# Consumer Electronics Brands That Have Disappeared?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 7, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991 "2012-09-07T14:41:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/1 "2012-09-07T14:41:53Z")
I know…in this MPEG-compressed audio world, there is no market for analog based sound systems. But I wonder why we don’t see some once-famous brands anymore:
-RCA: once a top TV and audio brand…haven’t seen it in years
-Hitachi: once known for high quality stuff-never see it
-Fisher:gonzo
-HH Scott: gone
-Marantz: never see it
-Harmon Kardon: is it still alive?
-Magnavox: the flagship brand of NA Philips (in the USA); agin, haven’t seen it in years
-Sansui: dead?
-Pioneer: dead?
-Zenith: I see the name on a few TV sets, but nothing aside from that
So are all these names just about worthless?
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/2 "2012-09-07T15:07:24Z")
Magnavox, Pioneer, and Zenith are still going. Magnavox is actually still going strong. Your local Best Buy/Target will likely have a few different models from Magnavox in their TV section. And Pioneer does a lot with car audio.
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/3 "2012-09-07T15:17:15Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> Magnavox, Pioneer, and Zenith are still going.
They’re not what they used to be. Now Zenith is just another brand owned by LG (Korean). Magnavox is a brand owned by Funai (Japanese). Pioneer still seems to be the same old Pioneer.
TEAC? Used to be a big name in tape recording. They seem to still be around but I think they’ve lost the reputation.
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### Author:  [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/4 "2012-09-07T15:18:17Z")
[Hitachi](http://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-LED-LCD-720p-HDTV/dp/B003YJJY8I/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347030811&sr=1-2&keywords=hitachi)
[Marantz](http://www.amazon.com/Marantz-NR1403-Slim-Line-Receiver/dp/B0081N916M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347030767&sr=8-1&keywords=Marantz)
[HH Scott](http://www.amazon.com/Scott-SCR120-Clock-Silver-Metallic/dp/B00004U8R5/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347030835&sr=1-1&keywords=HH+Scott) (this is the only item though.)
[Harmon Kardon](http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-HK-3490-Receiver/dp/B00198F89A/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347030966&sr=1-3&keywords=harman+kardon)
[Sansui](http://www.amazon.com/Sansui-SLEDVD196-19-Inch-Widescreen-Player/dp/B005G6KLDO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347031029&sr=1-1&keywords=Sansui)
The only thing I didn’t find products for is Fisher, but that is a generic word and I didn’t spend much time on it.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/5 "2012-09-07T15:26:28Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> Magnavox, Pioneer, and Zenith are still going. Magnavox is actually still going strong. Your local Best Buy/Target will likely have a few different models from Magnavox in their TV section. And Pioneer does a lot with car audio.
Just because you may see the name don’t assume it’s the same company. Companies are bought and sold, often just to acquire a brand name because the brand name is what has perceived consumer value.
[ul]
[li] Magnavox is just a brand name. It ceased to exist as its own company in 1974. I wouldn’t buy a Magavox-branded product today.[/li][li] Pioneer Corporation still exists. It has diversified but remains to its core technologies.[/li][li]Zenith is just a brand name. It ceased to exist as its own company in 1999. As with Magnavox, I wouldn’t buy a Zenith-branded product today.[/li][/ul]
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### Author:  [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/6 "2012-09-07T15:32:30Z")
> [@ralph124c](#):
>
> -Pioneer: dead?
I hope not, I bought a Pioneer VSX-922-K receiver a couple of weeks ago.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/7 "2012-09-07T15:36:40Z")
> [@ralph124c](#):
>
> RCA: once a top TV and audio brand..haven’t seen it in years
GE (which itself made televisions) bought RCA. Then GE sold its consumer electronics business to Thompson. Thompson sold the manufacturing to some Chinese company and sold the RCA brand to Audiovox.
[This is the only TV](http://www.1800customersupport.com/Products.aspx?p=124&view=786&sc=61) to still have the RCA brand name.
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/8 "2012-09-07T15:41:33Z")
Magnavox brand has a quality DVD recorder (sources antenna or cable, records to hard drive or DVD) that was a Philips design. use it like you used a VCR, you can watch and erase programs that you don’t wish to save.
Zenith brand was one of the best DTV converter boxes made for tuning DTV signals and playing on an analog TV.
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### Author:  [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/9 "2012-09-07T15:41:35Z")
I have some Marantz stuff from about 5 years ago; the big electronics chain here in Nolland carries some of their stuff… I’m not sure if it still considered high quality though (which my dad keeps claiming about the quality in the seventies).
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/10 "2012-09-07T15:55:03Z")
I never see DAK catalogs any more.
😃
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### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/11 "2012-09-07T16:14:30Z")
Fisher was part of Sanyo which is now owned by Panasonic
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### Author:  [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/12 "2012-09-07T16:44:21Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#):
>
> I never see DAK catalogs any more.
>
> 😃
I still have my BSR CD changer/receiver, BSR equalizer, and dbx speaker subwoofer system. They’re hooked up to my plasma TV and PS3.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/13 "2012-09-07T18:05:35Z")
> [@Duckster](#):
>
> Magnavox is just a brand name. It ceased to exist as its own company in 1974.
Meh. Magnavox-branded TVs are still pretty good.
It may be a different company, but they still put out a quality product behind the name.
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### Author:  [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/14 "2012-09-07T19:36:45Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> Thompson sold the manufacturing to some Chinese company and sold the RCA brand to Audiovox.
Nitpick: [**Thomson**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_SA), now Technicolor.
[**Electrohome**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrohome) a Canadian company founded in 1907, pulled the plug on its manufacturing and licensed its name to Misubishi. From there it was passed down to others. It sold all that was left, its name, in 2008 and ran away to join the circus (or flee it, depending on point of view) in the big vacuum tube in the sky, along with Magnasonic and others.
> [@](#):
>
> The company began an orderly wind-up in late 2008.[[3]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrohome#cite_note-2) In February 2010, the Electrohome brand was acquired by Bluetronics Group, a division of Circus World Displays Limited (CWD). Also included in the purchase were the rights to Magnasonic, Secureguard and Citizen (Canada only) brands, amongst many others. Based in Niagara Falls, Canada, CWD also owns and operates other brands including Fluance, Nyrius, Levana, SVAT, Defender and Pure Therapy.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/15 "2012-09-07T19:42:38Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#):
>
> I never see DAK catalogs any more.
>
> 😃
[DAK is online](http://www.dak.com/).
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/16 "2012-09-07T20:34:34Z")
Holy. Toledo.
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### Author:  [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/17 "2012-09-07T20:48:31Z")
I seem recall Curtis Mathes was a big electronics company when I was a kid in the '80s. Are they still around?
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### Author:  [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/18 "2012-09-07T21:26:06Z")
> [@joebuck20](#):
>
> I seem recall Curtis Mathes was a big electronics company when I was a kid in the '80s. Are they still around?
Curtis-Mathes was a firm that rented TV sets-they made outrageous profits renting to people who could not qualify for a loan. They never made their own sets-the sets were made by Philips, Sharp, and others.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/19 "2012-09-07T21:31:08Z")
> [@joebuck20](#):
>
> I seem recall Curtis Mathes was a big electronics company when I was a kid in the '80s. Are they still around?
A quick check on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mathes_Corporation) will answer a lot of questions like this. It is still around, in a technical sense. There are even C-M branded products (made by others). The Wikipedia page links to their web site.
Or you could just go to a company’s web site and find out directly what they’re up to. E.g., [http://www.magnavox.com/](http://www.magnavox.com/) sure makes it seem like Magnavox is still in business. It’s a division of Philips, which is quite respectable, IMO. I’ve seen products sold under both names that appear to be identical, even under the hood. (I repair electronics for fun, so I catch this things.) Not always second rate stuff.
There’s a ton of RCA branded stuff out there (which is all that RCA really is anymore). I most commonly see RCA universal remotes. But there’s a lot of appliances too.
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### Author:  [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consumer-electronics-brands-that-have-disappeared/633991/20 "2012-09-08T01:05:43Z")
Haven’t seen a Muntz TV in years.
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