I was just replying to someone on this forum and discovered that SoundTouch has been officially discontinued. I'm surprised that there has not been an announcement here or pinned in this forum.
"We are discontuining sales of some SoundTouch products. Read more."
by the way, "discontuining" is spelt wrong. It should be spelt "discontinuing". It's a very minor oversight and one I do all the time. Thought I could help 🙂
update: the spelling mistake has been fixed.
"As we are evolving our product assortment to better serve your needs, we are discontinuing sales of some SoundTouch products. We remain committed to support both the SoundTouch app and product software for the foreseeable future. Please visit the Support section if you need any help with your SoundTouch products."
I always thought that Bose would release more Smart Home products like a Link adapter and an amplifier before Bose officially discontinued SoundTouch. I can only hope that these are in the pipeline.
We are indeed discontinuing the sale of some SoundTouch speakers, as we are evolving and developing products which we believe will serve our customers better. You'll notice that some products from the SoundTouch range are still currently available.
In terms of the community and support, we have no plans to make any changes at this time. Our goal is to help you continue to enjoy your SoundTouch products and we’ll remain here to do so. Support will also remain available through our website, as well as other platforms like Social Media, to ensure that we're here for our SoundTouch customers.
Finally, thanks very much for spotting the typo, it has been raised to the team 🙂
I have invested a great deal of money installing soundtouch products throughout my home and I am concerned that now the products are discontinued The support and the app will follow rendering them useless.
It is really disappointing to see Bose drop the Soundtouch line. I thought the Amp and adapter would remain, and even get upgraded. I also invested in several amps, I really like the product.
Bose is still selling the SA-5 as a bundle with outdoor speakers. But likely only to sell outdoor speakers
The smart home product line is just not competitive. Now I see those are being discounted. So I would expect them not to last long either.
The SA-5 was very competitive against the Sonos amp - and about $200 cheaper. I can't understand why Bose would discontinue it.
Unfortunately I do not see a good future for Bose. Speakers and amps no longer competitive. Headphones - competition from many others, now including Apple. Other products not exciting.
Does anyone know if the Wave SoundTouch System IV is also being discontinued? If so, will it be replaced with any other similar product? Was considering ordering one.
I would assume eventually the Wave IV Soundtouch would be discontinued. I just bought one last week anyway, since I have so much of the Soundtouch product. I really like the SoundTouch line - SA-5 amp is much cheaper than Sonos for basically same thing.
One thing about the Wave IV SoundTouch system is that the SoundTouch base is detachable from Wave IV unit. Hence - Bose could conceivably sell the base of whatever new Wifi system they come up with and allow you to upgrade the Wave IV unit.
Although Bose is selling the standalone Wave IV unit at $299, discounted from the $499 list. (The Wave IV SoundTouch is only discounted $120 down to $479). The steep discount of the standalone Wave IV could mean either - low demand (since most people likely want the Wifi link) or the whole Wave IV system is being discontinued, not just SoundTouch. I suspect both reasons. So is there a Wave V system coming (likely without CD), or is Wave toast for good?
It is hard to see where Bose is headed. I am not convinced the Smart Home product is their long term standard either. I don't understand why Bose did not design their new system to be downward compatible with the SoundTouch. Seems like just software.
At this point I am buying a few more SoundTouch products - to complete what I need. Beyond that - Bose is out of consideration - too much instability in their product line.
Even Sonos I am not sure of either. Sony's pushing the new Hi Def Audio standards in its products. Is Bose going to participate?
I have taken a different approach adding Smart Home speakers to my collection of SoundTouch speakers. I wouldn’t want to predict how long the Smart Home standard will be around, Sound Touch lasted approximately 6 years which is pretty good by any means.
With my listening habits I have found using both platforms pretty seamless and satisfying. I have chosen to continue with Bose products as I like how they perform and Bose support, in my experience, has been very good.
Adding Airplay to my older SoundTouch gear breathed new multi room home networking life into these speakers. All my gear plays music seamlessly using Airplay.
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AirPlay is not really the solution. I just tried playing an SA-5 and the Wave IV from the same AirPlay and the sound was out of sync. Also Airplay too many times doesn't allow so called rebroadcast. 6 years can be the life of a given model speaker, but most companies don't abandon a standard in 6 years. Generally, when the technology is enhanced, it is downward compatible with the older standard - but not the case here.
What (other than software) makes SoundTouch and Smart Home compatibility impossible? Both hook up to the same LAN or Wifi. I prefer direct Ethernet connection. I have a number of SA-5s in the utility room of the 1st floor and feed the wires to the attic above the 3rd floor for speaker connections on the wall.
I wish Bose would come out with a strategic statement on where they are headed. Like we plan a new model of the SA-5 that works with Smart Home and a new base for the Wave technology to support Smart Home, and so forth.
Otherwise Bose appears to be headed in the direction of small consumer devices, like headsets, eye glass speakers, small plug in speakers, etc and abandoning HiFi amplifiers and speaker systems. What is Bose plans for Hi Res Audio?
If I have to trash $4,000 of SoundTouch equipment - I am not going to be looking to Bose for my future sound needs.
I have at home thousands of euros boxes, SA5, etc. from SoundTouch and the intention was to further expand my system with a new SA5. Unfortunately, it is no longer for sale and this production has completely stopped.
I find it hard to imagine that Bose will not come on the market with a new amplifier?
I'm not good about it. Are there still customers in the same situation? I wonder how you can expand further?
The only option I see is switching to SONOS, but this will cost me a lot of money ...
I’ve been a Bose fan for all of my adult life ans in our last four homes have build home sound systems around the SoundTouch platform. Losing the sound touch has made expansion of our current system limited to stand alone speakers. Like other I hope Bose has a product in the workers to replace the SA-5 amp. Otherwise my family and I will be forced to switch over to Sonos.
