Fender Audio ELIE speakers & MIX headphones

Earlier this year, Fender Audio, the consumer audio extension of the renowned guitar maker Fender and operated by Singapore-based Riffsound, entered the high-end audio market with two new products: the ELIE portable Bluetooth speaker and the MIX wireless headphones. And after three months, they’ve finally arrived in Singapore.

The first of these, the ELIE (or Extremely Loud Infinitely Expressive) speakers, are pretty interesting for their connectivity options. Apart from Bluetooth 5.3 – with support for the low-latency LC3 codec – they also support XLR and quarter-inch inputs despite their relative compactness, so you can plug in an instrument or a microphone (including condenser mics, as the ELIEs support phantom power).

The speakers are also multi-channel, so they support multiple inputs at the same time. The speaker by itself is only two-channel (Bluetooth and analog) but future accessories will add support for two more wireless channels. You’ll also find a 3.5mm aux output in the back.

The ELIE comes in two models; the smaller of the two, the E6, has a maximum power output of 60W, while the larger E12 supports 120W output. As a result, despite the latter’s larger physical size, the E6 has the better battery life, rated at 18 hours compared to the E12’s 15 hours. 

As for the speaker configuration, the E6 holds one tweeter, subwoofer and full-range driver, while the E12 doubles all three drivers. The E6 has a maximum SPL of 96dB @ 1m, while the E12 bumps it up to 101dB at the same range. They can also be paired with other ELIEs for either stereo or multi-mode audio supporting up to 100 speakers.

Moving on to the MIX headphones, you can find 40mm Graphene drivers in both earcups. Fender Audio calls them “hyper-efficient”; it’s definitely not a precise term, but the results are that the MIX are rated to last for 100 hours with ANC off and 52 hours with ANC on, which would it’s a staggering number if true. On that note, the MIX also supports hybrid ANC and spatial audio modes.

Included with the MIX headphones is the FWD Tx USB-C transmitter; the fidelity of the decoded audio sent to the MIX headphones via the transmitter goes as high as 24bit/96kHz, with a reported latency of less than 20ms, and supports Bluetooth Auracast. It’s worth noting at this point that the MIX, apart from the standard SBC and AAC codecs, also support the low-latency LC3 and high-res LHDC codecs.

Finally, the MIX has a modular design, with the ear cups, speaker enclosures and headband as three separate components which can be replaced.

Availability and Pricing

The ELIE speakers and MIX headphones are available for pre-order now via the Fender Audio website, with availability set to begin this month. The ELIE E6 and MIX are priced at S$468, while the E12 will cost S$588.