<html> <body> At 08:27 AM 11/30/07, Israel wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">When the current owners (from the world of finance) bought Steinway at what at the time was thought to be an unjustifiably high price, thinking in the industry was that they were trying to get their hands on the brand name so that they could license it to non-piano products. There was no other way to generate the kind of return on investment from a piano manufacturer that these people usually look for. It looks like they finally got around to doing it.</blockquote> They already licensed the name to Lexmark (IIRC) who put out an ink-jet printer in a "piano black" finish with the Steinway name on it. It wasn't a high-end printer either. At $157K the new Steinway Model D Stereo system is even more expensive than their pianos! You might want to wear one of the new Steinway tuxedos (yes, they have high-end apparel now too!) when you're listening to it. For more information on the new "Model D" (and the apparel) see the Summer 2007 edition of the Steinway & Sons Magazine. <x-tab>        </x-tab><x-tab>         </x-tab>John </body> </html>