I don't know if anyone cares, but Def-Tech just merged with DEI(Directed Electronics) of 12V fame. It looks like DEI is the controlling partner.

i wonder what this does to ads speakers which dei also owns

ADS speakers with subwoofers??

Does this mean that if anyone approaches any of their large, black, monothic speakers that a voice will interupt and say "warning, these speakers are protected by Viper, step back immediately"?

One would ask, WHY are they merging?

Would it be due to the fact that big monolithic (I like that descriptive term) aren't selling very well, hence a buy out of sorts?

The articles that I read on it don't imply that it was a merger, but rather a direct buyout on the part of Directed Electronics.

I would say that the buyout could be a result of either poor profitability, or Def Techs readiness just to sell out and cash in.

That brand always struck me as being a bit odd. I never cared all that much for the sound, but man, did they ever advertise.

Customers would come into the store pre-qualified, almost "Bose-ish" (to coin a term if it's not already patented and copywritten).

The consumer mags would publish an article about how great they sounded and most of the people who bought them never even bothered to listen first.

Who was I to argue?

I'll assume you guys dislike them?

Not really a thing of not liking the product.

I do however have certain memories of various employees, reps and such, that were more than a bit rude, nasty or condescending to me when I approached them, expressing interest in carrying the line.

In the case of those who have done such, I do tend to enoy the fact that they "get" theirs in the end.

they seem to have their fare share of dislike. makes me wonder why

Def tech tried to be to the 90's what Polk was to the 80's. A sales superpower who's target was the hi-fi specialty store.

They sought out the top specialty stores in any given town and went after them strong and hard. They wanted their products prominently displayed, and to look different from the other boxes in the stores.

To their credit, they pretty much pioneered the 6ft tall, shiny black, mothothic speakers with built in subs that soon everyone and their brothers tried to mimic.

However, around the turn of the century, 6ft. tall, high gloss, bi-polar, monolithic speakers wrapped in socks began to fall out of fashion. Even the brands that Def Tech had mimic (Mirage & Paradigm) had abandoned the look and design.

Thinking back at the Polk glory days, the old ads that showed Mr. Polk standing next to a gigantic $3500.00/pr. set of speakers (along with captions from reviewers talking about how great they were) did wonders for selling the $500/pr Polks. Just like Def, the awe factor was there in a big way.

The problem is that it's hard to sustain that momentum. When you first see the big, impressive advertisements and the reviews, it's pretty hard to ignore, but after a few years, the awe and wow starts to wear off. Def Tech had a great story, and I'm sure that they had a huge growth phase for quite a few years, but once that growth starts to level off, maybe it's time to sell and get out?

To Sandy's credit, he started that company from scratch, built it up into a pretty well known name, sold it and probably made quite a bit of money doing so.

Just makes me wonder where the dealers fit into this? It feels like the typical asset squeeze coming soon. Slowly choking the brand to death. There's a probably a hundred of examples but Marantz, Rockford Fosgate, Hafler, JBL seem to ring a bell at first thought.

Anytime something like this happens, you certainly have cause to be concerned. I wouldn't forsee any drastic changes overnight, but looking at the line, I'd say that they have WAY too many SKUs, and I'd expect to see some of them cut back.

I know what you're wondering though.........

'how long 'till they're in Best Buy?"

I think that if given the option, ALL manufacturers would have product in Best Buy.

Yeah, the beancounter mentality...If it's good for the bottom line now, it doesn't matter that the product will begin to be perceived as low end trash, the perceived value, and margins, will be lost in the future....

Amen to that