Bose has acquired McIntosh Group, the company that owns McIntosh , Sonus faber, Sumiko Phono Cartridges, and several other brands in the audio space. Bose describes the acquisition as a strategic move that will “infuse its industry-leading audio research and technology into the high-performance and luxury space,” according to a press release . The details of the transaction were not included.
The joining of these two U.S.-based corporations appears to be aimed at expanding their reach into the automotive world, at least initially.
Bose says it intends to leverage its 40-plus years of experience in automotive audio along with McIntosh’s performance and design to engineer “authentic in-car experiences that redefine automotive sound.” Recently, much of the innovation in the automotive audio space has been centered around immersive formats like Dolby Atmos. Both Mercedes and Lucid have announced Atmos-capable systems, and in August 2024, Rivian revealed that it will offer Dolby Atmos Music via Apple Music , despite refusing to integrate Apple’s CarPlay technology .
Bose is no stranger to in-car audio: Its systems are a familiar sight to those who own cars made by Nissan, Mazda, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Porsche. At the same time, the company has been making big investments in spatial audio . Its most recent wireless headphones and wireless earbuds offer Bose’s Immersive Audio, a mode that can spatialize any stereo source for greater depth.
It has also been looking in.
