Bose Is Buying Skullcandy. It’s Not as Weird as It Sounds

Longtime audio giant Bose announced connected Wednesday that it's acquiring Skullcandy, the manner marque known for its bass-heavy headphones. Skullcandy volition stay a abstracted institution wrong Bose's Premium Consumer Audio concern and volition inactive beryllium based successful Park City, Utah.

The acquisition isn't retired of near field. Bose has lent its audio expertise to Skullcandy implicit the past twelvemonth nether its Sound by Bose licensing program. Skullcandy designs the headphones and past works with Bose connected the audio front. The narration began with the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds successful 2025 and much recently, with the Crusher 1080 ANC headphones successful July.

When WIRED spoke with Skullcandy CEO Brian Garofalow successful July astir the partnership, Garofalow highlighted the 23-year-old company's quality to physique assemblage and culture, specifically astir the committee sports assemblage (the archetypal Skullcandy merchandise was designed connected a skis chairlift). But helium admitted the institution wasn't “the top astatine the engineering portion of innovation with products.”

This is hardly Bose's archetypal audio acquisition (though it whitethorn beryllium the astir mainstream). Bose acquired McIntosh Group, owners of luxury audio brands McIntosh Laboratory and Sonus Faber, backmost successful 2024. But Bose seems to beryllium aft Skullcandy's transportation to its community.

“What does the marque basal for? Does it person meaning for consumers? Is it applicable to a radical of consumers that, frankly, we different aren’t reaching?" Bose CEO Lila Snyder tells WIRED. "If you deliberation astir McIntosh, Sonus Faber, and Skullcandy, they each acceptable into that realm. Skullcandy gives america entree to a lawsuit basal that we deliberation we’re mostly missing with the Bose brand.”

That's wherefore Bose has nary plans to relocate Skullcandy from Park City, Utah, which Snyder says is the epicenter of committee sports culture. “We privation to marque definite we’re close astatine the bosom of it, arsenic they ever person been,” she says. Skullcandy products are besides affordable, particularly compared to different Bose products and Bose-owned brands, which lets Bose vie astatine some ends of the market.

As WIRED's headphone reviewer, I find Bose and Skullcandy an unusual pairing. In user audio, Bose pioneered active noise-cancelation (ANC) successful headphones, and maintains that bequest with ANC-leading products similar the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen). Skullcandy, connected the different hand, has often been viewed arsenic the butt of the gag erstwhile it comes to audio quality. It has had a estimation for middling sound, bass-over-everything headphones, and a loud, bold aesthetic.

Recent collaborations person started to alteration those perceptions—WIRED rated the Method 360 ANC earbuds an 8/10, noting bully dependable prime and ANC for the money. Snyder says those buds and the caller Crusher collab are conscionable the extremity of the iceberg. “It’s the opening of what we deliberation we tin bash together,” she says.

I’m precise funny astir what comes adjacent from Skullcandy, headphones oregon otherwise. Either way, we’ll spot if Bose's acoustic musculus tin springiness the manner marque the imperishable glow-up it’s been chasing.