hi-fi+ Global Network Magazine

A couple of interesting events took place this month, which have wider implications for the audio industry than might be seen from taking a surface view.
The first is that Sony announced that, as of 2028, the next generation of PlayStation will not feature any kind of disc-based system. Rumours abound that Project Helix, the replacement to Microsoft’s Xbox, will also be discless. Nintendo stopped using discs when the Wii U was
discontinued more than a decade ago. In addition, Sony recently called time on its recordable Blu-ray players and blank media.
In more tangiably audio-related news, Dynaudio announced that it was withdrawing its domestic product line from North America, just before its 50th anniversary. The company has said that it will be focusing its efforts on Europe and Asia, and will shut down its US subsidiary later this year.
Both have led to considerable amounts of hand-wringing across the board, but both are likely legitimate strategic moves, reflecting significant change in the market.

Dynaudio’s decision is similarly potentially based on a divergence in international
equipment-buying decisions. We’ve noticed that the trend toward active loudspeaker
systems that is proving ever more popular in Asia and Europe is not shared in the Americas.
If that is a direction Dynaudio intends to explore in the coming years, then focusing its attention on markets receptive to that sort of product is a good idea. I would still prefer to see the brand a fully transnational one, but I can see why a company might choose that direction. And how we can so easily get the wrong idea.