San Antonio — The Progressive Retailers Organization was at the Westin La Cantera Hill Coun
Chicago – Maxxsonics plans February shipments of Class D reference-level Mykros car amplifiers under the MB Quart brand, all featuring a small footprint.
The amps also feature a Q-Stasis preamplifier stage, said to reject noise and assure that “clean signal passes to the amplifier,” the company said. They also feature a dual-surface heatsink design to deliver improved heat dissipation.
The lineup consists of a four-channel model, a five-channel model, and a mono amp.
New York — The SiriusXM board appointed Jim Meyer, SiriusXM's sales and operations president, as interim CEO to replace Mel Karmazin, who is leaving sooner than expected.
Previously, Karmazin had said he would step down as SiriusXM CEO and relinquish his board seat on Feb. 1 after his employment contract expires. His announcement followed plans by Liberty Media to take control of SiriusXM.
Karmazin also resigned as a member of the SiriusXM board, and Meyer joined the board.
Buena Park, Calif. – Yamaha, as part of its 125th year anniversary, launched its Super Fan Sweepstakes, whose grand prize is a trip for two to a Yamaha-sponsored concert in California.
Previous Yamaha concerts have featured such artists as Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole, John Legend, Jason Mraz, Vince Gill, and Sara Bareilles.
The grand prize winner and a friend receive roundtrip airfare to Los Angeles, VIP passes to the Jan. 25 concert at Disney's Hyperion Theater in Anaheim, and one-night standard hotel accommodations. Ground transportation is included.
Hauppauge, N.Y. – Audiovox teamed up with SiriusXM in a promotional effort to offer consumers a $70 SiriusXM prepaid Visa card.
These will be offered when they purchase and activate a SiriusXM receiver in combination with eligible Prestige or Code Alarm remote-start systems.
The promotion runs through February 28.
“We are in a traditionally strong selling period for both SiriusXM and the Remote Start categories, and we believe this promo will make this year one of the strongest ever,” said Audiovox Electronics president Tom Malone.
San Francisco – Olive Media, marketer of multiroom hard-drive music server/players, is developing its first all-in-one model to incorporate touchscreen display, hard drive, network technology, and amplifier in a single chassis.
The Olive ONE component, targeted to high-performance users, takes the shape of an aluminum-and-glass disc that lies flat on a table.
Santa Barbara, Calif. – Sonos has integrated the playback of music stored on Apple’s mobile devices into its wireless multiroom-audio system.
Thanks to an updated Sonos-controller app for Apple devices running the new iOS 6 operating system, consumers will be able to stream music stored on their iPod, iPhone or iPad to multiple Sonos tabletop speakers throughout the house over Sonos’s dedicated wireless network, which delivers music in sync among rooms in high quality without dropouts, the company said.
Phoenix – MTX Audio will go to International CES to unveil a new business strategy said by president Loyd Ivey to represent “a fundamental change in the way MTX delivers products to its customers.”
Ivey said, “Despite major shifts in the mobile audio market, many in the industry are clinging to antiquated business models that make it impossible to compete,” he contended.
“MTX Audio has designed a smarter, new way of doing business, removing costs and links out of the supply chain.”
Columbia, Md. – HD Radio developer iBiquity Digital entered into a promotional partnership with pop band Totsy, which is the opening act for the 22 shows in Brian Setzer’s Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza Tour in November and December.
For the shows, HD Radio stations are creating promotional opportunities that highlight Totsy and HD Radio technology, iBiquity said.
iBiquity CEO Bob Struble said HD Radio stations, via their ability to simulcast multiple programs, enables new artists like Totsy to be heard.
New York – Low pricing will help keep consumer electronic market revenue for manufacturers just barely above water for 2012, according to IHS iSuppli.
Jordan Selburn, senior principal analyst for consumer platforms, is forecasting a 1.4 percent increase in sales this year by OEMs as these companies zero-in on attracting customers with low-ball pricing.