HOME AUDIO EQUIPMENT MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Market Dynamics- Drivers

1. Increasing disposable income of consumers is expected to drive growth of the global home audio equipment market during the forecast period

Disposable income of consumers has increased over the years, with consumers buying more latest technological products available in the market. Blue-ray disk, MP3 players, computers, and video game players are the major sources of entertainment for families. With growing consumer preference for better quality products and an increase in disposable incomes, consumers are expected to buy home entertainment products. Therefore, these factors are expected to drive growth of the global home audio equipment market during the forecast period.

2. Rising demand for home audio networking is expected to propel the global home audio equipment market growth over the forecast period

Home audio networking refers to a network of audio devices (TV, computer, stereo, and so on) and speakers distributed across a house. It is also known as whole-house audio or whole-home audio. The concept of audio networking has been introduced in the past. However; digital networked audio helps users in replacing error-prone and expensive cables. Audio networking can overcome the limitations imposed by traditional analog audio systems and provides a more economical design, efficient and enhanced features, and improved functionality. Networked audio technology has opened a wide array of possibilities for the audio industry. Furthermore, with the convergence of consumer electronics and personal computers (PC), manufacturers are adding more audio/video capability to the PC platform in an effort to succeed in the home electronics market. On the contrary, home audio equipment manufacturers are adding the networking capability to their products. Hence, these factors are expected to propel the global home audio equipment market growth over the forecast period.

Market Dynamics- Restraints

1. Fear of hearing loss is expected to hinder the global home audio equipment market growth over the forecast period

According to a series of research conducted in 2002 with 116 infants the effect on the hearing ability of infants in a noisy environment is similar to hearing loss at old age. Moreover, the research also indicated that moderate background noise can interfere with the way infants learn languages. Hence, there is much fear about the long-lasting effects of audio equipment that are tuned up loud enough to block out the surrounding sound. Noise levels above 85 decibels lead to hearing loss over time. Therefore, such factors are expected to hinder the global home audio equipment market growth in the near future.

2. Restrictions on the use of radio frequency spectrum in case of wireless audio devices are expected to restrain growth of the global home audio equipment market during the forecast period

There are certain regulations regarding the radio frequency spectrum in the case of wireless audio devices. Regulations could hinder the adoption of wireless audio devices for home use. Hence, these factors are expected to restrain growth of the global home audio equipment market during the forecast period.

Market Opportunities

1. The emergence of realistic immersive home audio equipment can present lucrative growth opportunities in the global home audio equipment market

The rapidly increasing film and gaming industries have fostered the need for total audio immersion. Emerging technologies such as Barco Auro, DTS Neo, and Dolby Atmos provide spherical audio for acoustic spaces such as movie theatres. Usage of such immersive audio technologies at home requires more speakers, leading to an increased cost and high maintenance. The introduction of 3D audio equipment at homes is expected to provide a home audio equipment standard that focuses on the object-oriented sound field. The emergence of realistic immersive home audio equipment provides major opportunity areas for the home audio equipment industry. Furthermore, simplification of network configuration and improvement in command response time and reliability is expected to provide major opportunity areas for the home audio equipment market.

2. Research and development activities can provide major business opportunities in the global home audio equipment market

Key companies in the market are focused on research and development activities, in order to enhance the market presence. For instance, in October 2012, Akai launched a smart Box. The smart box helps to change any TV such as CRT, LCD, and LED among others into a smart TV. Furthermore, in April 2014, DTS Inc. in association with DivX introduced new software to integrate encoding and decoding DTS-HD technology.