Fender introduces a new product range
On 20 January 2016 the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (Fender) has announced a new product category. Fender the maker of the world famous Stratocaster axe will now manufacture and sell headphones. Launching their new Fender In-Ear Monitor Series product range, Jim Ninesling, Fender VP of Fender Amplifiers and Pro Audio had this to say:
“The launch of the Fender In-Ear Monitor Series is an exciting step in the expansion of our product offering. Fender is committed to delivering innovative products and services that accompany players at every stage of their musical experience. We believe serious players and discriminating audiophiles alike will appreciate both the design and performance of Fender IEM’s, setting the stage for further additions to this new line in the future.”
By acquiring headphone maker, Aurisonics, in 2015, Fender has now joined long time rival Gibson in this product category. It would appear that Fender is not going after a wider market segment, however the company is looking to add a wider variety of product ranges for its existing customers of pro musicians and audiophiles. For now, the current headphone product range may look like Aurosonics’ existing product range, Fender’s Andy Rowley told Head-Fi that the product range were “reconfigured and improved since the acquisition.”
The new Fender In-Ear Monitor product range comprises of 5 models ranging from $99 up to $500. All product models, excluding the entry level DXA1 ($99), boast a 3D-printed Digital Hybrid Technology (DHT) shells that are made to fit 95% of ears.
DHT has been developed by Aurosonics during the years, which would allow you to simply plug and play as opposed to spending time getting molds of your ears made. Through DHT, Aurosonics scanned thousands of ears to develop a product that can be described as being close to a true universal fit.
Read the Fender press release here: http://spotlight.fender.com/newsroom/news/503/
Sources:
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/21/10805420/fender-headphones-in-ear-aurisonics
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/fender-now-makes-ear-headphones-093953700.html
http://www.head-fi.org/t/795505/fender-buys-aurisonics-and-announces-five-new-iem-models
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