MartinLogan, well-known in the high-end audio community as a manufacturer of large, expensive electrostatic line source loudspeakers, announced this week that it is entering the headphone market with a new in-ear headphone called the Mikros 70. According to MartinLogan, these in-ear headphones were designed by their engineering team – presumably as compared to other companies who buy off-the-shelf from China and stamp their logos on them.
headphones
Monster Announces New Monster, New Partnerships, and Mini-Fashion Show
At the CEA LineShow last week, Monster put on a press conference that, as usual, was quite a show. And the first surprise was that the event was kicked off by a new Monster – recently appointed Global VP of Marketing and Web Tracy Benson. Benson, a former Senior Director at Best Buy, wasted no time launching into the presentation by reminding reporters that Monster Beats “proved them wrong” when many said consumers would not pay more for a better, more richer listening experience. [Read more…] about Monster Announces New Monster, New Partnerships, and Mini-Fashion Show
Maybe Late to the Party, But Denon Headphones Arrive in a Big Way
At a major press event in New Jersey Tuesday, Denon announced a new company name, a new logo, newly restructured operations…and an imperative to create new products and expand into new markets. Technically, Denon has been in the headphone business for a while. But as part of a new more aggressive marketing strategy – the company has launched an all-new line of headphones designed for specific and tightly defined consumer segments. But wait…as infomercials and headphone product manager Petro Shimonishi liked to say…there’s more.
[Read more…] about Maybe Late to the Party, But Denon Headphones Arrive in a Big Way
Pro Group Pulled into Lawsuit
<February 29, 2012> New court documents filed late last week as part of the ongoing lawsuit between Soul by Ludacris and SOL Republic appear to more deeply entangle one of our industry’s most prominent national retail buying organizations, the Pro Group. Court filings from both sides have ignited a controversy in which certain Pro Group members appear to make a claim that is contradictory to one by the Pro Group Executive Director David Workman. [Read more…] about Pro Group Pulled into Lawsuit
Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…HiFiMAN
See UPDATE below article…
>See a slideshow with images from the HiFiMAN press conference here<<
<January 25, 2012> One of the more pleasant surprises of the show was an opportunity to meet a company – new to me but apparently known amongst many high end aficionados for awhile now – with a name that struck me as a little goofy – HiFiMAN. But, as I was soon to learn, the name fits…owner Dr. Fang Bian is a man truly dedicated to high fidelity sound reproduction…even in the face of our portable, overly-compressed, MP3 digital music world. Bian is truly a HiFiMAN. [Read more…] about Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…HiFiMAN
At CES – Monster Turns from Performance to Fashion Model Runway to Sell Headphones
>>See a full slideshow of the Monster Press Conference here<<
<January 25, 2012> In what had to be one of the more unusual press conferences we’ve attended, Monster Cable – who wants us all to drop the “Cable” from their name – launched a whole roster of partnerships including the clothing brand Diesel, and put on a fashion show for both their Diesel-related products and their new Inspiration headphone line. Yes, that’s right, we said a fashion show complete with models walking down a runway of sorts (a cleared center aisle) with music blaring and flashing colored lights, showing off various Monster headphones. [Read more…] about At CES – Monster Turns from Performance to Fashion Model Runway to Sell Headphones
Onkyo & Gibson CEO’s Give the ALERT the Inside Scoop on their New Partnership
Gibson Guitar Becomes Exclusive U.S. Distributor of Onkyo & Integra Brands
<January 18, 2012> As one of a select (and very small) group of reporters invited to a hastily-arranged private audience with the CEO’s of both Gibson Guitar Corp. and Onkyo Corp. to discuss their recently announced strategic alliance, I was intrigued. The interview was held on a custom Gibson tour bus literally and figuratively…as the Gibson CEO clearly drove the discussion. [Read more…] about Onkyo & Gibson CEO’s Give the ALERT the Inside Scoop on their New Partnership