Onkyo has filed for bankruptcy

Bought up by Premium Audio Company and Sharp.

https://www.whathifi.com/news/legendary-japanese-hi-fi-brand-onkyo-files-for-bankruptcy

The whathifi article was really misleading and it looks like it's been corrected:

"Demand for Onkyo and Integra products has been very high and we expect this to intensify in the coming years. We have been working very closely with Sharp to ramp up production and have grown our business significantly since the acquisition was completed."

Happy owner of onkyo p3000r preamp.I hope they will introduce new version of that

fabulous combo m5000r and p3000r in the future:)

who cares... been decades since onkyo has been relevant

I bought an incredibly well reviewed Onkyo tape deck in 1979. Honestly it looked good and sounded terrible. I replaced it with an ancient 1972 Nakamichi deck that sounded an order of magnitude better. Since then every exposure has solidified that Onkyo produces terrible sounding products with lots of buttons.

As an executive at Sharp for nearly 20 years I can assure you it as good match… nice looking poorly performing “branded” product.

Never owned anything Onkyo, nor would I want to, no big loss really....

I've owned two Onkyo products and both were great. TA-2090 Cassette deck and TSXR-876 HT receiver (in use for over 12 years, still making great sound).

Can't wait to see what the future holds for Onkyo.

I've owned several different HT receivers over the last 25 years, Onkyo, Sony, Denon and even an expensive B&K. The last 3 were all Onkyo and they easily bested the others, even the B&K. The B&K might have had better SQ, however, the user interface was so poor, compared to the Onkyo, that I could barely use it for everyday service. I'm a fan of Onkyo's higher-end HT receivers. Hope they come out of this OK.

I would never be anything but sad that a company and its employees would lose their jobs, but I would also never consider Onkyo as anything but a minor purveyor of low quality components. So I am very sorry for the company and its employees, but that's all.

Onkyo was decent Mid Fi.  I had a portable player that sounded great, and until a few years ago I was using their top AVR in HT system.  I replaced with Anthem because the Anthem Room correction made a huge difference.  Onkyo owned the Integra line which was essentially the same stuff with a higher price tag.  R.I.P.

I believe the company that bought Onkyo also owns Klipsch.

Never owned anything Onkyo, nor would I want to, no big loss really....

I agree!

@jjss49 Just the folks that depended on this company to earn a living.

who cares... been decades since onkyo has been relevant

When my Dad found something he used and liked he bought a 2nd one.
I am currently using one of his Onkyo TX-SR500 HT units. The volume knob does not work but the remote control volume button does.

Maybe I should fire up the backup. 😊

I have a little Onkyo integrated in my bedroom system. It's a killer. So much better than what it should be. 

Years ago I had an A10. I wish I had that back.

So I dismiss the opinions of people dissing Onkyo and terribly un/misinformed.

Late 80s I owned the Integra P304 & M504 combo driving JBL L100s in a all analog system. With classic rock, sounded good to my ears at the time. My tastes and knowledge have been refined quite a bit since, but I enjoyed the heck out of that system. Two channel audio gear has come a long way since, imo. 

@jjss49 Just the folks that depended on this company to earn a living.

bud, give me a break... you don’t seem to understand what bankruptcy filing is... (and that sharp japan bought the remains of onkyo)...

furthermore, part of life is knowing who to hook your wagon to... after years of declining sales, failure of products, losses, anyone surprised and left hanging by this b-k filing is fully deserving of the outcome... it's not like writing hasn’t been on the wall for eons

Never owned an Onkyo product, have listened to few, respect them for PX-100M turntable and some of their Grand Integra series products. It is true that though their pricing was competitive if done with less buttons and frills they could sell much better. Styling was conservative even to late days.

TEAC, Pioneer, Esoteric and some other brands was distributed through Onkyo USA. Just wondering how this distribution will work now. 

Sorry to hear any manufacturer going bankrupt. All serve their purpose in engaging people with their music.  I own a C-7030 CD Player/Transport on my second system and I have tried replacing it but keep coming back to it. Amazing sound to price value.  It’s staying in place and would recommend it to others.

You know jj49, sometimes people just can’t switch jobs like other people change socks.  Day Care arrangements may limit some.  Others may be approaching retirement age and not exactly look like the belle of the ball on a resume.  They may have elderly parents or sick children that limit their mobility., if not their own medical issues as well. Sometimes you gamble that you can ride the sinking ship until it hits your destination out of necessity.

That sad news sure brought many of tear to my eyes. The Hi-Fi industry will never be the same without a game changer like Onkyo! What’s next Yorx or Lloyds?

@mahler123 1+ "decent midfi." I sold Onkyo products for 4 years 1977-1981.

They were as good as or better than other midfi brands including Marantz, Sony, Pioneer. I sold them all supporting the customer's inclination never choosing a winner myself. Only Kenwood and Yamaha were significantly better in areas. Accuphase was a high end product which was seriously better than the others.

@jjss49 yes I do and people will lose jobs bubba, such arrogance. 

been using Onkyo receiver and CD changer in workshop for 20+ years, great stuff..I thought I read the audio business will remain...I always thought their stuff was good value, and mine have had great reliability...

@mahler123

You know jj49, sometimes people just can’t switch jobs like other people change socks. Day Care arrangements may limit some. Others may be approaching retirement age and not exactly look like the belle of the ball on a resume. They may have elderly parents or sick children that limit their mobility., if not their own medical issues as well. Sometimes you gamble that you can ride the sinking ship until it hits your destination out of necessity.

getting a lil off topic, but yes i agree

my point is onkyo’s poor business performance has been apparent for some time (many many years), people with limitations or difficulties w.r.t. alternative employment have had plenty of heads up on what’s coming sooner or later ... furthermore -- and as you rightfully say, riding what one knows to be a sinking ship is taking a risk in its own right ... in life we all make difficult decisions, dig deep, do the hard things for a better tomorrow, make tough transitions... some handle it better than others

in my life i have had both aging parents and sick children... and i have dealt with many bankruptcy situations big and small... the motivations of such a legal filing for protection against creditors are manifold, to put it mildly

so i will restate... op posts: onkyo goes b-k... well as a hifi enthusiast, i personally couldn’t care less (no doubt others may care more...)

I have owned several Integra AV receiver and they been better than the Anthem AV ATMOS receiver I own now.  The software was always spot on and the sound for AV was good, where the sound on the Anthem is ok but the software sucks. However, I don’t see Onkyo or Integra keeping up in the market with new designs and performance.  If my last Integra would have done 4K I would have never purchased the Anthem. While we’re discussing it about AV products point is that Onkyo losing market and not keeping in designs, performance and and there marketing is poor. As for Stereo I never use there gear as I have Pass Labs stuff.

I have owned several Integra AV receiver and they been better than the Anthem AV ATMOS receiver I own now.  The software was always spot on and the sound for AV was good, where the sound on the Anthem is ok but the software sucks. However, I don’t see Onkyo or Integra keeping up in the market with new designs and performance.  If my last Integra would have done 4K I would have never purchased the Anthem. While we’re discussing it about AV products point is that Onkyo losing market and not keeping in designs, performance and and there marketing is poor. As for Stereo I never use there gear as I have Pass Labs stuff.

Will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I'm not aware that Sharp is known for anything "great".  I never owned Onkyo, but it was nice having them around putting some price pressure on other companies like Pioneer, Sony, Denon, Yamaha, and others. And I knew friends who did have Onkyo tape decks, and receivers who were happy with them. 

I hate to see any audio company fall by the wayside.  It limits the choices of those just now getting in this game. 

 

My experience with Onkyo vs. Anthem was the opposite. It was now several years ago, but I rapidly cycled through an Onkyo and Emotiva until I settled on an Oppo BD player as my processor for several years, a far superior situation. Now I’ve gone to Anthem which is almost as good as the Oppo with more features, and certainly easier to use audio return channel.

All right jjss49, I apologize for popping off.  I usually enjoy your posts, btw.

  I think we should care when a decent midfi company like Onkyo bites the dust.  It’s a sign that the whole industry is struggling.  And the large mid fis usually have the money to develop some technologies that the High End companies can then improve upon.  I personally haven’t bought an Onkyo product for probably a decade, but their demise bothers me

I remember when I was a kid and I was lucky enough in high school to have my own system which I got at Tech Hifi. I had a Philips GA-212 turntable with AT cart, a lower end Sansui receiver and a pair of EPI 120 speakers. I later steam cleaned cookie sheets one winter break to save up the money to go back to Tech Hifi and buy that Technics cassette deck which had the cassette load at a 45 degree angle behind a clear plastic door you slid open and closed. I did very little babysitting when I was a kid. But once my neighbor and parents friend wanted me to come over and watch their two younger boys. Well the father had an Onkyo Quadraphonic receiver! I thought that was especially cool. He also commanded me to not touch it! I think he did play it for me though. Of course it sounded great. That is my most significant Onkyo memory. I never owned an Onkyo piece. But I did own a couple of Integra AV receivers. Though that doesn’t count. But there you go…

  What the heck, we can lump Integra and Onkyo together..  I owned an Integra receiver not long before my last Onkyo receiver and there was no sonic difference, if anything the Onkyo was an improvement and cost about $1K less.

  In fact that raises the interesting question of how audio companies differentiate themselves.  Both Sony and Pioneer wanted the bottom end of the market but then had an “ES” line that cost more and those two letters were like a code for audiophiles, as if to say here is the good stuff, the rest of our line is crap.  Others create separate divisions such as Esoteric and Integra.  Esoteric charges about 20 times more than the equivalent product from their parent company but the build difference is at least obvious to a buyer.  Integra cost two to three times what Onkyo charged and presumably used better parts, but the end product could hardly be differentiated from the best Onkyo offerings

My father bought an onkyo receiver in the early seventies, nice looks and sound. Sad to hear this. Somehow I thought that NAD owned them, but not really sure. Scotty to see some of theses brands go. I wish them luck. 

I bought and old Onkyo disc changer at goodwill for $40. No problems at all and have been using it for three years. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a transport because mostly play Vinyl.