Fender's new headphones sound extremely cool — and they've got some incredible battery life

The world of the best headphones has long been dominated by the likes of Bose and Sony, but that's not stopped legacy audio brands like Marshall from very successfully entering the space. Now, Fender looks to make a mark on headphonedom with a pair of cans called "Mix."

They're a bit of a looker, although they're not banking on retro styling a la Marshall. Instead, these are headphones pointing voraciously toward the future, and what a contemporary audience wants out of their headphones.

Hi-res listening for all

One of the coolest features of the Mix headphones is the little wireless dongle hidden away in the right earcup. It's not the first time we've seen something similar — the Sennheiser HDB630 contained a little dongle — but it's nice to see on something that costs less than $400.

That will allow listening of hi-res audio formats and codecs, like LDAC, for iPhone users and with laptops. That's a big bonus, if the headphones themselves can keep up with those higher bitrate tracks and their superior audio quality.

Buckets of battery

Personally, I'm most excited by the sheer amount of battery on display. Apparently, you'll get 100 hours of use out of them with the ANC turned off, tested at 50% volume. Turn ANC on and you'll drop that battery life down to 52 hours. That's still very impressive.

In a scene where loads of premium models top out at around 30 hours, to see extra is always a bonus. It's also a very easy way for less expensive models to stand out from their more expensive counterparts.

Everything else

The rest of the headphone sounds about par for the course. There's going to be ANC on board to keep the noise at bay, along with spatial audio for some 360 degree sound. There's a passive mode with a 3.5mm connection should you run out of battery, which is always a bonus.

Alas, there's no news about a protective case, with the website only mentioning a "carry bag." I don't like carry bags very much, I much prefer a protective option that keeps my fairly expensive headphones safe from damage.

I say fairly expensive because $299 is still a lot of money, even if they are cheaper than the Sony and Bose competition. And similarly priced competition, from the likes of Marshall and even the former brands is strong. Hopefully Fender, as an upstart in the space, can show why it deserves a place. Perhaps with a more interesting design things would be more cut and dry — as it stands, I suspect the battle will be fought very much uphill.

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