Headphone News

D&M Holdings is currently up for auction, and the two top bidders are Kenwood and Best Buy. If this news hasn't set off alarm bells, it's probably because the name 'D&M Holdings' didn't set off any bells. As illustrated in the JPEG to the right, D&M Holdings encompasses quite a few big names in headphones, such as Marantz, McIntosh, Boston Acoustics, Snell, Escient, Calrec, and, most notably, Denon. If you hurry and scrape about 700 million bucks together, you too can own your very own conglomerate of headphones manufacturers.

We found out this news via a post on Audioholics.com, who brought up an interesting point: if Best Buy wins the auction, will Denon be slapped with all the negative connotations usually associated with 'selling out'? Will Denon be seen as 'mainstream' and lose some of their appeal in the hardcore crowd? We're not sure if the music analogy carries over to the realm of headphones, but we definitely know a few audiophiles who simply refuse to step foot under a big yellow tag.

In any case, we'll be following the fate of Denon closely, so check back if you too are concerned. If you don't, Denon will know you don't really care -- show some support!