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Maxell is extending its market presence in the headphone and earphone categories but this time, upping the ante in price-points as it looks to compete in the “affordable high-end” arena, said Jennifer Roberts, product manager for the New Products Div. Targeted distribution for these higher-priced models is specialty electronics dealers, she added.
The new Studio series of on-ear headphones includes the $169.99 top-line Studio Bluetooth – Maxell’s first Bluetooth 2.1-equipped model. It carries a brushed-aluminum headband, and includes 40mm drivers, leather earcups, and both a recharging cable and a headphone cable for wired use. It also has a “Siri-ready” talk-through function allowing communication with the iPhone’s Siri voice command response technology. The Studio DJ ($139.99) boasts 50mm drivers, and includes leather, oversize earcups that are rotatable behind the wearer’s head, an 11.5-foot braided cloth cable and a four-foot standard cable. The Studio Heavy Bass ($124.99) headphone is aimed at a younger demographic; it features a 40mm driver, in-line call-taking capability, and a silver finish with metallic blue highlights. It also sports a rubberized headband and a four-foot flat wire.
Maxell is replacing its NC-IV noise-cancelling headphones with the NC-V, whose Noise Redux technology is also said to provide improved amplification characteristics. They are low power-consumers, good for 70 hours’ continuous use, and will work as standard headphones without battery power ($129.99).
In earphones, The Radiator and the Balanced Artmature+ are new. The Balanced Armature+ ($119.99), the company’s flagship earphone model, offers a balanced armature driver and a 6mm low-frequency dynamic driver encased in aluminum, along with anti-bacterial earpieces and a flat-wire design. The Radiator ($79.99) uses both
a passive radiator for enhanced bass and a dynamic driver in tandem for what Maxell said is a synergistic result akin to stereo speaker sound.
The company is delving into the LED lighting category with an eye to serving new market needs and also as a foot in the door to new home-improvement retailing distribution channels, said Vander Morais, senior product manager, New Products Div.
Currently due for display at the CES are a $34.99 Emergency LED bulb that consumes 6.2 watts, provides 350 Lumens brightness, lasts 25 years, and will automatically turn on in the event of a power failure, and will work for four hours in a blackout. It has an on/off button and may be used as a flashlight. A $39.99 version adds dimming capability and a remote control. And a motion sensor LED ($34.99) is programmed to respond only to human motion. Other “emergency market” products are also in development, said Morais.
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