Audeze to be Acquired by Sony Interactive

The Audio Files
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This is a developing story and we will update the article as more details become available

The highly regarded headphone manufacturer Audeze is set to be acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment. This is huge news for the headphone and audio world as Audeze has long been a major player in the high end headphone market. In particular, Audeze is well-known for their planar magnetic driver technology and has many fans of their products around the world.

It remains to be seen how this is going to affect the Audeze headphones enthusiasts know and love, but it’s stated that Audeze will “continue to develop multi-platform products”, and the acquisition is intended to help scale the company.

Of course, the news raises a number of questions when it comes to future integrations between the two companies. It should be mentioned that the acquisition is specifically from Sony Interactive Entertainment, which also oversees their Playstation division. This means this relationship will likely center around gaming products. Audeze’s tech has already been used in a number of gaming headsets and products that fit well with the Sony Playstation ecosystem, and this acquisition serves to strengthen that connection.

It may be that we start seeing more of Audeze’s unique driver and acoustic technology being used in Playstation or other gaming products. This news comes on the heels of Sony announcing a series of products that use planar magnetic technology called Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore, and it would not come as a surprise if Audeze had a hand in their development.

Audeze has also been the manufacturer for products sold by other brands in the past, like the HyperX Orbit and Stax/Edifier Spirit S3, so they have a history of headphone and audio development outside of their own company brand.

On the Audeze side of things, one can only speculate as to what the kind of scaling Sony’s resources can provide. But, with recent successes like the Audeze Maxwell headset, this acquisition should come as exciting news to both gamers and headphone enthusiasts alike.

It’s also worth noting that this is the second major high end headphone company in recent years to have an acquisition. Sennheiser’s consumer division was recently acquired by Sonova, a hearing aid company. Many were left to speculate as to the impact this would have on such a beloved audio brand, and today’s news about Audeze is likely to spark similar curiosity. The audio community has yet to fully see the effects of Sonova’s acquisition, but so far when it comes to headphones, Sennheiser has continued to release well-received products since then.

Read the full press release below

Sony Interactive Entertainment to Acquire Audeze, a Leader in Audio Technology and Developer of Award-winning Headphones for Gaming

Acquisition bolsters SIE’s continued focus on innovation in the PlayStation audio experience and brings Audeze into the PlayStation ecosystem

August 24, 2023

Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (“SIE”) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Audeze, a leading audio technology brand and pioneer of high-end gaming headphones. The acquisition will strengthen SIE’s efforts to continue innovating when it comes to the audio experience of PlayStation games. Audeze will continue to operate independently and develop multi-platform products, while benefiting from being a part of the PlayStation ecosystem.

Based in Santa Ana, Calif., Audeze develops award-winning headphones for the professional audio, audiophile, and gaming markets. These headphones use Audeze’s patented technologies and unique planar magnetic drivers to deliver an outstanding sound experience for consumers as well as recording professionals, including sound engineers at many game development studios. Audeze designs and manufactures its planar magnetic drivers and professional headphones in its California facility.

“Audeze is a premier brand for headphones, and this acquisition highlights Sony Interactive’s focus on innovation and providing the best audio experience to PlayStation players,” said Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President, Platform Experience at Sony Interactive Entertainment. “We’re excited to bring Audeze’s expertise into the PlayStation ecosystem, building on the great strides we’ve made with PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech and the Pulse 3D wireless headset.”

“Sony Interactive provides Audeze with a unique opportunity to scale our business, as we continue with our mission to deliver best-in-class headphones to recording professionals, audiophiles, and gamers,” said Sankar Thiagasamudram, CEO at Audeze. “We’re also looking forward to contributing to Sony Interactive’s efforts to take PlayStation audio experiences to the next level.”

Terms of this transaction, including the acquisition cost, are not disclosed due to contractual commitments.

About Sony Interactive Entertainment

Sony Interactive Entertainment pushes the boundaries of entertainment and innovation, starting from the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. Today, we continue to deliver innovative and thrilling experiences to a global audience through our PlayStation line of products and services that include generation-defining hardware, pioneering network services, and award-winning games. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, with global functions in California, London, and Tokyo, and game development studios around the world as part of PlayStation Studios, we believe that the power of play is borderless. Sony Interactive Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. For more information about our company, please visit SonyInteractive.com. For more information about PlayStation products, please visit PlayStation.com.

About Audeze

Audeze LLC is the California-based high-end audio manufacturer delivering the most accurate sound reproduction available today. Audeze products, engineered with the latest innovations in materials science and technology, are built with precision craftsmanship. Audeze's commitment to research, development, and uncompromised audio is reflected in every facet of their leading-edge products. This has earned Audeze the distinction of being the world's best-reviewed headphone brand.

“PlayStation” and “PS5” are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

We have reached out to Audeze for comment but have not heard back at the time of publishing this article

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://headphones.com/blogs/announcements/audeze-to-be-acquired-by-sony-interactive
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This is so wild and unexpected. It will be interesting to watch how this plays out over the coming months and years.

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Everyone agrees Maxwell is good, I don’t think they expected it to be worth millions though.

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This is cool. Sony Playstation prioritized audio quality and surround sound in their PS5. They may push PS5 Pro with Audeze surround gaming headphone maybe. Their tempest audio engine is interesting. I can see them investing on personalized HRTF. I hope it will not be heavily exclusive to the console and trickle down to PC gaming as well. As a gamer and audiophile, i think this is good news. SIE is cool. This will elevate audiophile industry end of the day i think.

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Im not a fam of american companies being acquired by foreign companies. They could have worked together without having to be acquired…interesting how the terms of the deal are secret…well, money talks and we’ll never know who’s really counting the cash tonight.

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New news has dropped. Audeze is being acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment (Sony’s gaming division)

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I can’t say I’m happy to know that. When big fish swallow little fish it’s always a bad day for the little fishes.

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I can say I’m not happy to know that.

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Same. It’s most likely the end of Audeze as we know it. Whenever a small innovator gets subsumed into a large corp their uniqueness gets destroyed…

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If you had to be bought by someone, SIE is one of the least bad options, they pretty much leave the software studios they acquire alone until they start to fail.
How that will work with a hardware group I don’t know, most of the PlayStation hardware is done out of Tokyo AFAIK.

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I have mixed feelings about this. Audeze’s true innovation days seem to be in the past (as with Sennheiser), and they’ve largely been in a rut. Their older heavy models have comfort and arguably performance issues. They are facing much stronger competitors than in their early days. E.g., ZMF with similar or better visual impact, Focal competes on many fronts, and today Meze, Dan Clark, and HiFiMan have top-tier pricing, etc.

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Perhaps their legacy will live on in Rosson Audio Design…

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I would have to disagree here. Audeze has innovated plenty in the last 2 years. It just may not be the innovation that that those on the extreme of audiophiledom want to see.

The Audeze Maxwell is genuinely a great, innovative product. The Filter (the microphone) is also great. The MM-100 (if it ever releases) has a good chance of being great as well.

The high-end headphone space is very crowded and has a very niche crowd when you compare it to the headphone space in general.

Just Airpod sales alone in 2022 was probably about 10x (and that’s generous) what would have been done in high-end headphone sales.

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It was an absolute pleasure to receive top tier personalized service whenever I reached out to Audeze customer service. Shall be missed.
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Audeze LCD-XC is the best closed back headphone that I have ever owned. It shall likely remain so unless perhaps I one day somehow acquire a ZMF closed back.

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My notion of true innovation is different here. Sony demolished the p*ss poor 1970s mobile headphone industry with its stereo Walkman, and then later dominated DJ headphones. Bose created and dominated the noise canceling travel headphone industry for a generation. Sennheiser made headphones credible to pros and audiophiles with the 600 family. Apple indeed took over the lifestyle market with the AirPod line. Ten years ago no one took ChiFi seriously, but China’s entry slashed costs beyond belief and increased access/value. These were innovations.

Audeze may well have some great recent products, but appear to be a niche player across all segments. They came to my attention for bringing planar technology to more people, but planar tech remains a “Who cares?” esoteric technology to most. “Is that a Stax? What’s the difference between electrostatic and planar?”

Perhaps Audeze’s newer tech can help Sony close the gap on AirPods? But, Sony has produced competent headphones and IEMs for a very long time so that’s all I’m seeing here. I’m seeing economic consolidation among weaker audio vendors with this acquisition, not innovation.

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I hope for the best outcome here. However, in the past I have seen these types of acquisitions dilute a quality brand when the powers that be decide to cheapen a product in the interest of making it more profitable. They either damage or destroy the brand. As another example, I am a long time user of Rao’s tomato sauce products, which was recently purchased by Campbell’s foods. I am hoping that my Rao’s sauce does not end up tasting like Campbell’s tomato soup, in the interest of making the product more profitable. I have nothing against their soup, but I would not want to pour it on my pasta. :wink:

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What do you think about the CRBN and its underlying tech then? It’s a massive innovation in two separate fields. Public know-how != measure of innovation.

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Terms of the deal agreed to be kept private?! That smells fishy. I couldn’t quickly figure out how Audeze was owned/funded to get a sense of why the terms of the deal is kept a secret. Could be someone in(or partially in/a partner) the money wanted to retire or just cash out at a good time? Oh well, their public spin sounds like Audeze is eager to contribute, but I’m wondering if the CEO is quietly wishing he was still in charge? We may never know.

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Seems like mostly negative reactions here, but I’m going to stay positive and hope this simply means a much larger R&D budget for their “audiophile” line, while they also create top of the line gaming headsets as well on the Sony Interactive side of things.

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