Masimo Acquires Sound United - Are Denon, Classe, Polk, B&W, Marantz, going to fade away??

The buying public will decide what to buy - and what companies will disappear. That's the way the audio business has always been. Look what happened to Nakamichi and AR. Now reduced to "lifestyle" products!

When was the last time Denon had products that appealed to the enthusiast market, and conversely when was the last time the general consumer even knew who they were?

Well that's the case in Australia. Perhaps in the US or Europe they still have sales distribution, but here they are a distant memory. Marantz is far better positioned as a brand to survive.

The history of unrelated acquisitions isn't great so there probably will be some casualties from this. Most likely, over time some of the business will be deemed to be non core and sold off again.

I am no Harvard or Stanford MBA but I fail to see the business rationale for the acquisition by Masimo, a medical technology company, of Sound United, a pure play consumer audio and video entertainment umbrella of companies. I hope I am wrong but Masimo may just want to "milk" Sound United’s cash flow as implied in the video above ? I am worried but the Marantz brand has had its ups and downs over the decades... B&W also has very strong brand recognition and I am confident it, along with Marantz, will be able to survive post Masimo.

HiFi history is littered with the victims of unwise mergers and acquisitions.  a/d/s/ was bought by DEI, makers of car alarms...and disappeared.  Boston Acoustics once had a strong market position and has all but disappeared.  Nakamich and Sansui could be competing with Luxman...but aren't, due to lack of investment in  their once iconic brand reputations.  Time will tell whether Masimo will nurture the SU brand potfolio or squander it several jewels.