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RIP B&W Society of Sound

Alisterkoran

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I've just received the following email:

Important Announcement about
Society of Sound program

It has been ten years since the formation of Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound - a monthly destination to listen to, discover and discuss music delivered in beautiful high-resolution quality. We’re proud to have shared over 120 releases with subscribers who appreciate great sound.

From the beginning, John Bowers dreamed of bringing the experience and emotion of a live symphony to homes. To this day, we deliver products and services that bring people closer to the original musical performance. While our ambition will never change, the methods and means to access and enjoy music have changed greatly over the last decade. It is with this in mind and after much consideration that we have decided to end the Society of Sound program, effective March 31, 2019. The February edition will arrive tomorrow, followed by a final edition in March. Please download all albums included in your subscription by March 31 as they will no longer be available past that date.

For those with subscriptions that continue past March 31, we will include details in the March delivery of how we will service these Society of Sound members.

We are dedicated to continue creating new ways to deepen the joyful experience of music.

Sincerely,
Bowers & Wilkins​

Just another nail in the coffin for B&W . . . end of an era. I'm gutted.

AK
 
OP
A

Alisterkoran

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For those not aware, Bowers & Wilkins was sold to a Silicon Valley start up in 2016. In 2017 they send a letter to their North American dealerships saying:

“As you all have had to evolve your businesses to meet the increasingly complex demands of the market, Bowers & Wilkins needs to do the same…We are announcing that Doug Henderson, President of the business in North America, is leaving the organization to pursue other interests.”

This was followed by several B&W regional managers resigning in protest.

Then they closed Classé Audio with basically Zero notice. (which was later sold)

In November last year they announced a restructuring throughout the whole company, saying:
“The leadership team and I are making changes to the structure of Bowers & Wilkins to focus the business on opportunities for growth and ensure global competitiveness,” Chief Executive Officer Lee said in a prepared statement. “As the leader in luxury audio, we are focusing our investments on research and product development as well as brand building.”

I guess closing the Society of Sound is part of this 'restructuring' ?

AK
 

sergeauckland

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Although a slightly different thing, Linn recently closed its Forum, and UK Magazine What HiFi closed theirs.

I wonder if straightened times for the HiFi industry means that even relatively low-cost activities like a forum have to be dropped. I imagine that B&W's Society of Sound was rather more expensive than just a forum, but if it couldn't make a profit, then it has to be dropped.

S.
 
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Soniclife

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Although a slightly different thing, Linn recently closed its Forum, and UK Magazine What HiFi closed theirs.
I'm surprised Linn closed their forum, I thought if active it would drive sales.
Hifi magazines and forums are probably always an uncomfortable pairing, as all content from the new issue is likely to be online within hours.
I expect the words social media were used in the reason for both decisions
 

Kevin

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I found Bowers & Wilkins email advice of the dropping of The Society of Sound to be totally lacking in explanation or apology. So much for my free lifetime membership given with my purchase of 4.5k speakers 18 months ago.
 

Ron Texas

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Considering that B&W speakers are sold at Magnolia Design which is in most Best Buy stores, they are hardly in danger of going out of business. I can't speak for the SQ of the new 600 series, but they look a lot better than the last 600 series.
 

sergeauckland

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I found Bowers & Wilkins email advice of the dropping of The Society of Sound to be totally lacking in explanation or apology. So much for my free lifetime membership given with my purchase of 4.5k speakers 18 months ago.
Your lifetime membership was just that, the lifetime of the Society of Sound;):facepalm:

S
 

Shadrach

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I can't help seeing some irony in the fact that forums such as this are, if this forum survives and gets more widely read, are going to help kill off not only the hi fi magazines, but also a number of manufacturers.
One can't have it both ways. If this forum claims through measurement that a £100 dac performs as well a £5000 dac and people accept this then it's not surprising if people buy the £100 dac instead of the more expensive option.
The same line of reasoning applies to many other hi fi products. The logical end may be no more hi fi. People will still buy audio equipment but the beloved by some true hi fi products are going to die out.
I think that's great; others may not.
 

dmac6419

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Sounds like Mitt Romney group,They'll be out of business soon,take the money and run.
 

sergeauckland

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I can't help seeing some irony in the fact that forums such as this are, if this forum survives and gets more widely read, are going to help kill off not only the hi fi magazines, but also a number of manufacturers.
One can't have it both ways. If this forum claims through measurement that a £100 dac performs as well a £5000 dac and people accept this then it's not surprising if people buy the £100 dac instead of the more expensive option.
The same line of reasoning applies to many other hi fi products. The logical end may be no more hi fi. People will still buy audio equipment but the beloved by some true hi fi products are going to die out.
I think that's great; others may not.
However, as expensive mechanical watches have proved, people who can afford it buy brands, not technical performance. I accept that what's on someone's wrist or on their drive is more visible than an amplifier, but nevertheless, those who are impressed by price with equally impressed friends will continue to buy because they're expensive. They just have to look the part, hence all these outrageous turntables, horn loudspeakers or D'Agostino amplifiers.

S.
 

Thomas savage

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They look like progressive hifi that's fit for the modern market place and hopefully will bring back the idea that two speakers and stereo are better than a sound bar or Amazon echo.

I think B&W are actually on a path to keeping hifi relevent with these. Assuming they are well executed in design and application.

I plan to seek them out for a listen .
 
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