Logitech Acquires Blue Microphones
by Anton Shilov on August 2, 2018 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Peripherals
- Logitech
- Microphones
- Blue Microphones
Logitech this week continued its spree of high-profile takeovers by announcing plans to acquire Blue Microphones, a maker of microphones for professional musicians and gamers. The two companies hope that with Logitech’s resources they will be able to quickly grow the Blue Microphones business, which will become an integral part of Logitech’s strategy.
In the last ten years Logitech acquired five companies from audio and gaming industries. In the last couple of years, the company accelerated its takeover efforts by buying the Saitek brand from Mad Catz as well as acquiring Astro Gaming. Buying a microphone specialist makes sense for Logitech as Blue Microphones will complement its audio assets that already include speakers and headsets. Furthermore, Blue has a very strong brand because of the fact that its hardware are used by many famous artists, including Bob Dylan and Sting.
Logitech will pay $117 million in cash for Blue Microphones and expects the deal to close in August. At present the companies say that Logitech will maintain Blue’s product lineups, but actual business decisions obviously remain to be seen.
Related Reading:
- Logitech Acquires ASTRO Gaming, Strengthens Portfolio of Headsets for Consoles
- Logitech Acquires Saitek Brand and Product Lines, Expands Its Sim Controllers Biz
- Logitech 2014 Switzerland Tech Day: The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Romer G
Sources: Logitech, Blue Microphones
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PeachNCream - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
I'm not sure what to think of this. I currently use a Snowball for non-professional voice acting and it's the one I've settled on after going through a few XLR cardioids in search of the right balance for my recording environment. Logitech isn't a company I've previously associated with higher quality equipment (except for maybe a select few upper end speaker & sub sets for PCs). They're more a cheap, but functional peripheral maker in my mind. It's not like the takeover will suddenly mess up my Snowball, but going forward, I hope they don't mess up the Blue formula too much in an effort to reduce operating costs.JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
>except for maybe a select few upper end speaker & sub sets for PCsThat's not really a thing. Speakers sold as PC speakers are generally pretty bad. The only exception I can think of is the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1. If a user is spending ~$100 to $200 on speakers for their PC (and they don't want to get into assembling their own enclosures, etc.) the best finished products they should be looking into are powered/active bookshelf speakers. Example: Micca PB42X. These speakers generally have RCA-style Left/Right analog inputs, but most people don't realize a passive 3.5mm audio to RCA Left/Right audio cables exist.
eek2121 - Sunday, August 5, 2018 - link
Depends on what you consider bad. If you an audiophile? Probably. You are better off getting a proper non-PC oriented setup and hooking the PC into that. However, I've been hanging on to a set of Bose 2.1 speakers for years and they've served my needs well. Plenty of bass when I want it (enough to hear from outside a brick wall), and the sound is crisp and clear. On top of that, the speakers themselves are small and don't take up much room on the desk. I've owned many PC speakers over the years until I bought these (they are now 14 years old) and I've yet to find something I like that sounds better.Outside of that offtopic comment, most of the logitech stuff I've used is garbage or has buggy software. Their wireless headsets often disconnect for no reason, for example. I now use a blue microphone for a mic and a set of Bose QC25 noise cancelling headphones for headphones. I of course don't do professional stuff with the headphones, they are merely for gaming, music, and watching movies.
inighthawki - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
Depends on the peripheral. Some of their products are pretty top notch. I'd definitely say they have some of the best mice on the market, for example. I can't claim to have much experience with their audio peripheral lineup, but I'd imagine the acquisition of a company like this is specifically intended to improve the quality of such products.Lochtror - Saturday, August 4, 2018 - link
Logitech owns UE ultimate ears already quite a long time. To us known for the Bluetooth speakers sold under that name. But UE is one of or the first company to offer professional individually ear canal molded in ear speakers / headsets/ monitors that then got widely used by live performing musicians. Then developing in ears with multipple drivers etc.Anyway, better said quote from Wikipedia “The custom in-ear monitor company was founded by Mindy and Jerry Harvey in 1995 and it created a new market for custom IEMs which are now used by most of the world's top touring musicians.[1]
In August 2008, Ultimate Ears was acquired by Logitech, and operates as a subsidiary.”
So I think people happy with blue microphones so far don’t have anything to worry about. Lots of professional audio equipment experience in Logitech already and run so well as almost independent subsiadary that people don’t even know of ue as part of Logitech
Lochtror - Saturday, August 4, 2018 - link
Well, people and you probably know logitech ue in connection with the Bluetooth speakers, so I worded that poorly.itnAAnti - Saturday, August 4, 2018 - link
On the flip side, Logitech acquired Cambridge SoundWorks and utterly decimated them. I still haven't found a pair of PC speakers that equal the original MicroWorks. I do own a pair of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1's, as @JoeyJoJo123 mentioned... and their low-end is actually better than the MicroWorks, but the mids, highs, overall clarity and overall balance aren't as good. I also have a pair of AudioEngine A5+'s, another "acclaimed" set of multimedia speakers and they're merely "ok". Yes, you can find bookshelf speakers that are far better than the MicroWorks were, but not for their original selling price of $250.rocky12345 - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
Do not get me wrong I do not mind Logitech & I actually use their products a lot. My comment is more of a why are all of these companies aloud to buy up great companies and basically a lot of the time soak them up and those products are never to be seen again and if they are all you get are watered down versions of those products and a new sticker on them. We have seen way to many good companies get sucked up into the bigger companies and then those products become crap. I do not use Blue's products have never heard of them other than maybe a couple of YT reviews so I can not say to much good or bad about their products.eva02langley - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
Business related horizontally or vertically. Basically, instead of buying mic for their headset and gaming devices, logitech would own their own parts.It could also be for avoiding taxes. Burgerking did that with Tim Horton.
As a side note, my Logitech K800 and G602 are some of the best input devices I owned.
JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
There's also just acquiring competitor patents so that they own their IP and can just reap the benefits in the long term of the company's profitability and brand name recognition.