It's Official: HARMAN Completes Acquisition of Sound United

(September 23, 2025) Harman International has completed its acquisition of Sound United, bringing iconic audio brands including Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Classé, Boston Acoustics, and HEOS under the Harman umbrella. The move firmly cements Harman as one of the most comprehensive players in home audio, personal audio, and hi fi electronics. For Sound United, it represents a landing spot that makes perfect sense, with a parent company that values product heritage, premium sound quality, and engineering as much as the brands themselves.

The structure of the deal will allow Sound United to operate as a standalone Strategic Business Unit within Harman’s Lifestyle Division, a model that keeps brand identity intact while opening the door to global resources and expanded reach. “The brands are iconic,” said Dave Rogers, President of Harman’s Lifestyle Division. “Denon, for example, is a leader in AV receivers worldwide. Bowers & Wilkins dominates at the upper end of the loudspeaker market. By joining with Harman, these strengths complement rather than compete with our own.”

Rogers emphasized that overlap between the two portfolios is minimal, which allows each brand to flourish in its own market space. At the same time, collaboration is expected behind the scenes in engineering and manufacturing. “Sound United has three factories, including a facility in the UK that builds Bowers products and one in Japan that produces electronics. We want our engineers to work together, share best practices, and get inspired to build even better products,” he explained.

Concerns about big company consolidation often turn toward questions of brand dilution or profit margins outweighing product quality. Rogers addressed that directly. “Quality must be the number one priority: sound quality, industrial design, brand heritage, supply chain. In order to compete today, we have to be world-class.” His comments echoed Harman’s press statement, which pledged to maintain each brand’s heritage while leveraging new scale for growth.

For consumers, the message is straightforward: more choice and more innovation across categories from headphones to hi-fi separates. For distributors and dealers, Rogers pointed to the strength of Harman’s supply chain and marketing resources. “We want to listen, learn, and build the best solutions possible,” he said, adding that the acquisition gives Harman opportunities to expand in markets where Sound United is strong, such as Japan, while Sound United gains new reach in territories where Harman has long been established.

Rogers also reminded skeptics that this is not Harman’s first time managing such an acquisition. “When Samsung bought Harman in 2017, many people were skeptical. Eight years later, we are operating independently, and our business has more than doubled. We expect the same with Sound United.”

With this integration, Harman becomes home to an unrivaled portfolio of premium audio brands, one that will shape the way enthusiasts experience music and home theater for years to come.

You can watch a full interview with Dave Rogers here:
https://youtu.be/2UDhf-9qYSI

Related Reading:

Click to expand...

Mike Schramm

Moderator

Bright Side Crew

Today at 11:31 AM

This feels a lot better than Masimo. Seems like there is a lot of potential here.

Todd Anderson

Editor / Senior Partner

Today at 11:35 AM

It certainly does. The Masimo acquisition had legitimate business reasons, but lacked cohesiveness. Tho, I will say, I visited SoundUnited's Masimo headquarters twice during that tenure, and the brands I interacted with: Def Tech, Bowers/Wilkins, Marantz, Denon, all seemed to be firing on all cylinders. But, the financial impacts on Masimo in public trading didn't bode well for a healthy future.

Harman is the best of all worlds: Deep pockets and a full-foucs on AV.