Storied Custom Install Brands Escient and Snell Put out to Pasture by D&M
D&M Holdings, the parent company to Denon and Marantz, among others, has killed two of the most storied companies in the custom installation industry; Escient and Snell.
Escient was formed back in the 1990's by industry veteran Tom Doherty to make (at the time) innovative CD changer controllers with a slick GUI so that people could find their favorite CDs among the hundreds thy owned. It was a great concept at the time, and I installed more than a few of them myself. Eventually evolved into a music server business, and more. D&M has indicated that Escient will continue to support and issue software updates for current products.
Snell was a home THX pioneer, and had made a name for itself creating high performance theater and in-wall speakers, in addition to traditional free standing loudspeakers. They were combined with Boston Acoustics, and eventually caught up in the corporate think that has little place for passionate, innovative companies that used to make up the core of the audio industry.
Such small, focused companies have no place in a large corporate infrastructure, yet can barely survive without their resources in tough economic times. If history is any indicator, Snell and Escient won't be the last A/V companies to come up with a great idea and run with it. I only hope that these future companies don't run too far, too fast, and one day run out of breath.
RIP Escient and Snell.
