TurboSound changes hands...

[nem0nic]

Yup, it's a Behringer.

http://www.behringer.com/news/music-...th-turbosound/

[richard stringer]

Don't panic, it states :

"It is expected that TURBOSOUND will benefit from MUSIC Group’s extensive infrastructure while retaining their own manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution network worldwide".

This means that Behringer will not take over manufacturing of Turbosound equipment, that would sooner or later ruin Turbosound as a company, Turbosound will STILL continue to manufacturer the quality products they always have done. If it actually means that Behringer will be charge of manufacturing then Turbosound is a dead company walking.

[windspeed36]

Btw - when Behringer/music group tookover Midas and KT, they had a 1 year deal that Behringer couldn't change any of KT's or Midas's designs however that had now changed. God help us.

This worries me;

“We will invest heavily in positioning TURBOSOUND at the very pinnacle of the industry, as we have done with MIDAS and KLARK TEKNIK, where we have financed over $20 million in new automated manufacturing, quality control systems and engineering resources, including a new Center of Engineering Excellence in Manchester, UK” adds Uli Behringer

[GaFFLe]

Don't panic, it states :

"It is expected that TURBOSOUND will benefit from MUSIC Group’s extensive infrastructure while retaining their own manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution network worldwide".

This means that Behringer will not take over manufacturing of Turbosound equipment, that would sooner or later ruin Turbosound as a company, Turbosound will STILL continue to manufacturer the quality products they always have done. If it actually means that Behringer will be charge of manufacturing then Turbosound is a dead company walking.

Better scrounge up those TQ445's while you still can... LOL.

This worries me; “We will invest heavily in positioning TURBOSOUND at the very pinnacle of the industry, as we have done with MIDAS and KLARK TEKNIK, where we have financed over $20 million innew automated manufacturing, quality control systems and engineering resources, including a new Center of Engineering Excellence in Manchester, UK” adds Uli Behringer

Automated means some(body's) out of jobs. Quality control systems makes me think they're focused on outsourcing manufacturing abroad (China).

Sure, engineer the products in Manchester UK... manufacturer them for the low-low in the People's Republic. The writing is on the wall...

[nem0nic]

This means that Behringer will not take over manufacturing of Turbosound equipment, that would sooner or later ruin Turbosound as a company,

Did it ruin MKT? Because we've taken over all manufacturing. Not only did this not effect the quality of the product, it's enabled Midas to be competitive price-wise. It makes no sense for Behringer to buy a brand and then not manufacture it in their own factory.

Of course, there will be a period of transition, where we examine their current products and manufacturing process and build out appropriate lines in our own facility. This is what we did with MKT, and why we spent $20M USD in new manufacturing equipment. The new PRO series pricing and the release of the PRO2 is the first result of our new manufacturing efforts.

Automated means some(body's) out of jobs. Quality control systems makes me think they're focused on outsourcing manufacturing abroad (China).

The move to a more automated manufacturing process means better quality all-round. Tolerances are lower, and more complex product can be made. And again, we aren't outsourcing anything. We OWN our own factory in China, and employ thousands of people at that facility (one of the 16 locations we operate globally).

[Al Poulin]

It will take a long time for most professionals to have any respect for Behringer gear simply because of them constantly stealing designs from other companies and producing a lower performing and lower priced version that often looks IDENTICAL. This seems to be happening less often these days, but still. Behringer gear is generally considered disposable gear of inferior quality quite simply. They are a better choice than Pyle Pro, Nady, Techincal Pro, Pyramid and similar bottom of the barrel companies however. Some B products are better than others : power amplifiers + recent powered speakers for example have proven reliable but many DJ mixer model (for example) are known to be complete crap with bleeding chanels, noisy pots etc.. and with the occasional one that stops working just after the warranty expires. The two Behringer dealers in my area simply stopped selling them because of the numer of DOAs. It looks like Behringer products are improving in general, but it will take time to convince those used to using quality products from more reputable manufacturers (who do their own R&D).

Having a big plastic 1200 watt numbers glued to the front of a speaker and producing products with names like I Nuke do not help in making Behringer products appear professional - except maybe to noobs and those who don't know any better than to look for big numbers printed by marketing departments.

Al

[nem0nic]

It will take a long time for most professionals to have any respect for Behringer gear...

But I'm not sure what this has to do with the purchase of TurboSound. I understand your point, and even agree with you to an extent. But I also know that Behringer targets one price point and experience level, and brands like Midas, Klark Teknik, and now TurboSound target a different one. Being purchased by Music Group hasn't effected MKT's brand equity, and I don't expect it will effect TurboSound's. But I DO expect that both TurboSound and Behringer will benefit from the purchase, based on our experience with MKT.

[Al Poulin]

But I'm not sure what this has to do with the purchase of TurboSound. I understand your point, and even agree with you to an extent. But I also know that Behringer targets one price point and experience level, and brands like Midas, Klark Teknik, and now TurboSound target a different one. Being purchased by Music Group hasn't effected MKT's brand equity, and I don't expect it will effect TurboSound's. But I DO expect that both TurboSound and Behringer will benefit from the purchase, based on our experience with MKT.

I think the simple fact that they have been aquired by Behringer will make many potential buyers question (before purchasing a new unit) what manufacturing processes have been changed OR which short cuts / cost cutting measures have been implemented in production OR which lower cost parts were chosen to make the units more cost effective. Behringer (somewhat like Peavey to a certain extent) may have trouble shaking that "value/entry level" label that applies to most of its products. The simple association to Behringer will be a deterrent to many IMO. Maybe not. The reliability of future Behringer products and customer service will have to be stellar to shake off their current reputation. That is just my opinion of course.

Al

[Manu]

oh ffs

[nem0nic]

I think the simple fact that they have been aquired by Behringer will make many potential buyers question (before purchasing a new unit) what manufacturing processes have been changed OR which short cuts / cost cutting measures have been implemented in production OR which lower cost parts were chosen to make the units more cost effective.

I can tell you that the simple fact that we (Music Group) purchase parts in the quantities that we do has a LOT to do with the cost reductions we're able to deliver across our brands. A company like TurboSound might be able to purchase Neutrik connectors or crossover components in quantities of 10K a year, where we would buy 500K of the exact same part in the same year. When you work with quantities like that, the economy of scale works heavily in your favor. We can easily take out 25-30% of a product's cost in this way WITHOUT CHANGING A SINGLE COMPONENT.

I totally get your overall point, but I wanted to address this point because it's a major way we reduce cost. Another thing to remember is that we OWN our factory. This isn't common, even among bigger companies, and it saves us another 18-20% compared to relying on an ODM to manufacture your product.