[Editorial] Bose buys McIntosh and Sonus Faber, what's happening in the world of HiFi?

Here at TNT Audio we're not ones for press releases - they're generally just a way of getting free advertising (and we don't even let people pay us for advertising!)and we prefer to concentrate on stuff we write ourselves about things we've actually tried.

But once in a while one comes along which merits or even needs mentioning and comment. Last week it was announced that Bose has purchased McIntosh and Sonus Faber.

I mean Bose (know in this Parish as Better Off with Something Else) has bought one of the stalwarts of US high end audio and a speaker manufacturer known for Italian flair and beautiful build quality.

So why are we commenting on this event - after all as humble audio journalists we can't do anything about it - well hang on a bit and I'll explain.

For various reasons Bose has never been particularly well regarded in the world of "proper" hifi. They've always been popular in the lifestyle segment with a selection of soundbars, portable speakers and systems that offer convenience at the expense of sound. The Acoustimass system (below) with the little cube speakers has been surprising me for a long time by how it's possible to market and sell something where the bass is so obviously behind the rest of the music. But they sold a load so maybe its me who is wrong.

They've also had a couple of ranges of speakers which are often found in restaurants and of course the famous 901 (as tested by our editor) and of which there are rumours of an imminent reissue.

I tried a set of Bose 301s (the ones often see in eaterys) when I was a student - a mate had a set and we wanted to see how they fared against my Linn Index IIs. I certainly remember them being fun with a big soundstage (no doubt due to the extra tweeters aimed the wrong way) but they lost out to the Linns in coherence and musicality so they only made a brief appearance in my room before heading back to their owners.
Where Bose have rightly scored a lot of points over the years is with their noise cancelling headphones which have become popular with travellers (not the ones in caravans) and professional pilots alike. And rightly so - having been travelling a lot recently I'd probably part with money for a set as frankly the noise levels in some aircraft is pretty tiresome..

So now we know what they've done and what they do and my current opinion on it - but where does this all fit in with an acquisition of 2 high end manufacturers?

The press release concentrates a lot on access to the "luxury" end of the market. Apparently Bose (despite their technologies working well in car environments) isn't considered "luxury" enough to appeal to Lamborghini and the like. In a similar way to Naim, Linn and Burmester having already done work for Aston Martin, Porsche and Bugatti and the like it appears Bose is looking to get into the higher luxury end of things. And this is where alarms started to ring for me. I'm not concerned about a rebadged Bose system in a Lambo - frankly if you own a Lambo you should listen to its V10 anyway and McIntosh already has pedigree in this area but I had visions of McIntosh by Bose home systems and the end of the traditional side of their business. Even if I'm not the biggest fan of their blue VU meters and 60s style knobs they've managed to become one of the most recognizable brands around. I mean Johnny Lee Miller even has a set in the Elementary TV series - a piece of product placement only equalled by the Martin Logans in Chandler and Joey's apartment in Friends. And it would be sad to lose that I feel.

And I was just about to have a rant (which I'm sure is what you were expecting) and then I stopped and looked at the McIntosh website - I don't subscribe to the "don't let the truth stand in the way of a good story" philosophy even if it does sometimes win elections. Now I thought McIntosh made just a load of valve amps (with massive blue VU meters as mentioned above), some large original design speakers, and a couple of sources. All very high end and in no way needing Boseification. But in reality they also do lifestyle products, car audio, Home theatre, DSP and install solutions. So not quite as universally exclusive and expensive as I thought.

Which (I hope) has stopped me looking like a prize chump and made me think that this acquisition isn't such a bad idea on paper. There's certainly room for both brands to co exist with minimal impact on McIntosh's existing higher end "hifi" lines. Maybe some of the lifestyle stuff will suffer but the core stuff that interests us and as our readers like you isn't under attack in my mind. And I don't see the brand identity disappearing either. So not quite as shock and awe as I first thought.

So what about Sonus Faber then? Again the product lines don't directly compete although here I could see some Sonus Faber headphones with Bose technology appearing. And a certain part of me would find that a shame in a similar way to the creation of lifestyle products bearing the Marshall logo. Don't get me wrong - I know a couple of youngish (how's that for political correctness) ladies who have the Marshall headphones and they look great on them but I was sure neither of them knows where Marshall comes from and they've been purchased as something that's cool. And that's a shame even if it's no doubt been excellent for Marshall's accounts. However for completeness (and to avoid any extra chump points) I asked one of them why she'd bought Marshall and the answer was "because they sound excellent" Hallelujah - there is hope for the headphone world. And then the person in question also confirmed that she knew where Marshall came from. Second Hallelujah- Yngwie Malmsteen's wall of Marshall stacks is safe as well.

So maybe if a similar thing happened to Sonus Faber as an addition to their speaker line it wouldn't be a disaster. And as I'm married to someone who is half Italian they'd probably look good on her. Frankly if some Sonus Faber by Bose headphones combining the finish and sound quality of Sonus Faber with some Bose noise cancelling technology appeared on the market I'd be sorely tempted.

So maybe it's not doom and gloom. Maybe this purchase is a good move for all the companies - it's certainly preferable to hedge fund acquisition or asset stripping and I can but presume all the companies are going to continue and hopefully go from strength to strength. In fact I'm going to maybe surprise you and wish all at Bose success in their new venture. One thing though - hands off those VU meters!

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Bose buys McIntosh and Sonus Faber

Good plan or worst idea since Junior Eurovision?

The giver of bad reputations to Bass Players - The Acoustimass 10

The Monster McIntosh system - yesterday

Some rather stylish Sonus Fabers - also yesterday