Bose Company is without doubt one of the most famous audio manufacturing corporations on the planet, credited with pioneering fashionable noise-cancelling headphone expertise. Whereas Bose ranks among the many finest main headphone manufacturers and finest Bluetooth speaker manufacturers, the corporate additionally owns some high-end audio manufacturers.
In November 2024, the Bose Company acquired the McIntosh Group, the dad or mum firm of a number of high-performance and luxurious audio manufacturers that manufacture high-end amplifiers, audio system, turntables, and extra. In a press launch asserting the acquisition, Bose said that the acquisition would “considerably” increase its portfolio and permit the corporate to “infuse its industry-leading audio analysis and expertise into the high-performance and luxurious house whereas it continues to construct on its premium options” — in addition to new alternatives within the automotive sector.
Following the acquisition (which is estimated to have value round $225 million), Bose is now the proprietor of McIntosh’s three premium audio manufacturers: Sonus Faber, McIntosh Laboratory, and Sumiko Phono Cartridges. Under, we break down extra on every model and a few of their key merchandise.
Sonus Faber
Based in 1983, Sonus Faber is an Italian producer of premium audio tools, providing handcrafted high-end sound techniques and wired and wi-fi audio system. The corporate’s product vary is damaged into bespoke collections — every providing its personal creative design and technical capabilities — with the merchandise on provide together with bookshelf audio system, floor-standing audio system, subwoofers, middle channels, and weatherproof out of doors audio system.
However in contrast to Bose’s personal vary, these aren’t aimed on the common shopper, with the corporate’s web site itemizing considered one of its lowest-priced merchandise because the £460 (roughly $613) Transmitter subwoofer, and its costliest as a pair of Aida floor-standing audio system priced at £120,000 (roughly $160,000). What’s extra, Sonus Faber affords a service that enables patrons to customise their buy, together with their materials and colour, and customized installations for multi-room and residential cinema setups, which probably value much more.
Nevertheless, it is not simply residence audio system that Sonus Faber makes a speciality of. The corporate is at present the official technical accomplice for Lamborghini’s Revuelto and Temerario vehicles, offering their sound techniques, and has collaborated with Wally Yachts to create the primary CI-FI (customized set up excessive constancy) system designed for a yacht. The corporate has additionally beforehand teamed up with luxurious Italian automotive manufacturers Pagani and Maserati for his or her in-car sound techniques.
McIntosh Laboratory
Based in 1949, New York-based McIntosh Laboratory is an American audio producer. The corporate is thought for designing and producing high-end residence audio tools and sound techniques, together with turntables, audio system, tuners, CD gamers, receivers, AV processors, and most notably, amplifiers, which include the model’s distinctive blue meter. McIntosh amplifiers had been used at Woodstock in 1969 and helped energy The Grateful Useless’s Wall of Sound reside performances in 1974, which featured a huge sound reinforcement system that consisted of over 600 audio system, together with 48 McIntosh MC2300 amplifiers.
Like Sonus Faber’s merchandise, McIntosh Laboratory’s vary is not aimed on the common shopper. Its premium merchandise include premium worth tags. For instance, the McIntosh XRT2.1K Ground Standing Loudspeaker prices $80,000 and is barely bought by licensed sellers. As well as, McIntosh can be concerned in designing and producing luxurious automotive and marine audio techniques, teaming up with Sonus Faber for the aforementioned Wally collaboration and creating the leisure system for a variety of Jeep automobiles, together with the Jeep Wagoneer Collection III.
Sumiko Phono Cartridges
Sumiko is a famend producer that has been designing and producing phono cartridges (often known as magnetic cartridges or pickups) for nearly 40 years, with every cartridge hand-crafted at Excel Sound in Yokohama, Japan. Phono cartridges (additionally known as turntable cartridges) are used to play phonograph and vinyl information on turntables — the cartridge is the bit that has the stylus or tip on it that makes contact with the report’s grooves.
Sumiko affords each shifting magnet and shifting coil phono cartridges, with consultants contemplating the latter to supply extra detailed sound, which is mirrored in its price ticket. As such, Sumiko’s Oyster sequence vary, which incorporates the Moonstone and Wellfleet, is mostly thought-about its entry vary, as it is the model’s most reasonably priced, with costs between roughly $100 and $800. Whereas this vary options primarily shifting magnet cartridges, it additionally consists of the model’s Blue Level shifting coil cartridge assortment, which is taken into account its most recognizable.
Sumiko additionally affords a premium Reference sequence vary of shifting coil cartridges, which include a premium price ticket to match. These cartridges, which embody the Starling and Songbird fashions, value between $1,000 and $2,000+ every.
