# Pioneer Sold To Hong Kong Firm



## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

Pioneer has been in trouble financially for quite some time now. Hopefully the new ownership will lead them into a profitable future. I hope Pioneer continues to put out quality products because as we've seen in the Car Audio Industry, lots of 'high end' brands went the opposite direction after being acquired. 



> Pioneer Corporation announced it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Baring Private Equity Asia, based in Hong Kong.


https://www.ceoutlook.com/2018/12/11/pioneer-is-sold-to-hong-kong-firm/


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

Angrywhopper said:


> Pioneer has been in trouble financially for quite some time now. Hopefully the new ownership will lead them into a profitable future. I hope Pioneer continues to put out quality products because as we've seen in the Car Audio Industry, lots of 'high end' brands went the opposite direction after being acquired.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.ceoutlook.com/2018/12/11/pioneer-is-sold-to-hong-kong-firm/


I dont remember where i read it, it might have been on the Sqology podcast or elsewhere. They were talking about how Pioneer has been spiraling and that there is a few of their technologies that still have patents and are very promising for future products. Thus, there is a chance those patents will be sold off and Pioneer stripped. Or it might just be owned by another and made into something far better. *fingers crossed*


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## 04quadcab (Dec 31, 2017)

If we lose Pioneer what options do we have for a decent head unit? Kenwood/JVC, Alpine -- From there the field gets a little weak.


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## JCsAudio (Jun 16, 2014)

The race to zero has claimed another victim. Rest In peace Pioneer. :disappointed:


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

04quadcab said:


> If we lose Pioneer what options do we have for a decent head unit? Kenwood/JVC, Alpine -- From there the field gets a little weak.


The way i see it. Designing new head units for systems that are getting nigh impossible to integrate one into, seems a lost cause. Basically they are only coming out with newer and newer headunits for older and older cars. The market gets smaller every year. The money is in integration and dsp.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk


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## dobslob (Sep 19, 2011)

04quadcab said:


> If we lose Pioneer what options do we have for a decent head unit? Kenwood/JVC, Alpine -- From there the field gets a little weak.


I’ll take Sony ahead of anything else.


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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

Jscoyne2 said:


> The way i see it. Designing new head units for systems that are getting nigh impossible to integrate one into, seems a lost cause. Basically they are only coming out with newer and newer headunits for older and older cars. The market gets smaller every year. The money is in integration and dsp.
> 
> Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk


I totally agree with this ^^^

What 2019 vehicle is someone gonna rip the factory H/U out of these days..?

My M.O. on my last three builds has been by-passing the factory stuff completely with a DAP (and Bluetooth, too) going directly to the DSP. It makes life soooooo much easier and leaves everything fully functional...


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## Bnlcmbcar (Aug 23, 2016)

DavidRam said:


> bypassing the factory stuff completely with a DAP (and Bluetooth, too) going directly to the DSP. It makes life soooooo much easier and leaves everything fully functional...


^This x 100


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## Souths1der (Aug 27, 2014)

If Pioneer does have attractive patents and tech, they could switch their main focus to working directly with the car manufacturers to provide the infotainment and speakers, ala Bose, Harman, etc. With the aftermarket headunit market slowly becoming obsolete, this seems the logical evolution to me.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

Don't see a point in investing in vehicle head units unless OEM. There are far too many vehicles where it's impossible to pull it out without major surgery and expense. The sale of Pioneer was smart at this point. What I am curious about is how this firm intends to make money from the purchase, especially since car audio is overall down and to the right.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

DavidRam said:


> I totally agree with this ^^^
> 
> What 2019 vehicle is someone gonna rip the factory H/U out of these days..?
> 
> My M.O. on my last three builds has been by-passing the factory stuff completely with a DAP (and Bluetooth, too) going directly to the DSP. It makes life soooooo much easier and leaves everything fully functional...


You should still be able to do it in most of the lower end trucks. That was the number one "need" on my list when I was looking. Well I don't think GM lends itself to replacing the headunit anymore without hacking things up. I doubt anything most of the people on this forum would be looking at buying new would lend itself to a headunit swap. Guess fighting to keep old technology is a losing battle and the best options are to either integrate into the factory unit or use a high quality source straight to the processor and keep the rear speakers on factory power for emergency alerts while driving.


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

04quadcab said:


> If we lose Pioneer what options do we have for a decent head unit? Kenwood/JVC, Alpine -- From there the field gets a little weak.


Head unit? What's that?

 Obviously I joke. But no seriously, that category is completely dead. Car Audio will live on forever, people will always want better sound in their cars. But the actual aftermarket car stereo is gone. 

That being said, Kenwood and Alpine still make excellent car stereos.


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