LAS VEGAS – German company ON.EARZ is getting ready to enter the U.S. headphone market with the help of a few names you might know, including AC/DC, Elvis Presley, and James Dean. The company will also be bringing its Swagg line to the States, and we checked out both on the show floor of CES last week in Las Vegas.
The Legends series is a line of on-ear headphones licensed from the estates of Elvis and James Dean, as well as 70s and 80s rock legend AC/DC. Each headphone is based on the same 40mm dynamic driver, but the styling was inspired by their name sakes.
AC/DC, Elvis Presley, & James Dean from ON.EARZ
The Legends series is priced at €99, and the company said that it expects to price them at US$99 for the U.S. market when it launches later in the first quarter of this year. For that price, each set of headphones comes with two cables, one of which has a microphone compatible with Apple's iPhone and iPad combo jacks.
The bands are based on a metal strip for durability and pressed foam to fill out the band. There is also an additional jack built into the headphones that allows another user to share your music source.
The company's Swagg line is based on a titanium-plated 40mm dynamic driver, and is priced at €189 ($189 in the U.S.). Swagg offers an over-the-ear design and a more balanced sound than some of the bass-heavy headphones popular with the kids these days.
Swagg from ON.EARZ
The CES show floor is not an environment that allows for subtle listening tests, but spot testing at the company's booth suggested the devices have a great sound, especially for the price point. We'll be doing more thorough testing in the weeks to come.
We should also note that these headphones stuck out for their attractive design, and that's something considering the visual assault that is CES. The picture above doesn't do them justice, but they're finished with a matte black design and the white accents pop very nicely.