It's getting harder and harder to keep track of headphone manufacturers these days; not that a lot of competition is a bad thing in a market with some average sounding products. When SOL Republic launched, some felt that the lifestyle headphone manufacturer was just an offshoot of Monster and trading off on the success of Beats by Dr. Dre. Having listened to some of their products, I would simply tip my cap and add another solid collection of headphones to the mix.
There is another category of headphone manufacturers garnering attention as we head into CES 2013; the established loudspeaker manufacturer who realized that not having a line-up of headphones was financial suicide at this point in the game. It's not meant as a criticism but as mere statement about the state of the audio industry. Not everyone can do it but those manufacturers that can have a real opportunity to capitalize.
With that in mind, it should not come as a real surprise that DEI Holdings (parent company to Polk Audio and Definitive Technology) announced today the addition of BOOM (Born on Original Motives) to their stable of companies. The lifestyle headphone manufacturer is already more than two years old, but this is a case of the headphone not falling far from the proverbial tree.
Polk Audio recently opened a dedicated retail outlet at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (apparently sales of headphones and soundbars have been brisk), but their headphones are not inexpensive (they offer either high-end audiophile models or sports versions) so it makes perfect sense for DEI to go after the growing lifestye market where companies like SkullCandy and Beats currently dominate.
Believing music to be an important element that inspires creativity, Ryan Minarik came up with the BOOM brand concept in 2010 while attending Arizona State University. The organic beginnings of the company started with an idea and a passion for inspiring creativity in all forms. The first BOOM products were named after their sources of inspiration: songs by the original bands Incubus & Rage Against the Machine. The Leader (earbuds) and Renegade (on-ear) headphones carry suggested retail prices of $19.99 and $39.99, respectively.
In late 2010, BOOM teamed up with established home theatre & car audio powerhouse, DEI Holdings, parent company to Directed, Polk Audio, and Definitive Technology, which just happens to be led by Ryan's father, Jim Minarik, a long time CE Industry veteran. Supported by DEI Holdings' legacy of excellence and success in consumer electronics, BOOM recruited Steve Jain as their Director of Sales, a CE veteran who brings with him previous experience at D&M Holdings, JVC, Panasonic, and a past tenure at DEI.
They have quickly spread to over 400 campus bookstores and have maintained momentum by empowering college campuses ambassadors with BOOM marketing materials to spread the BOOM movement. BOOM is now also available at consumer electronics retailers such as Fry's Electronics, Brands Mart, and Crutchfield.
Aside from their headphone line-up, BOOM also announced today the launch of their Urchin Bluetooth streaming speaker.
The Urchin is built to connect with pretty much any Bluetooth device, with support for Version 2.1 + EDR or higher, Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), Simple Secure Pairing (SSP), Advance Audio Coding (AAC), Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.5 or higher, and Headset Profile (HSP). With about 10 hours of battery life and a charge time of just two hours, it's also ready to rock on the road whenever the mood strikes. A 3.5mm input also makes it easy to connect a phone for devices that do not have Bluetooth. (The mini jack input and USB charging port are water resistant when not in use.)
The Urchin will make its debut at CES 2013 in the BOOM booth and will retail for $149.
I guess the shower radio never really died. It just learned to speak Bluetooth.
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