Onkyo has filed for bankruptcy

  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

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.

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.

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