Re: Seems like Uli is attempting to clean up his image...
Sorry I didn't mean to start a dialog here...
I may be a little to close to the business to be completely objective about subjective impressions, but IMO of Yamaha, JBL and Harmon only Yamaha comes close to occupying high end and value ends of the spectrum. Harmon Automotive has been the consumer tail wagging that dog for years but it started out has a home hifi brand. JBL has been selling down and coasting on their good reputation for a long long time... But James B Lansing has been dead a while.
The consolidation of brands is a natural progression as markets mature, and I'm kind of waiting for some big dog Chinese OEM to buy some US audio brands. It kind of makes sense for them to try to capture more of the profit. Uli is an odd hybrid since he started out as a western brand then morphed into a chinese manufacturer.
At the end of the day I don't care where stuff is made... As the yuan appreciates, and dollar gets cheaper who knows, we may start making more stuff back here again. What matters to me is the design, the BOM, and process control... Service after the sale matters too, but this often gets traded away in pursuit of lowest possible price.
JR
PS: Speaking of brand's, who knows the new name for what was the "Kodak theater" in Hollyweird?
