Earlier this year, Fender Audio<\/b>, 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 <\/b>portable Bluetooth speaker and the MIX <\/b>wireless headphones. And after three months, they\u2019ve finally arrived in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The first of these, the ELIE (or Extremely Loud Infinitely Expressive) speakers, are pretty interesting for their connectivity options. Apart from Bluetooth 5.3 \u2013 with support for the low-latency LC3 codec \u2013 they also support XLR and quarter-inch inputs<\/b> despite their relative compactness, so you can plug in an instrument or a microphone (including condenser mics, as the ELIEs support phantom power).<\/p>\n
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\u2019ll also find a 3.5mm aux output in the back.<\/p>\n The ELIE speakers support phantom power and multiple inputs via Bluetooth and the XLR and quarter-inch combo. Note that only the E12 (right) has bass and treble controls, though.<\/p>\n Image: Fender Audio.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The ELIE comes in two models; the smaller of the two, the E6<\/b>, has a maximum power output of 60W, while the larger E12 <\/b>supports 120W output. As a result, despite the latter\u2019s larger physical size, the E6 has the better battery life, rated at 18 hours compared to the E12\u2019s 15 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Battery life on the MIX is rated to go up to 100 hours of listening time without with ANC off, and also sports replaceable components.<\/p>\n Image: Fender Audio.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The MIX also comes with a FWD transmitter that supports high-res audio.<\/p>\n Image: Fender Audio.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Moving on to the MIX headphones, you can find 40mm Graphene drivers <\/b>in both earcups. Fender Audio calls them \u201chyper-efficient\u201d; it\u2019s definitely not a precise term, but the results are that the MIX are rated to last for 100 hours<\/b> with ANC off and 52 hours <\/b>with ANC on, which would it\u2019s a staggering number if true. On that note, the MIX also supports hybrid ANC\u00a0and spatial audio modes.<\/p>\n Included with the MIX headphones is the FWD Tx USB-C transmitter<\/b>; the fidelity of the decoded audio sent to the MIX headphones via the transmitter goes as high as 24bit\/96kHz<\/b>, with a reported latency of less than 20ms<\/b>, and supports Bluetooth Auracast. It\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n Finally, the MIX has a modular design, with the ear cups, speaker enclosures and headband as three separate components which can be replaced.<\/p>\n 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<\/b>, while the E12 will cost S$588<\/b>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAvailability and Pricing<\/h2>\n