00:00:00: Hey there, my name's Usheenani and welcome to Audio Talks presented to you by Harman, where we dive deep into the stories shaping the future of audio.

00:00:09: technology and culture.

00:00:11: And today we are absolutely thrilled to be joined by Lyle Smith, who is president of the Sound United strategic business unit at Harman.

00:00:18: And we are celebrating some very exciting news for lovers of great audio.

00:00:22: Harman has officially completed its acquisition of Sound United, bringing legendary brands like Bowers and Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classe, Boston Acoustics and Heos under the Harman umbrella.

00:00:38: Welcome to the podcast, Lyle.

00:00:39: How are you, my friend?

00:00:42: I'm doing very good.

00:00:43: Thank you for having me on the podcast, Ocean.

00:00:45: All right.

00:00:46: It is absolutely great to chat to you and congratulations again to you and the team for the acquisition.

00:00:50: Some very exciting times ahead.

00:00:52: But before we get the big picture, let's start with your own story.

00:00:56: I wonder, could you share some of the early influences or experiences or any passions that really set you down the road towards audio and consumer technology?

00:01:08: You know music has been a really big part of my life really from an early age.

00:01:14: What I can tell you is I have one of my sisters is twelve years older than I am and from my earliest memories It's of me and her hanging out.

00:01:22: Maybe I'm in her room as she's getting ready and she's got music on in the background and she really introduced me to the world of hi-fi and You know from a little guy.

00:01:32: I just was fascinated by being able to put this big disc on a record player, putting that tone arm down and music would come out.

00:01:40: And I think a lot of my musical tastes and interests certainly came from my sister and I blame her for setting me down this path.

00:01:52: Big thanks to your big sister then for setting you on the path to where you are today.

00:01:56: But looking back again, would you say there was a defining moment like a piece of gear that you heard or a live show or some kind of a project early in your life that really made you fall in love completely with great sound?

00:02:10: Yeah, I can think of a moment where it was my first concert at Red Rocks.

00:02:16: And it was just one of these moments where the weather was perfect.

00:02:20: And it was three bands playing.

00:02:22: I'm not sure how many of the audience will remember these bands.

00:02:25: Some of them are big, but it was Gene Loves Jezebel, Echo and the Bunnymen in New Order, playing at Red Rocks.

00:02:32: And it was absolutely a magical experience.

00:02:35: I'd been to concerts before at that point, but nothing that had really moved me.

00:02:40: the way that concert did.

00:02:41: and just hearing it in that setting and just that venue is just so iconic.

00:02:46: And I had always wanted to go after seeing you two's under a blood red sky.

00:02:50: And to just be there and see a concert there just made me realize how much bigger sound can be than just listening to it on an album.

00:03:01: Oh, fantastic.

00:03:02: I'm getting total gigfoma.

00:03:04: There are Echo and the Bunnyman at Red Rocks.

00:03:06: It couldn't be more of my jam if it tried.

00:03:08: So that's an epic reference point.

00:03:10: Thank you.

00:03:11: But over your career, since that point, there have probably been some inflection points, you know, roles, challenges, decisions that kind of bought you from this place where you're listening to your big sisters, vinyl records, and you're seeing Echo and the Bunnyman.

00:03:25: Jean loves Jezebel at Red Rocks.

00:03:27: And you have kind of evolved into this leader.

00:03:30: in the audio industry, what were some of those inflections points that might be informative for our viewers and listeners?

00:03:37: I started off in the audio business by selling audio equipment at Soundtrack, which then became Ultimate Electronics.

00:03:43: Sadly, they're no longer in business, but that's where I got my start.

00:03:47: And it's where I also got exposed to being able to hear different brands.

00:03:53: I would also go to competitors and be able to hear what my biggest competitors were selling and why they were selling it so I could become a better audio salesperson.

00:04:02: I spent thirteen years with that company.

00:04:04: I became a manager there.

00:04:06: And I would tell you from an inflection point, what always stuck to me was it was about the people.

00:04:13: It was so important to ultimate that you treat your customers right.

00:04:17: You treat your coworkers the way you want to be treated.

00:04:20: And everything else.

00:04:21: really, I shouldn't say it doesn't matter, but it's really that golden rule of treating people the right way.

00:04:26: And as I grew in my career and started managing folks and opening up stores and running bigger territories, it was always about the people for me.

00:04:36: And just realizing that There's nothing you can do in this world on your own, but together you can accomplish a lot more.

00:04:43: And that still sticks with me today.

00:04:46: Those are words to live by it right there, Lyle.

00:04:48: Thank you so much.

00:04:49: And speaking of which, you did, of course, famously make your way into the mothership of Harman.

00:04:56: Can you talk to us a little bit about what drew you into Harman originally and what's kept you motivated since then?

00:05:04: Well, I was having a conversation with the gentleman that was leading the Harman consumer audio business in the Americas and he was sharing with me his vision about wanting to return these brands to prominence and you know ultimately he left the company but to be a part of that.

00:05:20: that's where Dave Rogers and I worked together at a previous company.

00:05:24: he came in to help on that journey.

00:05:26: But, you know, as I was looking back on the audio industry and seeing how these brands were being treated, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that.

00:05:34: And it was going to be a lot of hard work, but when you have the right people around you giving you that freedom to do what's right.

00:05:40: And, you know, quite frankly, the reason the brands weren't being treated well was things that we did prior to me joining.

00:05:47: for whatever reasons, the retail partners weren't too excited to carry these brands anymore.

00:05:52: And I wanted Really to be a part of that team that was able to change the perceptions of these brands.

00:05:58: and here we are sixteen years later and I would say we still have a lot of room to grow but I think the mission has been accomplished in a lot of ways.

00:06:07: I love that mixture of.

00:06:09: you know, candor and humility and real talk, but also celebrating the wins, you know, because it's been an incredibly impactful sixteen years for sure, for Harman.

00:06:18: And really, if you look at where they are now, it's quite amazing.

00:06:20: But your focus is so much on providing for the partners, making sure the end users have the best possible audio experience.

00:06:26: It's a kind of journey that never really ends.

00:06:29: But what would you say?

00:06:30: it is that, you know, we all love great audio, we love great sound?

00:06:34: What is it that you think resonates with everyone so deeply about good sound.

00:06:42: Yeah, you know, okay, I think about music and, you know, certainly sound from watching movies.

00:06:48: But when I think about music, I think it's in our DNA.

00:06:51: And when you hear a song you haven't heard in years.

00:06:56: You could be instantly transported back to that moment that you last heard that song, the smells, the tastes, the people you were with.

00:07:03: You may not have thought about them in some time, but then all of a sudden you hear that song and there they are at the beginning of your mind and nothing really, you know, No offense to our friends in the movie business, because I think that's very impactful.

00:07:18: But if you haven't seen a movie in fifteen years, it's not like you're thinking about all those other things that were happening at the time, whereas music just embeds into your soul.

00:07:28: And I think that's, to me, what the power of music and why it's so important, why audio is so important, is because it moves us.

00:07:35: It gets us to dance if you hear a dance song.

00:07:37: You know, you see little people when they hear music with a good beat, they're sitting there dancing, having a great time, and they've never heard it before, but they're enjoying the moment.

00:07:46: And to me, that's what audio is all about, is just connecting with music and people and enjoying your environment as you're listening to music.

00:07:55: Yeah, absolutely.

00:07:57: We actually had a two-time audio talks guest, seven-time Grammy-winning engineer and producer, the great Frank Filippetti.

00:08:05: at the way he referred to this as it's something that's kind of primal.

00:08:08: It is in your DNA exactly like you said, but you know babies will start dancing.

00:08:13: They will appreciate rhythm before they develop language.

00:08:15: So it's kind of this universal pre-language that we all have and it is absolutely in our DNA.

00:08:20: But I noticed that you are wearing a pretty fancy pair of headphones there and I may have seen them on a recent poster with a young man called David Beckham who's rather stylish.

00:08:31: Can you talk, take us through the headphones you're wearing now because I'm getting headphone FOMO.

00:08:35: Yeah, these are absolutely fantastic.

00:08:38: These are our reference headphones we just launched from Bowers and Wilkins.

00:08:43: Hopefully we didn't lose the audio as I took them off of my head there.

00:08:46: But they are absolutely very excited about them.

00:08:50: There are flagship headphones that noise canceling headphones for on the plane or just getting out those unwanted sounds so you can really immerse yourself in the music.

00:09:01: and I just got back from a trip to Europe where I was enjoying these on the way there and the way back.

00:09:07: and it's just what a great way to experience a flight just laying back listening to music and forgetting that I'm on a plane for eleven hours.

00:09:16: Beautiful, beautiful.

00:09:17: I mean, yeah, that is my go-to for any kind of in-flight scenario.

00:09:22: I had these lovely JBL noise-canceling headphones and man, it's so nice to be able to just switch off the ambience, particularly if there's maybe a very little traveler who's very unhappy about being on an airplane.

00:09:32: Just it's so nice to be able to dial that all back and just get lost in music and have that lovely private space.

00:09:37: But speaking of which, you know, you've given us a glimpse into your go-to travel set on an airplane.

00:09:43: Are there any other things you can share around a reference system.

00:09:46: So on the go at home that you still love and return to and you know we'd love to know what makes it special for you.

00:09:56: Yeah I'm glad you asked the use cases because there are different products for different use cases and you know when I'm on the go I always bring my JBL charge with me because it's a great sounding product for you know whether i'm on vacation or in my hotel room.

00:10:12: but when i'm at home and you know if i'm wanting to sit down and enjoy a glass of wine with my wife i do have a set of rebel perform a three.

00:10:20: uh brilliant speakers at home that i have as a two-channel system.

00:10:24: absolutely love them.

00:10:25: i i am looking forward though to uh to swapping them out and into getting some uh bowers and wilkins.

00:10:33: uh eight oh one maybe eight oh one or eight oh threes.

00:10:36: I've got to convince my wife it's time to time to upgrade.

00:10:42: I'm sure I'm not

00:10:42: the only

00:10:43: one that's on the on the listening to this.

00:10:46: that's had to to make that convincing argument.

00:10:49: Well, you know, you have to frame it in terms of the benefits and investment and you know, it's like what substitute is there for that luxurious audio?

00:10:57: It's absolutely immaculate.

00:10:58: So it's good luck with that discussion.

00:11:00: I think pour the wine first, then have the discussion, you know, you'll be all good.

00:11:04: So you're kind of looking at it from these various viewpoints.

00:11:07: We've got the technical side, the objective side.

00:11:10: So you've got your specs and your measurements.

00:11:12: But as you say, there's also that aspect of the emotional and the aesthetic of a piece of equipment and that kind of pristine audio you get.

00:11:22: How do you go about balancing this world of specs and tech with the world of emotion and aesthetics?

00:11:30: Well, it's a great question.

00:11:32: Really, you know, when you think about what is the magic of the audio industry and what makes one speaker better than another is certainly very subjective.

00:11:41: And I think, you know, as a manufacturer, our responsibilities are really to try to balance that technical aspect of it, but also providing that visual, when you look at it, you know what it is and you want that product in your house.

00:11:56: And I think that's the That's the real art there is trying to get products that people want to own and want to put in their home and that they're proud to show off in the house.

00:12:07: It's not just about the specs.

00:12:09: They're both very, very important.

00:12:11: But when you get it home, it's most important that they feel even better about that purchase and want to continue to show it off to their friends and their family and brag about what they just put in there.

00:12:24: For sure.

00:12:25: And speaking of which, you know, the Sound United portfolio includes a lot of legendary names.

00:12:31: I'm going to reel them off now.

00:12:32: So obviously, we've got Barrows and Wilkins, we've got Denon, Moran's Definitive Technology, the Mighty Polk Audio, Heos, Classe, Boston Acoustics.

00:12:41: From your perspective, Lyle, what would you say is the heritage or differentiator or magic that these brands can bring to the table?

00:12:52: They're also very different.

00:12:53: I would start there.

00:12:54: It's not like.

00:12:55: these are brands that were thought up as some marketing exercise to bring to market.

00:13:00: Every single one of these brands came to market with a unique idea on how they were going to change the audio world.

00:13:10: And you look at a brand like Denon, we're going on a hundred and fifteen years of heritage in the audio space.

00:13:17: That's incredible.

00:13:19: It's evolved.

00:13:20: It's not something that's just stuck in time and been the same brand throughout time.

00:13:26: It's changed with the industry.

00:13:28: It went from tuners to amplifiers to receivers now to AVRs.

00:13:34: And you look at that heritage, it's absolutely amazing.

00:13:37: and look at Bowers and Wilkins and the work that they did with Abbey Road.

00:13:41: I'm still learning all the brands.

00:13:43: I just found out that Morance was part of the Apollo mission.

00:13:47: It's like, wow, that's pretty amazing.

00:13:49: What other audio companies can talk about?

00:13:52: Their products were used because of the quality of the tube amplification for broadcast that Morance was part of that program.

00:14:00: So as I think about these brands, it's super important to realize and and protect their identities and that they're not the same.

00:14:09: And we're not trying to create the same products across each of the brands, but each one of them needs to stay unique in their particular areas.

00:14:20: Phenomenal.

00:14:21: I love everything to do with space.

00:14:22: I met a great astronaut last week.

00:14:24: Dr.

00:14:24: Mike Massimino has been in space twice and has done spacewalks and all this kind of stuff.

00:14:29: And honestly, I suspect he would love that story about the Moran's equipment being used on Apollo.

00:14:33: That is just brilliant.

00:14:36: Looking at these particular brands now within the Harmon portfolio, were there any from the Sound United group of brands that particularly intrigued you as an individual, as somebody who's really had this lifelong passion for great audio?

00:14:52: Look, I've had just as a competitor, a tremendous amount of respect for these brands.

00:14:58: I think the way they've been managed over time is not easy.

00:15:01: Obviously, in business, you're expected to be profitable and trends change and come and go.

00:15:08: But these brands over time have done a very good job of making sure that they stay relevant in the spaces that we're in.

00:15:16: It's not just about the brands.

00:15:18: When we started digging into this, it started really realizing.

00:15:22: you know, how many great people are here.

00:15:25: And of course, you know, when you're in due diligence, you don't get to talk to everybody, but the small amount of people we got to talk to, you can see their passion, you could feel their passion and super smart.

00:15:34: And then now that I've been here for a couple of weeks, everybody I meet has that same passion and energy and enthusiasm and love of these brands.

00:15:43: And I think for me, that's what I'm, you know, so excited about is to be, you know, working with just such amazing people that have the same passions that we have at Harmon.

00:15:54: Instead of competing, now we get to work together to bring some of the best brands to market.

00:15:59: And I can't think of a better job in the world to have right

00:16:03: now.

00:16:03: Love it.

00:16:03: I'm so happy to hear that.

00:16:04: And again, this echoes what you said earlier.

00:16:06: It is all about the people.

00:16:08: And, you know, I love that this is your approach to this acquisition and bringing the portfolio under the Harmon umbrella.

00:16:15: So that's great.

00:16:16: But speaking of which, all of these brands are really distinct identities.

00:16:20: And it was a great event a few weeks ago in London.

00:16:23: I saw a contact of mine, Hannah Louise F, who's this fashionista, this influencer.

00:16:28: And she was there kind of hanging out with David Beckham, hanging out with James Blake.

00:16:32: And it was a beautiful kind of star studded high end event.

00:16:36: And I think it was Barrows and Wilkins, obviously, with the gorgeous headphones.

00:16:39: How do you approach this aspect of each brand's identity being preserved when they're integrated into the broader Harman ecosystem?

00:16:51: Yeah, that's a really important question.

00:16:54: I think I touched on it a little bit before.

00:16:56: It's really about making sure that these brands continue to get to operate independently.

00:17:03: We're not trying to take what we did well at JBL, and now let's put it on one of these brands.

00:17:10: In fact, it's quite the opposite.

00:17:12: You'd mentioned before, that this is the Sound United strategic business unit and what's really important for your listeners to understand from that is the way Harmon is structured, we're not part of the consumer audio business.

00:17:26: They're also a strategic business unit.

00:17:28: They have their business and plans that they're trying to accomplish and we at Sound United will have the same.

00:17:34: We'll continue to compete in the marketplace and it will just be Harmon as the umbrella.

00:17:39: on top.

00:17:39: So it allows us to pursue the things that are important to the brands, to our dealers, to our consumers.

00:17:46: And I think that that will allow these brands to stay unique the way they are today.

00:17:52: Phenomenal.

00:17:53: And do you see this approach extending to things like the product roadmaps?

00:17:58: I know it's possibly a question that one can't answer publicly because product roadmaps tend to be quite confidential.

00:18:04: But in general, what would you say is the approach in terms of the harm and umbrella?

00:18:09: and the Sound United product roadmaps.

00:18:12: Look, I think there's going to be a long term no doubt that we'll be able to look at certain technologies or platforms behind the scenes that a consumer may not realize that we can share.

00:18:25: But ultimately, the DNA of the brands need to stay the absolute DNA of the brand.

00:18:32: But if there's an opportunity and you see it happening inside of sound united right now.

00:18:36: Heos originally was just a Denon thing and then it spread to Bowers and Wilkins and it's very possible it spreads beyond just Denon and Moranze.

00:18:46: You may see it in other things.

00:18:48: And that's an example where I think going forward inside the Harmon ecosystem would be how do we look at all of these brands?

00:18:55: and are there common platforms and technologies that kind of stitch these brands together but don't take away their unique DNA?

00:19:03: and that's going to be our challenge and focus as we move forward.

00:19:07: Nice, nice.

00:19:08: And what would you say could be some of the benefits for the consumers?

00:19:13: given this new kind of independent but very complementary approach between the strategic business units?

00:19:21: Well, you know, I will tell you, I'll just share with you as I've been going around, I've talked to some partners and I've been talking to the employees here.

00:19:31: And there is a common theme and it was, thank God that Harmon won the acquisition.

00:19:37: And the reason for it is, we're an audio company and audio is very different, even in consumer electronics.

00:19:43: It is selling passion and stories and you have to be willing to get your hands dirty and carry speakers, you know, from one dealer to the next.

00:19:53: And it's not just bringing in a PowerPoint and showing somebody what the specs are on a product.

00:19:59: I think for the listeners, for the consumers to know that these brands are under the stewardship of another audio company.

00:20:07: We should give them some confidence and reassurance that long term, these brands are going to be focusing on audio and component audio specifically, box loudspeakers and two channel and surround sound.

00:20:19: These are the things that our customers and our consumers have come to really appreciate about these brands.

00:20:27: And we want to continue to narrow that focus down and have everybody really making sure that we're all rowing towards that and not getting distracted by maybe some other, you know, priorities that have nothing to do with audio.

00:20:41: This is going to be our core mission.

00:20:42: And it will be, how do we make the audio experience better for the end user?

00:20:48: That's fantastic.

00:20:49: Yeah, I've seen a lot of commentary, particularly on LinkedIn.

00:20:52: I spend way too much time on LinkedIn, but I've seen a lot of people, particularly journalists commenting, you know, this is feel good story.

00:20:59: This is some good news in the industry.

00:21:01: We're so happy that this has happened and Sound United has kind of come into the Harman mothership and it can only be a good thing all around.

00:21:08: So I echo your optimism very much there.

00:21:10: But do you think that we might be seeing things like faster upgrades or faster access to different tech or with the Harman rails as they are?

00:21:23: the harm and infrastructure and that the might of harm and make things happen in a new way for sound united brands.

00:21:31: Well you know that that's a difficult question to really answer right now.

00:21:35: what i would say is that long term there could be things of technology that find their way into some of the sound united brands.

00:21:42: but as i mentioned before the unique identities and dna what what makes these brands so special need to be.

00:21:50: really the tenants of what we put into the brands.

00:21:53: And if it doesn't fit, we shouldn't do it.

00:21:55: I think that's really the underlying message here is we'll embrace the technologies and ecosystems that will benefit these brands and benefit the end user.

00:22:07: If there isn't a benefit there, there's no reason to put something in for the sake of putting something in if there's no consumer benefit.

00:22:15: Yeah.

00:22:15: Excellent.

00:22:16: I'm sure that's music, excuse the pun, music to the ears of many a consumer and maybe an audiophile out there, because this is a very specific area for the audiophile, the high quality, high-end community out there.

00:22:29: They're very loyal to the brands and the Sound United portfolio.

00:22:33: And, you know, I'm curious to know how do you think you will be approaching things like brand authenticity, long-term support, serviceability, firmware upgrades, all of these things are very important to the audiophile community.

00:22:48: How

00:22:49: are you going to be looking after that very specific community, but under the new structure?

00:22:55: Well, I think for starters, I'd like to ask that community, please watch us see what we're doing.

00:23:01: The only way I know how to prove to you that we are going to be the best stewards for these brands and especially for this audiophile community is to show you and trust is earned.

00:23:13: I want to earn your trust.

00:23:14: I want you to know that there's nothing more important as we were going through this acquisition.

00:23:20: The conversations that we were having throughout the entire process, even going into winning the bid, was we have to maintain these brands' identities.

00:23:30: And it is so important to this acquisition that we don't mess this up.

00:23:36: We have got to make sure that We lean into that heritage, we lean into that community, and listen to what they're looking for from us, from these brands, and make sure that we deliver on it.

00:23:48: Are we going to do everything right?

00:23:50: I hope so.

00:23:51: We might make some mistakes along the way, and I'll be the first one to admit it.

00:23:55: But for me personally, say do are so important.

00:24:00: And this is my first podcast so you want to be the first here to say and you all the first to hear it this is their number one priority is to make sure that we are listening to that community to give them what they're looking for.

00:24:14: Make sure that these brands stay authentic to who they are.

00:24:18: Love it.

00:24:19: that kind of north star of authenticity is.

00:24:23: So important.

00:24:24: It's so important to these brands, and it's very reassuring to hear that that is your top focus.

00:24:29: That's fantastic.

00:24:30: I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's going to take time, right?

00:24:32: This is not something that's going to happen overnight.

00:24:35: And that's why I'm asking this community, give us the time and Tell us what it is that you want, and we will do our best, right?

00:24:44: We can't be all things to everybody, but we'll pick that direction and we will stick to it, and you'll hear it from us.

00:24:50: I'll come back on and talk to you, Ocean, about what these strategies are and how we think it's going to benefit that audiophile community.

00:24:57: Yes, please, Lyle.

00:24:58: That is a dead search.

00:25:00: We will mark that in your diary, SAP.

00:25:02: Thank you so much.

00:25:03: But just going on personal experience, I've been in some companies where there's been a merger or an acquisition.

00:25:09: And I've witnessed personally a tendency for, you know, the parent company to maybe dilute the, you know, the kind of identity of the brands they've acquired.

00:25:21: I'm getting loud and clear that this is something you are absolutely avoiding with the joining of the SBU to the Harman mothership.

00:25:29: But can you talk a little bit about how you're going about protecting and nurturing and investing in each of the individual brand identities to make sure they continue how people know and love them already.

00:25:42: Yeah, you know, I think I'd love to share a story about the Samsung Harman acquisition because I think it really will help.

00:25:52: solidify the story that we've been talking about, which is how do we make sure these brand identities continue to stay unique going forward?

00:26:01: If I go back to twenty seventeen, there was a lot of concern that with the Samsung Harmon acquisition that the audio brands would not be what they were and that it would become part of the Samsung ecosystem and that these heritage brands JBL, Harmon Carter and Mark Levinson would not be.

00:26:20: um operating the same way.

00:26:21: well if you go back to twenty seventeen samsung said they were gonna allow harm into continue to operate independently.

00:26:28: and as we've had leadership changes every single leadership change that's happened inside of harman has been replaced with a harman employee and samsung has been an amazing parent for us because they've allowed us to continue to pursue.

00:26:43: you know, our passions in audio, you know, they're there for us, they're support us.

00:26:47: And I think the same thing is for your listeners, the same thing is going to happen here.

00:26:52: Samsung wanted us to make this acquisition in order to be able to keep these brands Very relevant in the space without becoming homogenized and that that's been happening for the past eight years And I expect it to happen for the next eight to twenty years as well because it's what's been happening so far

00:27:14: Absolutely, and I've been fortunate enough to witness that myself personally at things like the Harman presence at CES in Las Vegas where it was right next to Samsung but there was this large kind of glass pane so folks in the Samsung booth could actually see what was happening in the world of Harman.

00:27:29: and again it was all about that mutual respect that authenticity and that support without denigrating from either side.

00:27:36: but coming back to more nuts and bolts One of the key benefits of any acquisition of this nature is scale and scaling.

00:27:45: Are you able to comment on the benefits for the Sound United brands in terms of scaling, things like distribution, plugging into that Harman infrastructure that's already in place?

00:27:55: What are the benefits for Sound United?

00:27:58: Yeah, I think early on here, there's certainly some thesis.

00:28:02: made throughout the acquisition around buying power.

00:28:06: But if you look at distribution, there's really not any conflicting overlaps that I see so far.

00:28:13: I do believe because the Harman consumer brands are really playing in a different space.

00:28:19: It's primarily Bluetooth speakers, party speakers.

00:28:23: headphones, soundbars.

00:28:25: There's a little bit of overlap, but not a lot.

00:28:27: I think the benefits to the consumer are going to be in economies of scale when it comes to purchasing.

00:28:34: Quality is very important to the Sound United team.

00:28:37: It's table stakes at Harman.

00:28:39: It's table stakes here.

00:28:40: So I don't think there's opportunities to improve.

00:28:44: I think there's opportunities to challenge each other to do better.

00:28:48: as we look at it.

00:28:49: I do believe the biggest opportunities long term are going to just be that back end, things that are going to be invisible to the consumer and the retailer.

00:28:58: We want to continue to operate these two businesses independently, competing in the marketplaces and the very few spots that we overlap.

00:29:06: But at the same time, take advantage of any scale opportunities to bring to Sound United.

00:29:14: that will then allow us to invest more money in R&D and bringing great products to market.

00:29:20: Win, win.

00:29:21: I love it.

00:29:21: Thank you, Lyle.

00:29:22: Now, coming back to things on a more personal level, I'm wondering, is there anything that excites you the most about this acquisition?

00:29:30: So is there anything that you're particularly looking forward to seeing to come to life as a result of this?

00:29:37: Yeah.

00:29:37: So if you haven't heard throughout this, I do think the brands are absolutely amazing.

00:29:42: I mean, what is not to be excited about?

00:29:45: you know, Denon, Morance, and Bowers and Wilkins, Polk Audio, Definitive Technologies.

00:29:49: These are just such iconic brands, and it's the people that are here that brought these brands to life and continue to put that passion and energy behind it.

00:30:00: That's what I've been most excited about.

00:30:02: I do think there's some product that is coming.

00:30:05: I wish I could tell you about it, but there's some things that are coming that are truly exciting that I think your listeners are going to love to hear about.

00:30:14: Excellent.

00:30:15: Watch this space, as they say.

00:30:17: Now, we've been talking about the excitement there.

00:30:19: It's really palpable.

00:30:21: It is genuinely, your whole life has been leading up to this incredible role.

00:30:25: And this is one of the biggest pieces of news in consumer and in pro audio.

00:30:31: This is a big deal.

00:30:32: Do you feel any kind of pressure in terms of this new role and your ambitions for the brands and what you would like to see happen?

00:30:42: Yeah, certainly there were some sleepless nights as we first started discussing that I'd be taking on this role.

00:30:47: I do feel the pressure.

00:30:48: I feel a pressure to first and foremost, the people that are here at Sound United, the folks that are at Harmon as well.

00:30:55: It's a lot of, this is a giant acquisition for our company.

00:31:00: And I want to make sure that it goes right.

00:31:02: And more importantly, it's also what it means to our industry or industry partners.

00:31:07: You know, they've come to count on these brands to be a part of their business and they represent, you know, their companies as well.

00:31:14: So I do feel the pressure there as well.

00:31:18: And as I've been, you know, even talking to some of my friends, like, wow, these are such amazing brands and, you know, you've got a lot of responsibility ahead of you.

00:31:27: Yeah, I do.

00:31:28: And I feel it every day when I wake up, it's, It's what motivates me, though.

00:31:33: It's like I want to do right by the industry and by the folks that are coming to work here at Sound United every day.

00:31:41: It's super important and it gives me a lot of energy and focus to do the right things.

00:31:47: That's great.

00:31:48: Well, it's again, very reassuring to hear that.

00:31:50: And of course, everyone listening wishes you luck and knows you're going to absolutely smash it.

00:31:55: Thank you.

00:31:55: I have another question, which is a bit more of a future forward question.

00:31:59: So I know there's limits on what you can say, but I wonder Is there anything that you can talk about in the next like six to twelve months that folks should be generally looking out for from this wonderful acquisition?

00:32:12: Well, I know you have a lot of constituents that are listening to this podcast, you know, whether it be end users that are curious about what we're going to do with the brand or retail or distribution partners also wondering.

00:32:25: And what I would tell you there is You know, over the next six months, I want to be out in the market.

00:32:30: I want to be listening to our partners.

00:32:33: I want to be hearing from consumers.

00:32:36: What is it that they want to see from these brands?

00:32:38: Unfortunately, I can't talk about roadmaps.

00:32:41: But what I will learn and hear as I do these tours, and I've already started, you know, the six months isn't starting here in the future.

00:32:48: It's already started.

00:32:50: And I want to hear from you.

00:32:51: I want to know what's important to you so we can make sure that we're living up to those very high expectations that people have for these brands.

00:33:00: So more to come on the product.

00:33:02: I keep inviting myself back to your podcast.

00:33:06: Fantastic.

00:33:07: I love it.

00:33:08: I love it.

00:33:08: Well, it's going to be an exciting chat when we catch up again next time.

00:33:11: We can do a whole kind of check in and talk about some of the exciting things that you can't talk about right now.

00:33:16: So that's great.

00:33:18: Last question before I ask you to put a track on our title playlist and this is really, you know, is there anything else that you would like to share?

00:33:25: You've got audio files, you've got distributors, you've got partners, you've got professionals, you've got consumers, a whole bunch of different people tuning in.

00:33:32: What's one thing that you'd like to share with them all if you haven't shared it already?

00:33:37: I'll say it directly.

00:33:38: I really want to say it to the audio files and the brand loyalists.

00:33:43: that we are committed to these brands and the heritage and make sure that their brand identities stay unique.

00:33:48: There's nothing more important to me in taking this role, making sure that that happens.

00:33:54: So again, hold me to it.

00:33:56: I think it's going to be time, but I expect to live up to your expectations.

00:34:02: I love it now.

00:34:03: So I'm going to reference Steve May from the looks review on LinkedIn.

00:34:06: He said, I have a good feeling about this.

00:34:09: And I really have a good feeling about this after our chat right now, Lyle.

00:34:12: So that's wonderful.

00:34:13: But I do have one more question for you.

00:34:15: And this is a question we ask all of our VIP guests, everyone from AR Rahman to Carl Cox.

00:34:20: And this is to choose a track for our VIP title playlist.

00:34:25: So what say you, what piece of music would you like to add?

00:34:29: Wow, OK, I'm going to have a lot to choose from.

00:34:32: There's so many different, you know, bands, artists, genres.

00:34:37: But I want to share a song that I love to use when I'm doing a reference check on an audio system, whether it's our own or a competitor's speaker.

00:34:48: And hopefully, this hasn't been mentioned on your podcast.

00:34:50: But my favorite track to do that with is My Immortal by Evanescence.

00:34:56: Her emotion in that song, her range on the right system can just, you know, bring chills to your spine, but not on a ride system.

00:35:09: It can absolutely expose every weakness in it.

00:35:12: And that's what I love about using that track when I'm out there.

00:35:17: listening is I know it so well and I know what to listen for.

00:35:21: And I don't hear it that often.

00:35:23: Usually have to bring my phone to play it myself, but it's such a great track to get her emotion coming through that audio system.

00:35:34: Oh my goodness, that is a pro tip right there.

00:35:37: I love it.

00:35:37: So not only a great track, but a reference track that you can really use to put your high end audio components to the test.

00:35:44: And my own contribution to this playlist, not so much for the high quality of the recording, but more for the vibes.

00:35:50: It's a track from nineteen eighty by the great Otis Clay called the only way is up because that's what I'm getting from this conversation and the whole acquisition of Sound United by Harmon.

00:36:00: It is all good news.

00:36:01: So listen, thank you so much for joining us on audio talks, Lyle Smith, and congratulations again to you and your team.

00:36:08: Thank you, Ocean, and I look forward to being on the podcast again.

00:36:13: We'll see you later.

00:36:14: Your people speak to my people.

00:36:16: Brilliant.

00:36:16: Okay, so listen, thank you again.

00:36:18: It has been fascinating to explore what the Sound United acquisition means for listeners, audio fields and the broader audio industry.

00:36:25: And why this moment is such a powerful step for the future of premium sound.

00:36:31: To learn more about Harman's vision, including this acquisition, please visit news.harman.com, which we have linked in the show notes.

00:36:38: And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, rate and share audio talks so others can discover it too.

00:36:45: For more exclusive content, some behind the scenes goodies and maybe even some competitions head on over to the Instagram.

00:36:51: you can find us at Audio Talks podcast.

00:36:54: Until next time, keep listening and keep enjoying the uniting, wonderful DNA level power of great sound.

00:37:01: We will see you next time.