetings will be by appointment only. We're just keeping our fingers crossed that similar measures won't have to be taken at CES in January. Planar (and by association, Runco) may take a similar CEDIA approach, not entirely surprising given its recent performance.
Boston Acoustics' VS 336 floorstanding speakers get reviewed
You remember the curvy-looking Boston Acoustics speakers that came in under the "Vista" name, only to get re-branded "VS" to avoid confusion with other products sharing the Vista moniker? Well, the top of the line model VS 336 floorstanders grabbed a pretty good review from CE Pro, with the soundstaging and bass response earning good remarks. But speakers being subjective, you'd be advised to kick the tires on the $3,400 per pair boxes before you drive them home -- the review turned up a bit of excess presence in the upper bass and midrange that gives a lot of detail but also turned into a "forwardness" as notes moved up the scale. If you're considering them, judge for yourself if you like the effect or not; at this price point you've got plenty of choices that combine looks and performance.
Boston Acoustics renames Vista speakers "VS" to avoid confusion
Engadget HD public service announcement -- the Boston Acoustics Vista speakers have nothing to do with any other products (HT-related or not) in the marketplace using the name Vista. For both of the people out there who may have been confused on that point, Boston Acoustics is renaming the entire model line "VS," to signify the speakers as "a new Vision in great Sound." The company is not making even a suggestion that Microsoft applied any pressure, which makes us even more disappointed in the new name -- the "Vista" moniker was a lot easier to remember. We hope another PSA clarifying that these speakers can do more than play a certain Pearl Jam album is not called for.
Boston Acoustics reveals Horizon i-DS2 iPod boombox
It only takes a glance to realize that Boston Acoustics' Horizon i-DS2 iPod boombox is merely a cleaned up version of the knobby Duo-i, but we must say, the new look is pretty sleek. Built to function with any dock-connecting iPod, this 60-watt speaker system includes twin 3.5-inch full-range drivers, a composite video output, USB connector and an auxiliary input for plugging in other DAPs / PMPs. The unit itself arrives in glossy white or glossy black, though users with an itch to customize can select from a variety of P.O.P. metal grilles. On paper, the unit isn't too shabby, but the $179.99 price tag is somewhat of a drag.
Boston Acoustics throws us a curve with its Vista speakers
We don't normally associate Boston Acoustics with high-fashion design, but its new Vista speakers definitely change that opinion. There will be six speakers in the range by the end of the year, so you should be able to put together a package with the desired amount of "surroundedness." To lead things off, the company will bring out the VS 336 floorstander ($1,700 each), VS 325C center channel ($900), VS 240 bookshelf ($400 each) and the VPS 210 subwoofer ($1,700). All these models have different-sized cones to fill in the bass end of their coverage, so let's hope the crossover and voicing act to create a strong family resemblance between speakers. A pair of additional models will be added to the lineup in November at the $700 price point -- the VS 224 L/C/R and VS 260 bookshelf. Okay, so we can tick off "good-looking" and "reasonable price" -- if these check out sonically, we think Boston has all the ingredients for a successful speaker family on its hands.[Via AudioJunkies]%Gallery-29513%
D&M Holdings bought up by Bain Capital, Kenwood not involved
Talk about needing a roster to tell the players apart! RHJ International -- which owns some 49-percent of the D&M Holdings hydra (Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics, Escient, MacIntosh and Snell) -- has accepted an offer from Bain Capital to the tune of ¥510 ($4.74) per share in a buyout bid. But earlier reports that pinned Kenwood as a partner to Bain in this effort have been denied by Bain. There's some goings-on here, for sure. First, we haven't seen any dealings involving the 12-percent stake that Philips has in D&M. Also, the soon-to-be JVC Kenwood Holdings states that it has not decided on whether it will invest in D&M; which corroborates pretty well with the latest Bain statement that Kenwood is not involved, and there are no ongoing talks of future involvement. Corporate squabbling and conspiracy theories aside, we just hope that the D&M brands come out unscathed.
Boston Acoustics gets efficient, cuts 30 employees
Amidst recent news about D&M Holdings being sold off, principal shareholder RHJ International has stated that 30 layoffs at Boston Acoustics are an unrelated happenstance. It's unfortunate timing, to be sure, but RHJI spokesman Gail Petersen has stated that acquisition preparation was "absolutely not a factor," and cited a decrease in new Boston Acoustics product development this year and increases in efficiency amongst companies folded into D&M holdings as reasons for trimming rolls. Whether it's coincidence or causality (if it's coincidence, it's an awfully common one), it should all get wrapped up soon -- word is that bidding between Merrill Lynch, Best Buy, Advantage Partners, and Kenwood/Bain Capital should end soon.Read - Boston Acoustics Cuts 30 EmployeesRead - Interview with RJHI's Gail Petersen
D&M Holdings up for sale
While the roster of storied high end names is pretty long, don't think for a minute that the blue-blood part of the market has not experienced consolidation. D&M Holdings is a prime example of this: D&M's owner, RJH International, has managed to fit Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, Boston Acoustics, Snell and Escient under one umbrella over the years. And now RJH is looking to cash in on the concentrated dollop of high end, offering up 49-percent of its shares in D&M. Philips has agreed to offer its12-percent stake to a winning bidder as well. Our math tells us that's more than a controlling percentage. Harman International, apparently satisfied with its own high end roster (including Harman Kardon, Infinity, Revel and Mark Levinson), has bowed out of bidding. That leaves Bain Capital (Kenwood) and Best Buy as the most prominent bidders, both of which scare us a little. One of the things we really enjoy about the D&M brands is the individual "personalities" behind them, and that's a credit to the management overlords. There's no guarantee that this variety of flavor will survive an en masse transition to new ownership.
Boston Acoustics takes a shot with Duo-i iPod boombox
Believe it or not, the deluge of iPod sound systems has died down in the past couple of months, but that's not to say newcomers won't join the absolutely oversaturated market. Case in point: Boston Acoustics is offering up an AM / FM Stereo Radio with iPod dock, which packs a pair of 3.5-inch full-range drivers, BassTrac low-frequency processing, twin auxiliary ports for connecting other DAPs / PMPs, line and stereo headphone outputs and a fancy display that automatically adjusts to ambient light. Furthermore, you'll find dual independent alarm clocks, a "touch" (slam?) sensitive snooze bar and a wireless remote to keep your derriere planted. As for pricing, this one's pretty much par for the course at $199.99.[Via Tech Digest]
Boston Acoustics bucks the trend, goes stereo
"What's that," you say, "another soundbar?" Not so, says Boston Acoustics. Their new TVee Two may look like competing products, but it's got something different: 1) it comes with a 6-inch woofer; and 2) it's stereo only. No need to carry signal to the woofer -- it's wireless. The "bar" part contains four 2.5-inch and two 0.5-inch drivers and is designed to go along with displays above 32-inches. In case you didn't guess from the stereo-only option, the offering of eight different colored grill cloths (available for just under $100 each) is the giveaway that this piece of gear is aimed more toward the style-conscious crowd than the HT one. We wonder what a stereo pair separated by 31-inches sounds like, but aren't willing to part with $715 to find out.UPDATE: Now retails for $399.99, thanks Alison.
Current crop of HD radios worse than analog models?
We noted last week that the FCC's official approval of HD radio was good news for embattled terrestrial broadcasters, but Richard Menta of MP3 newswire clues us in to a dirty little secret on the consumer side of things: most of the hardware on the market today sucks. Specifically, Menta put three current models (Boston Acoustics' Recepter Radio HD, Polk Audio's I-Sonic Entertainment System, and the Accurian HD Radio from Radio Shack) up against three analog units he had lying around the house (his car stereo, a cheap Sony shower radio, and just for fun, a 1940 Zenith tube radio), and much to his surprise, even the crappiest of the latter group was able to pick up analog stations better than the most expensive HD device. Furthermore, the HD models did a terrible job picking up the digital stations they're meant to highlight in signal-rich central Jersey, as they were only able lock in one of the 13 channels promoted by the HD Radio Alliance with any regularity. Luckily this poor performance seems due to the lack of sensitivity in the tuners these radios are built with -- an issue that's easily solved -- so the real question is whether manufacturers have the will to start tossing better parts in. If not, things don't look very good for HD Radio, so all that NAB can really do is hope that its anti-merger smear campaign is gaining some ground
