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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.
Escient rolls out Vision version 1.1 software
If you're lucky enough to own an Escient digital media system, then the company has a new version 1.1 of its Vision software ready for your hot hands. The update is free (you did shell out some long green for the Escient system, remember) for owners of Vision VS and VC gear, and promises a more responsive UI, stability and improved video quality -- always good things for your oh-so-connected casa. Also making the cut is 2-way control for Vision Movies, Music, Rhapsody, Photos and the front panel disc drive (CD or DVD only), so your high end Crestron, Marantz RC9001, Philips Pronto and UEI remote controls and multi-room distribution gadgets get along nice and friendly-like with the Escient hardware.
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.
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.
Marantz's RC9001 touchscreen remote with WiFi extender
We saw a variation of this Philips TSU9600 at CES. Still, it's nice to see Marantz get official with their own VGA touchscreen remote: the TC9001. Like Philips' model, we expect this Marantz model to integrate with Escient Fireball media servers and Lutron RadioRa lighting controls for full multi-room control. It brings along an option for an RX9001 WiFi extender or RX8001 serial extender too -- right, just like Philips. The only difference appears to be the choice of UI which of course, can make all the difference in the world. Expect the Marantz RC9001 to ship sometime mid-September for right around $1,000. [Thanks, Alban A.]Read -- Philips TSU9600 and RFX9400 wireless extender Read -- Marantz RC9001
Escient FP-1 Music Manager released
It's been a little while since we've heard about Escient FireBall products, and it looks like they've brought a new one to the table: the FireBall FP-1 Music Manager ($600), a networked music player that'll stream music from your docked iPod, another FireBall server, or from your Mac / PC using the FireBall music server software via standard Ethernet or an optional WiFi adapter. The FP-1 will play AAC, FLAC, MP3, WMA and iTunes purchases without any problems, and is available now through Escient's network of dealers via its website. Seriously, though, wouldn't this be a lot sweeter if it had some fire-themed artwork on the top, like those Dells we were eyeing earlier this year?[Via eHomeUpgrade]
Escient ships new FireBall DVDM-552
We kind of thought Escient was somehow taking things in a slightly more "cost effective" direction with their $1000 Escient SE-D1 media manager last year, but they've just gone quite a bit the other way with their new $6000 FireBall DVDM-552 which just started shipping. From the looks of things they're spending most of that $6000 on component video hookups, though there's plenty more to love here. The DVDM-552 can manage up to 2000 DVDs or CDs stored in Sony DVD changers, can send multiple video or digital audio streams to multiple rooms, holds a 500GB HDD, and can stream networked media. Everything can be operated through a web control panel, a PDA, or from a particularly brave remote. Sounds pretty exciting, though for the amount you'd be spending on this thing it seems like you could afford to put a WMCE PC in each room instead. But we're not going to try and stop you or anything.[Via TRFJ]
