New York - Denon and Mission have ended a five-year partnership in which Denon distributed Mission-branded speakers in the United States, but Denon will continue to use Mission-branded speakers in electronics/speaker systems sold in the U.S. and elsewhere, said Denon sales and marketing VP Steve Baker.

Beginning Oct. 1, Mission will take over marketing.

"They want to take a more active role," Baker said. "We have multiple responsibilities, including Denon marketing, and they want to put more emphasis on marketing Mission." The two companies "had a good association for many years," he noted.

Mission could not be reached for comment.