The trade war between the U.S. and oversea countries like China no longer poses a theoretical risk of damage increase on audio power train — those mellow prices are here . Bose recount Digital Trends that starting Monday , May 12 , it will demote the price of its flagshipQuietComfort Ultra Headphonesfrom $ 429 to $ 449 , while its sleek SoundLink HomeBluetooth speakerwill increase from $ 219 to $ 229 .
Bose might be the easily - known audio brand so far to harbinger monetary value increases for its U.S. retail customers , but it ’s far from the only one . Onkyo enjoin me its young powered speakers , which itdebuted at CES 2025 , are each going up by $ 50 : The GX-30ARC is now $ 349 per pair ( previously $ 299 ) , and the smaller GX-10DB is now $ 249 per pair ( before , it was $ 199 ) .
We do n’t wish to raise prices , but the current duty context call for it .
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
Ultimate Ears ’ parent caller , Logitech , says it has annunciate “ a bent of targeted price increment on select products in the U.S. , ” with an average increment of about 10 % across affected machine . It pointed out that some price remain unaltered .
Each company I take heed from scratch an excusatory tone in its response . “ We do n’t wish to raise prices , ” Logitech sound out , “ but the current tariff linguistic context requires it . ”
“ We ’re doing everything we can to minimize the impact of global patronage dynamics on our products , ” Bose suppose , “ we ’ll be keeping price increases to a minimum and avoiding a one - size of it - fit - all resolution . ”
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
In some cases , new products have arrive with higher price than expected . WhenSoundcore released its latest wireless earbuds , theLiberty 5 , at $ 130 , it had to increase the damage of the more capableLiberty 4 Proto prevent buyers from ignoring the Liberty 5 ( the Liberty 4 Pro was also $ 130 , but is now $ 150 ) .
A limited runway
For now , some brands are stick to their be price . New York City - based dress shop audio recording companionship Master & Dynamic ’s CEO , Jonathan Levine , separate me his party has no current plans to increase prices on its mob of premiumwireless headphonesand earbuds .
Levine feels that company should baulk the impulse to panic . point to the current 145 % tariff on Chinese - made good as unsustainable , he hopes “ coolheaded heads will rule . ”
There are some signal that the administration is quick to relent — at least a little . On May 9 , President Trump notice that the duty should be low , tout an 80 % rate in a social medium post , according to CNN .
Still , 80 % is too high to avoid pricing change , and Levine acknowledged that he only had enough non - tariffed inventory to last until mid - June , at which point he may be forced to reconsider Master & Dynamic ’s pricing .
I reach out to Apple , Sennheiser , Klipsch , and Sony to get their reactions , but none reply by the time I published this story . From what I can see so far , they ’ve all kept prices as - is . However , early leaks suggestthat Sony is pass away to charge up to $ 50 more for itsas - yet - unreleased WH-1000XM6 , a move that is likely tariff - charm , give that the leaked images face a fate like the current $ 400WH-1000XM5 .
Unintended consequences
The threat of higher price might drive a short - term buying frenzy of sorts . Levine has observed a considerable uptick in e - commerce activity in recent hebdomad , which he suspect is part driven by people wanting to deflect paying more . Those who may have been on the fence about purchasing are now take the plunge .
For some companies , a spate in purchasing could leave some much - need cash to yield the tariffs as their products hit U.S. ports of entry .
For others , the economic situation has make too much uncertainty and imperativeness . In increase to produce and selling their own branded products , Master & Dynamic also collaborates with other companies — sometimes in public , and sometimes in stealth way . Levine said that one of those projects has been suspend and could n’t say when it might resume .
In a rarefied policy change of discriminatory pricing , the U.S. tariffs have made it less expensive to buy these high - technical school items in Canada .
When Soundcore send me its Canadian pricing for the Liberty 5 , I had to double - checkout that there had n’t been a typo . At $ 140 Canadian dollar bill , you’re able to corrupt the Liberty 5 for the eq of $ 101 USD northwards of the mete .
Buy now or wait a long time?
Prices are go up . That much is obvious . But which products will be affected and by how much is harder to gauge . grease one’s palms now to save on a future step-up is a logical response , but there may be another reason to avoid a wait - and - see glide path . For some products , even a much lower tariff environs would still be unviable .
Companies could divert excess inventory to other marketplace while quash the fabrication of new inventory . Few brands have the size needed to spin down and then spin up their factory output rapidly enough to jump back in with more inventory when status ameliorate . Once these products exit forcible and practical shelves , it could be a while before they return .
