Samsung Electronics move to strengthen their position in the audio market, with their acquisition of the former Sound United business that was rebranded Masimo Consumer, raises questions as to what will happen moving forward in Australia.

Harman International which is 100% owned by Samsung after they paid US$8 billion for the business in 2016 paid US$350M to sweep up the assets of the politically plagued Masimo Consumer operation whose brands include Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, and Boston Acoustics.

Harman currently owns JBL, Harman Kardon, AKG, Mark Levinson, Arcam and Revel.

In the consumer market JBL is the #1 party box brand with 0ver 75% share while their headphones and buds are #1 in the consumer audio market and a mainstay brand at JB Hi Fi, The Good Guys and Harvey Norman.

According to Samsung management they are confident that its audio subsidiary Harman International can close the transaction by the end of this year with the Company set to grow leadership in the fast-growing global audio market which is tipped to reach US $70 billion by 2029 from $60.8 billion in 2025.

One option for the business is to consolidate their pro brands under one operation with the Masimo Consumer business in Australia run by Phil Newton a former Samsung Vice President who at one stage is believed to have declined an offer to become President of the Companies Australian business.

If this happened the consumer division could see a shakeup of brands with the Masimo Polk brand moved into the consumer division under the management of Marcus Fry who since leaving the Managing Director role Logitech has delivered consistent growth for Harman Internationals consumer brands in Australia.

The big loser could be Amber Technology who acquired Convoy International the former distributor of Harman products in Australia.

Currently the Sydney based distributes Harman’s JBL Synthesis, Mark Levison and JBL Home products.

Recently Ambertech has reported a shocking downturn with revenues falling 11% overall during the past six months, their professional services revenue fell over 42%, profits also slumped 69%.

Overall revenues fell from $50.9M in H1 2024, to $45.4M in 2025, EBITDA fell 69% from $3.6M in H1 2024 to $1.1M while NPAT fell 119% to $300,000.

As one Melbourne-based specialist dealer told ChannelNews “What we now need to know is who will distribute what”.

“Amber has not done a good job and it would make sense to consolidate the Pro and custom brands into one operation and the consumer brands into another. The problem brand could be Denon, which is now doing well in consumer and is popular in the specialist audio retailer market”.

“This acquisition represents a strategic step forward in the expansion of Harman’s core audio business and footprint across key product categories such as home audio, headphones, hi-fi components and car audio,” said Dave Rogers, president of Harman’s lifestyle division.

Samsung claims that the Masimo audio business acquisition will strengthen the competitiveness of its mobile and TV sound and audio technologies while creating synergy for consumer experiences.

The company has improved the sound quality of its smartphones, tablets, laptops, and earphones, utilizing Harman’s sound tuning technologies and expertise they claimed.

While their products are still branded Samsung ChannelNews understands that Samsung’s audio R&D operation in California USA works closely with Harman International who have a reputation for cutting edge design and acoustics.

Samsung previously said during its annual shareholders’ meeting in March that it would seek meaningful mergers and acquisitions to ease investor concerns about the firm’s growth, with plans to achieve practical results this year.

The acquisition came after Masimo, the Nasdaq-listed global medical technology business announced earlier this that it would review its consumer audio business and support the company’s strategic focus on driving innovation in its core healthcare business.

Observers claim that Harman, the acquisition, fills significant gaps in its home-audio lineup.
Samsung Electronics move to strengthen their position in the audio market, with their acquisition of the former Sound United business that was rebranded Masimo Consumer, raises questions as to what will happen moving forward in Australia.

Harman International which is 100% owned by Samsung after they paid US$8 billion for the business in 2016 paid US$350M to sweep up the assets of the politically plagued Masimo Consumer operation whose brands include Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, and Boston Acoustics.

Harman currently owns JBL, Harman Kardon, AKG, Mark Levinson, Arcam and Revel.

In the consumer market JBL is the #1 party box brand with 0ver 75% share while their headphones and buds are #1 in the consumer audio market and a mainstay brand at JB Hi Fi, The Good Guys and Harvey Norman.

According to Samsung management they are confident that its audio subsidiary Harman International can close the transaction by the end of this year with the Company set to grow leadership in the fast-growing global audio market which is tipped to reach US $70 billion by 2029 from $60.8 billion in 2025.

One option for the business is to consolidate their pro brands under one operation with the Masimo Consumer business in Australia run by Phil Newton a former Samsung Vice President who at one stage is believed to have declined an offer to become President of the Companies Australian business.

If this happened the consumer division could see a shakeup of brands with the Masimo Polk brand moved into the consumer division under the management of Marcus Fry who since leaving the Managing Director role Logitech has delivered consistent growth for Harman Internationals consumer brands in Australia.

The big loser could be Amber Technology who acquired Convoy International the former distributor of Harman products in Australia.

Currently the Sydney based distributes Harman’s JBL Synthesis, Mark Levison and JBL Home products.

Recently Ambertech has reported a shocking downturn with revenues falling 11% overall during the past six months, their professional services revenue fell over 42%, profits also slumped 69%.

Overall revenues fell from $50.9M in H1 2024, to $45.4M in 2025, EBITDA fell 69% from $3.6M in H1 2024 to $1.1M while NPAT fell 119% to $300,000.

As one Melbourne-based specialist dealer told ChannelNews “What we now need to know is who will distribute what”.

“Amber has not done a good job and it would make sense to consolidate the Pro and custom brands into one operation and the consumer brands into another. The problem brand could be Denon, which is now doing well in consumer and is popular in the specialist audio retailer market”.

“This acquisition represents a strategic step forward in the expansion of Harman’s core audio business and footprint across key product categories such as home audio, headphones, hi-fi components and car audio,” said Dave Rogers, president of Harman’s lifestyle division.

Samsung claims that the Masimo audio business acquisition will strengthen the competitiveness of its mobile and TV sound and audio technologies while creating synergy for consumer experiences.

The company has improved the sound quality of its smartphones, tablets, laptops, and earphones, utilizing Harman’s sound tuning technologies and expertise they claimed.

While their products are still branded Samsung ChannelNews understands that Samsung’s audio R&D operation in California USA works closely with Harman International who have a reputation for cutting edge design and acoustics.

Samsung previously said during its annual shareholders’ meeting in March that it would seek meaningful mergers and acquisitions to ease investor concerns about the firm’s growth, with plans to achieve practical results this year.

The acquisition came after Masimo, the Nasdaq-listed global medical technology business announced earlier this that it would review its consumer audio business and support the company’s strategic focus on driving innovation in its core healthcare business.

Observers claim that Harman, the acquisition, fills significant gaps in its home-audio lineup.

Denon and Marantz provide scale in AV receivers, Polk Audio and Definitive Technology strengthen the mass-market speaker segment, and HEOS brings a mature, whole-home streaming platform that can integrate with Samsung televisions and connected appliances (and perhaps dovetail with Roon).

The other option is that Samsung simply ditch Heos and use their Smart Things technology to pull all their products into one easy to navigate management system.

It also allows Samsung to offer home automation management via Smart Things with premium audio connectivity and entertainment management linked into one network.

The movie also aligns Bowers & Wilkins’ high-performance loudspeakers with a company steeped in audio heritage and backed by Samsung’s resources.

One issue is overlapping with Harman management now having to work with Masimo Consumer management to reposition where all the brands fit in the market with the reality that some brands such as Boston Acoustics or Polk off because of their overlap with JBL.

The US$350M deal is still waiting for regulatory approval and when done it will close a turbulent three-year chapter that saw Sound United’s valuation tumble from more than a billion dollars to a third of that figure in three years.

Denon and Marantz provide scale in AV receivers, Polk Audio and Definitive Technology strengthen the mass-market speaker segment, and HEOS brings a mature, whole-home streaming platform that can integrate with Samsung televisions and connected appliances (and perhaps dovetail with Roon).

The other option is that Samsung simply ditch Heos and use their Smart Things technology to pull all their products into one easy to navigate management system.

It also allows Samsung to offer home automation management via Smart Things with premium audio connectivity and entertainment management linked into one network.

The movie also aligns Bowers & Wilkins’ high-performance loudspeakers with a company steeped in audio heritage and backed by Samsung’s resources.

One issue is overlapping with Harman management now having to work with Masimo Consumer management to reposition where all the brands fit in the market with the reality that some brands such as Boston Acoustics or Polk off because of their overlap with JBL.

The US$350M deal is still waiting for regulatory approval and when done it will close a turbulent three-year chapter that saw Sound United’s valuation tumble from more than a billion dollars to a third of that figure in three years.