July/August 2018
ertonline.co.uk
STEVE MAY REPORTS FROM THE DENON/MARANTZ EUROPEAN DEALER CONFERENCE Smart home meets premium audio
Denon and Marantz parent Sound United unveil plenty for those serious about their sound and AV, as well as smart speakers and soundbars from Polk
PREMIUM hi-fi brand Marantz is being positioned as a more premium proposition, while Denon returns to serious turntables – two highlights at the Sound United European dealer conference. Held in Alicante in Spain, the showcase also saw the addition of the expensive Classé brand to the fold, along with expanded offerings from American speaker brand Polk and high-end Defi nitive Technology. Sound United chief executive Kevin Duffy said: “Building our core business – AV receivers, hi-fi , mini systems and speakers – is now the most important thing. We’ve seen growth in 2016 and 2017, and it’ll grow again in 2018.” Raising awareness of the Polk Audio brand was also cited as one of the key challenges. While Sound United’s loudspeaker brands are dominant in the US, they’re small in Europe. “It’s a big opportunity, but it won’t be easy,” Mr Duffy conceded. “Three years back, we decided soundbars were going to be very important for us,” he said. “Now it’s a $3 billion market.” And so the incoming Polk line- up includes the Polk Command soundbar (£349) with
Marantz AVR-X2500H
Amazon Alexa built-in, and the Polk Assist Google smart speaker (£179).
Leveraging the smart home is now a big strategic
play, confi rmed Mr Duffy. “The smart home has only become a reality over the past three years,” he said. “Amazon Alexa has changed my life. I don’t think anything more exciting has happened than Amazon, Google and Apple deciding that we need to update our homes. They’re spending billions of dollars to drive demand and, for the most part, they’re going to be lower-priced products.” But Mr Duffy suggested that consumers who are
more interested in a premium audio experience would still want those characteristics. “I’m very excited for what this means to all of our businesses.” Accordingly, Sound United is positioning Heos as an IoT platform that can be embedded in any of its products. It will become standard on all networkable Denon home-cinema receivers. No fewer than seven Denon AV receivers were an- nounced. The 2018 range comprises two non-Atmos AVRs, the AVR-X250BT and the AVR-X550BT, priced at £229 and £299. Above these sit three Dolby At- mos seven-channel models, the AVR-X1500H, AVR- X2500H and AVR-X3500H, priced at £449, £549 and £899. There’s also a single nine-channel model due in September, the £1,499 AVR-X4500H, along with the 11-channel AVC-X6500H at £2,349. All of Denon’s network-capable receivers will come with a phono input – not surprising as Denon is mak-
Polk Assist Google smart speaker 7
Amazon Alexa has changed my life. I’m very excited for what this means to all of our businesses
Kevin Duffy, CEO, Sound United
ing a return to the turntable market, with the DP-400 and DP-450USB. The latter supports USB dubbing. Denon also took the wraps off its new 800 series
hi-fi separates, comprising the DNP-800NE network player (£449), DCD 800NE CD player (£349) and PMA-800NE (£449), a 2x 85W stereo amplifi er. The highlight from Marantz was its SA-KI Ruby CD player with USB DAC, and PM-KI stereo amplifi er. This limited-edition duo celebrates sound guru Ken Ishiwa- ta’s 40th anniversary with the company. Mr Duffy said the plan was to move Marantz even
more upmarket in the future. However, that didn’t stop the company announcing an update to its low- cost, slimline Marantz AVR line, with the NR1509 and NR1609 Dolby Atmos receivers.
Keeping your clothes and the planet
Load after load
#keepinglifecolourful #staybrightstaybold
Marantz KI limited edition
www.montpellier-appliances.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
