Last month news broke that Harman International has inked a definitive agreement to buy Sound United’s audio brands from med-tech giant Masimo.
The huge deal means Harman, which is a subsidiary of Samsung, will own a number of big name brands including Bowers & Wilkins, Denon and Marantz, as well as Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, HEOS and Boston Acoustics when it completes.
And, while I am generally positive about the move for most of the bigger brands involved, the news caused quite a stir among some of you, our lovely readers.
Which is why we wanted to expand your early reactions into a wider piece exploring a key question for hi-fi buyers: does ownership, or even the branding on the product matter?
Or, is your primary concern purely around performance and if the specific product you’re looking at is any good?
It’s a tough and important question.
On the one hand, having a big backer with deep pockets does undeniably come with some positives. If the brand is a priority for the parent company, the backing gives it a healthy amount of investment for key things, including R&D.
It also offers a larger, more robust supply chain which can, in theory reduce manufacturing costs, which can then be passed on to the customer.
But, as we’ve seen many times before, if the owner isn’t aligned with the brand’s vision or culture it can lead to conflict and a “too many cooks” situation where the soul that made the company great to begin with is lost.
In contrast, a smaller, family or individually owned boutique business that only answers to itself can sometimes innovate in a way a big company, with shareholders and executives to please, can’t.
Equally, and as an extension of this, there’s an argument that ownership plays second fiddle to the specific people involved.
We know this is a big factor, as evidenced by the huge impact some of the winners of our outstanding contribution award have had.
These industry legends are clear proof that individual people can have a huge impact on a company's legacy and an individual product’s performance.
On the other side of the coin, there are huge numbers of hi-fi fans who may not give a monkeys’ about the brand, owner or people involved at all.
There’s plenty of evidence on the What Hi-Fi? forums of people taking a leap of faith and investing in a new, never heard of, brand’s product after spotting something they like on its specifications sheet, or being impressed when they heard it in-store.
Which is why we want to know your thoughts on the subject.
Do you care who owns a hi-fi brand? If so, why? Is it about the product itself, or an added feeling of security knowing its warranty and customer service will be properly supported?
If not, is it because you don’t care about brands at all, or because you don’t think most parent companies get involved with the nitty gritty stuff that comes with developing hi-fi products?
For this month’s Ask the Reader column we want to know your thoughts!
As always you can leave your insights in the comments section of this page, on our social media channels and forums. If you prefer you can even email us directly using the whathifi@futurenet.com email address.
As we did previously when discussing if hi-fi is getting better, whether OLED burn-in is a problem and the state of your vinyl collection, we’ll share your thoughts in a full feature at the end of the month.
If you are keen to contribute, please remember to keep your messages PG-13 and constructive. If you don't we can't publish them.
Thanks in advance!
MORE:
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