No God No! Say it Ain’t So!

Just saw this on CNBC and immediately popped over here for insight. Looking forward to thoughts from the more experienced than I.

I hate to see SF "Bosed".  As for Mcintosh, who cares?

@secretguy 

+1 Sad for Sonus Faber... kind of makes sense for McIntosh. 

@ghdprentice why does it make sense for McIntosh?

It’s an investor driven society and has been for a good while. Its all about the $$$. Bose sees an opportunity to make $$$ Pretty simple.

Most great products start off with a single or small group of visionaries. They use their ability to make a great product at a price for their projected market. This brings them success. Success draws attention and some point the visionaries are tired and want change. They sell to an investor who sees a way to cut corners and save $$$.

Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to me that the high $$$ brands are no longer selling as quickly. home theater is the new kid. And the younger generation will not spend the $$$ as quickly as the Baby boomers. look on the sales sights. The used  higher end stuff is hard to find today. IMO that indicates that it is not as readily available. If it isn't on the used market, it either wasn't sold new or the consumer is keeping it. Either way the market is not as good. But Bose sees some meat on the bone. get ready to see bones after the meat is picked.

Sonus Faber 901s. That Italian craftsmanship! Yeah baby!! Bring ‘em on.

Seriously this should be one’s biggest problem. Life goes on just different.

In fact I saw just the other day Bose has brought back 901s with a new modern look. What’s next? I think I read their entire “heritage” line of speakers from 60 years ago. Maybe they will be 60 years better this time. Just like me! 😎

Like McDonald's buying P.F. Chang's.

Like Toyota buying Lexus.  Oh wait….

I can't wait for the new McIntosh Wave Radio!

Hmmmm could it be? https://www.alpha-audio.net/hi-fi/2024/11/kith-x-bose-901-a-limited-edition-revival/

Can't wait it's going to be much better.

Am I seeing that beautiful Italian craftsmanship on those new 901s?

Or made in China?

McIntosh makes nice products, maybe Bose wants McIntosh to help them get better. 
Most people don’t realize that high end audio is an expensive niche hobby. The sell maybe a few hundred a year compared to lower level products that sell thousands. Only the older adults with $$$ buy high end. All the younger generation want to purchase Beats or Apple Airbuds all while they are saving up for a nice sports car.

I’ve taken some friends to CES and RMAF to hear nice sounding systems. Everyone system they heard they liked, but they never pursued any equipment. But some of them invested in  home theater systems.

This is terrible. If you currently own Macintosh or SF hold on to them. What will come out next definitely be the result of cutting cost where they can. They will sell an inferior product but market the heck out of the brands. I expect 2024 and older equipment to become sought after. I’ve never liked Bose sound, I just bought a car and it has a Bose system and I’m reminded every day how bad Bose really is. Just horrible and now they will take Macintosh and SF with them. Oh well. At least there’s still alot of other audio companies to choose from.

Oh well life goes on for the rest of us just because a company is purchased by someone else doesn't mean that the quality is going to necessarily change.. Volkswagen owns Bentley Lamborghini Porsche Audi Ducati.. And more.. I'm sure we'll survive

"What will come out next definitely be the result of cutting cost where they can. They will sell an inferior product but market the heck out of the brands."

Now, you have no idea if that's going to be the outcome...

@thecarpathian

+1 (I agree, he has NO idea.)

Many people just don’t understand how holding companies and combination of brands work. There at least as many successful combinations, enabling niche brands to spend more on R&D and marketing then there are bad stories.

Everyone just needs to calm down and see how this plays out.

Bose alegedly has bought audio legend Mcintosh ! and Sonus Faber !
see YT videos for perspective !

BOSE they cannot get any good reputation,nor + press or even acceptance among audiophiles by actually producing good great products fr their own creations, workers, engineers so can use the vast $$$$ estate Mr Bose left to buy quasi legitimacy by purchasing legit audio legends !
they are well-heeled corporate raiders!

BOSE makes nothing but s$#% products and never did anything except be the most notorious to rip off and defraud the audio public w/ deceptive slick marketing and shamefully corrupt sales practices.
they have more attorneys than engineers and a case about their s$%# products ended up in the supreme ct ! ( they sued a magazine reviewer! -PS they lost ! ) 

I sadly have a car w/ a Very expensive optional BOSE system ( I am 4th owner i did not choose it ) and their typical level of nonexistent consumer assistance was illustrated by them just telling me to "contact my dealer " ( whom promptly advised I contact Bose as they were profoundly sorry they ever let BOSE do a system for them ( and NEVER will again! )!!!!!
https://youtu.be/Ox2qi3z9KpE?si=aJ-MBX6KTOr34D2V

https://youtu.be/CsudoeibXoY?si=UlUkK4cdHrn7PaUL
PS this guy Jay’s Audio Lab is as dishonest as 3 $ bill! he is an insufferable boor! 
catch his video about high-end cables his panel could not tell difference in a blind test and he dismissed them saying " they needed to let the cables bed in w/ some hours of listening " ! LOL
OK so he never repeated the test after doing that !

https://youtu.be/oQUnpXRyGLQ?si=VDS41-ndvGI_hYVw

https://youtu.be/J5XVLBDyzNc?si=qN6MgNN6Dcezgsts
watch the idiot bots here try to say yt links are attempts to contact someone! NOT

Bose is a well respected player in the professional and consumer audio world and is SO much better than Clarion to take the reigns here. I have trust that they will help maintain (or build) the McIntosh brand and keep the quality levels up.

It’s a sad day.  It’s as absurd as appointing Dr. Oz to an important Cabinet position.

Oh wait, did those two things happen in the same week?

I was attempting to explain the significance of this event to my wife.  I told her that it was like KMart acquiring Norman Marcus 

@mahler123, or choosing an all-star wrestling shill to head the Dept. of Education. Can you imagine?

certainly bose will eliminate redundant admin and shipping positions at mcintosh, but i seriously doubt they would interfere with the design/engineering side. by all accounts, d&m left mcintosh alone when they acquired it in 2003 and kept their tech separate from denon/marantz. that said, i'm pretty sure bose will use this as a way to get further entrenched in car audio--the luxury car forums are full of folks complaining about their bose systems, and this seems like a smart way for bose to get some high end cred. i'm not sure how much this will help the value of mcintosh's legacy products, however....

I’m so glad I already bought some Sonus Farber speakers before they changed the speaker design and put nine of the same driver’s in a box and called it the all new SF 901. 😁😆😁

This is the almighty $$$$$$ at work.  Usually, the first move will be to clear house and consolidate positions.  Next thing you know, Best Buy will be the place for MC.  {maybe]

@mfili35

Volkswagen is also making the new Scout, and missing the boat altogether. They bought the brand to compete in the "rugged off road SUV" market which currently consists of Jeep, Bronco, Defender, 4-runner and similar. The Iconic versions of this category have removable tops, as the Scout always had. None of the mock-ups I've seen include a removable top, it just looks like they kept to some of the original styling of the rear side windows and some nod to the original front end. Otherwise it looks and feels like a suburban mom's soccer vehicle. 

I have my fingers crossed they have an epiphany and realize this version of the Scout needs to fully understand it's heritage of being a beast off road with some tree climbing abilities.

So my opinion of Bose buying McIntosh and SF? I do not drink Dogfish Head beer anymore since Samuel Adam's white powdered wig shed into their boiling brew. If I find some pints that were brewed before the takeover, and they were stored and cared for properly, yes, I would be interested Same for McIntosh, except I'm a little more open to trying the Bose version than the Samuel Adams Version.