JVC and Kenwood?

[Christopher]

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has decided to sell its stake in Victor Co. of Japan and is negotiating with prospective buyer Kenwood Corp.+++

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has decided to sell its stake in Victor Co. of Japan and is negotiating with prospective buyer Kenwood Corp., sources said Saturday.

Matsushita, which has a 52.4 percent stake in JVC, plans to complete its latest round of structural reforms by removing JVC from group earnings, the sources said.

JVC President Masahiko Terada is believed to have met with Kenwood President Haruo Kawahara earlier this month.

The sources said there is another proposal on the table which calls for JVC executives to acquire the shares from Matsushita through a management buyout, the sources said.

Cerberus Group is negotiating with JVC executives to provide the necessary capital for such a deal, they added.

JVC, the pioneer of VHS-format VCRs, was once a strong player in consumer electronics. However, its earnings have tapered off due to mounting competition.

It suffered a 30.6 billion yen group net loss on 806.8 billion yen in sales for the business year that ended last March 31.

By acquiring JVC, Kenwood would seek to use the Victor brand to strengthen its own video and audio lineup, the sources said.

"Our policy to closely watch the operation of Victor, which is making its utmost effort for a business recovery, has not changed," a Matsushita spokesperson said. "Nothing is decided about the sale."

Matsushita spokesman Akira Kadota however acknowledged that JVC is the only Matsushita subsidiary which is in the red. "There are many options, and a sellout is one of them," he said.

Established in 1927, JVC joined the Matsushita group in 1954 and produced such hit items as color television sets and VCRs. It had about 28,500 employees as of Sept. 30.

[King Ghidora]

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has decided to sell its stake in Victor Co. of Japan and is negotiating with prospective buyer Kenwood Corp.+++

The reason for the downturn of JVC probably has more to do with them making stuff that just doesn't last. I had so much JVC stuff go bad on me it's ridiculous. I liked their stereo equipment at one time because they allowed remote control of such things as equalizers and tape decks when others didn't. So I bought several of their products and every one of them failed either during the warranty period or slightly after it.

Kenwood on the other hand make very high quality equipment at one time. From what I understand it isn't what it used to be but I have a Kenwood amp that is about 25 years old and it still works perfectly. It was from the era when amps weighed 60 pounds or more because of the massive heat sinks they put in. It just isn't easy to dissipate the heat from a 480 watts per channel amp I guess. Still even with all the heat an amp like that produces it still works perfectly.

It just seems strange that a company that has made excellent quality equipment is buying out a company known for making stuff that doesn't last.

[ILoveMinidisc]

Hmm I too find Kenwood highly superior over JVC

But somehow Kenwood must be intressed in something , but what?

What is it JVC is doing that kenwood like right now?

if is non-profit for Matushita why will it be profit for kenwood?

Could kenwood rename JVC to kenwood

and make the bad things out of JVC and make them all good?

Anyway maybe Kenwood that only has a limited (But quality) marked

want to expand to have more marked even if this will mean having lesser quality (JVC)?

we have to wait and see.

[rayzray]

i find Kenwood trashy and JVC superior in Sound;; i bought a Kenwood MD-Deck once and brought it right back;; it just didn't edit right and sound right..

ALL,, my JVC stuff works find and just "Sounds" superior;; just goes to show what a difference a ray makes..

[King Ghidora]

i find Kenwood trashy and JVC superior in Sound;; i bought a Kenwood MD-Deck once and brought it right back;; it just didn't edit right and sound right..

ALL,, my JVC stuff works find and just "Sounds" superior;; just goes to show what a difference a ray makes..

My JVC equipment sounded fine. In fact the sound quality of their cassette decks was probably the main reason I bought their equipment to begin with. It was a step above all the competition in that area back at that time.

The problem was that things just kept breaking down. I went through 3 receivers in 4 years including twice sending different receivers back to the factory for repairs. It took several months to get those back btw. I also had 3 CD changers quit within a month of their warranty expiring and a cassette deck quit within days of the warranty period end. My second cassette deck was a dual auto reverse deck. The heads went out completely on one deck and would only work in one direction on the other. I also had 2 VCR's quit after about a year each and that was when they were quite expensive.

I bought a Sony CD changer which has been working flawlessly for about 10 years now. And I bought a Sony VCR that still works many years later. I also bought a Kenwood amp and a Harmon Kardon preamp / tuner which both work perfectly today. The Kenwood is probably over 20 years old now (I bought it used). Kenwood was much higher quality back at that time. That amp is still highly sought after because it produces power on a scale that is rarely matched today. It's 480 wpc when pushing 4 ohm speakers if that tells you anything.

I know that Kenwood doesn't produce the same quality of equipment they did at one time but back in the late 1980's they were considered to produce very high quality audio equipment. It was considered to be audiophile level equipment back then. I wish they did still produce equipment of that quality but they don't.

I still do use the JVC cassette deck though it only plays one direction on one of it's dual decks. I also have one of the receivers that will power up and operate the cassette deck with a remote. I only turn it on to control that cassette deck with a remote. It will not produce any sound at all though. In fact the lights barely even work. Of course I rarely use a cassette deck at all these days but it's there if I ever decide to play one of my old tapes. Heck I still have an 8 track player that works with a few tapes to go with it. I don't use it very often either. It's up in the attic with my turntable.

[rayzray]

perhaps "trashy" was a bit much to describe Kenwood;; i should have used a better term..

next time i see a used Kenwood at the Salvation Army store for $20;; i'll buy it and try it just for fun..

you can return it within 24 hours and get your money back..

too bad Salvation army isnt right next to me;; i could have a ball with taht situation!!

[King Ghidora]

perhaps "trashy" was a bit much to describe Kenwood;; i should have used a better term..

next time i see a used Kenwood at the Salvation Army store for $20;; i'll buy it and try it just for fun..

you can return it within 24 hours and get your money back..

too bad Salvation army isnt right next to me;; i could have a ball with taht situation!!

If you happen to find a Basic M2 for $20 I'll double the price if you buy it for me. I'll probably turn around and sell it for a few hundred though. They do turn up cheap at times because people don't realize the demand for them.

[rayzray]

ok,, Basic M2;; got it;; it's stored in my 63 1/2 year old brain;What brand was that?? lol..!!

Basic M2,, Basic M2..

[King Ghidora]

ok,, Basic M2;; got it;; it's stored in my 63 1/2 year old brain;What brand was that?? lol..!!

Basic M2,, Basic M2..

Here's an eBay listing for a Basic M2. The reserve wasn't met but you can tell from the Buy It Now price ($360) that people do still think they're valuable after nearly two decades. They list different power ratings than what came with mine. Mine says 480 wpc at 4 ohms which is a peak power rating. It's rated 300 wpc RMS which still packs plenty of punch. Maybe they were rated differently in different years.

So anyway I guess I'll split the profits with you if you find one for $20. See what a nice guy I am.