What is with B&W these days? soundbars, ipod doc..

My friends with B&Ws have kids.They listen to i-pods.It is a way to bridge the generation gap and expose them to the pleasures of owning an audio system.

We're living in an IPOD World. I think many growing up on IPOD's and soon to have nice incomes will look at your above example(s) as all they want or really need.

You can bet B&W has done their market research.

James63 is only looking at the situation from a US market perspective.

When I travel to the UK (where B&W headquarters are) I see B&W in the most unusual places, compared to the US. For example, I noticed that there are B&W ipod docks (Zeppelin) sold at Waitrose Super Store (the equivalent of a US Super Target). B&W is priced lower in the UK than over here in the US.

I don't think that B&W's main market is the high-end audiophile. In the UK one can see B&W speakers in many public places used for background music, etc. I have also seen computer speakers made by B&W in the UK.

With respect to James63 being saddened by B&W's marketing, perhaps he needs to get out more and see what is going on in the rest of the world - the US is not the only game for B&W. No, the average Joe in the US does not own B&W, but a huge number of Joe's in the UK do. Cheer up!

B&W marketing has been their primary forte from day one. This looks like a clever move to me.

If you are a small company you have the luxury of making only those products you want to sell. If you are a large company you have to also make the products people want to buy. As long as this does not compromise the quality of your audiophile products there is nothing wrong with doing this.