As a journalist and AV reviewer, I am unbiased. But there are certain brands I have had great experiences with, one of which is Fender, from which I own not one, but three guitars (and an amp).
Sure, part of that’s to do with my love of the axes’ place in history, but it’s also because I like the way they sound and play. The neck dimensions, easy access to parts to repair them, and the great tone you can get; there's just a lot to like.
To catch you up, every music equipment brand and instrument maker seems to be trying to break into the space, including Marshall and Orange – two iconic amp manufacturers that both launched consumer-focused audio products ranging from headphones to soundbars last year.
First, there’s a reason many pro audio firms and instrument makers have struggled to deliver decent consumer products over the past decade, including Fender – a fact demonstrated by the three-star FXA9, which were the last headphones we reviewed from the brand.
Good sound is good sound. We’ve said that for years, which is why we expect all products, whether they’re headphones or a 5.1 surround sound system, to meet certain criteria. And yes, there is a clear overlap between amps and speakers, and monitors and consumer headphones.
But, as a guy who loves both sides of the noise-making fence, there are differences. Specifically, that studio equipment and instruments are designed to “make” music and focus on different performance metrics as a result.
Let’s take in-ear monitors (IEMs) as an example. Yes, these are ultimately in-ear headphones, and yes, there are multiple examples of sets that offer great audio. But IEMs are also a tool for professional musicians playing on stage and in the recording studio.
In this scenario, they're expected to act as analysis and reporting tools to help the performers with timing, pitch, dynamics, and generally tighter playing. That means the “fun” part that music listeners, not performers, care about plays second fiddle.
And as we’ve seen multiple times over, this focus means being good at making pro hardware, doesn’t mean you’ll be good at making consumer products – fundamentally, consumer and professional audio devices overlap, but are designed for different purposes.
Then there's the specific segment of the wireless headphone market that the MIX targets. Fender’s confirmed the MIX headphones will cost $300 (around £220 / AU$450), and that’s a very tricky price point to nail right now.
A £220 price tag sandwiches the MIX between two very competitive price points. Beneath it, key stellar value sub-£200 sets, such as the Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT, which, while lacking ANC, offer an audio performance on a par with most £200-£250 sets. There's also the presence of the open-back wireless Grado GW100x, which sound sublime, despite definitely being for home use only.
Above it, there is a wealth of stellar £299 options which offer significantly improved performance, both from an audio and ANC perspective, on all the wireless sets we’ve reviewed around £220 recently.
“The Cambridge Melomania P100 are a reasonable effort from a company trying to carve out a reputation in a tricky, highly competitive field. The problem is, they’re up against some great wireless headphone rivals that don’t currently cost a lot more.”
That’s not to say Fender can’t. We haven’t heard the new headphones yet. I’ve just got a few alarm bells going off, based on my past experience.
Here’s hoping I’m wrong…
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