Kickstarter crowdfunding success for Forte Life in-ear headphones

The buds originate from San Diego-based Forte and come with the promise of "clearer sound and crisper bass, all for a smaller price tag". After setting out with the aim of raising $10,000, more than $90,000 was eventually pledged.

MORE: 10 of the best AV Kickstarter projects

According to Forte's Kickstarter campaign page, one of the main motivations for developing its Life earphones was the fact that the "best headphones" often cost in excess of $100.

Forte Life incorporate "Harmonic Interference-Free" (HIF) technology, which was developed by the company's R&D team and aims to eradicate the harmonics that are generated with sound waves – affecting how instruments and vocals are heard.

HIF has been designed to use "fundamental principles of physics" and "advanced mathematical calculations" in a bid to reduce this harmonic interference, with some of those advanced calculations said to be built into the Life's signal processing unit.

MORE: Best in-ear headphones to buy in 2014

Forte Life comes with a plastic exterior and is available in six colours: white, black, yellow, green, red or blue. There's also another model – the Forte Life S (pictured top) – that features metallic housing and comes in three finishes.

Other features include an in-line microphone and a control button, which is compatible with iPhone and Android devices and allows you play and pause music, answer and end phone calls, and activate voice control.

It's expected the first Life headphones will start shipping "before 15th November". Forte Life will cost $40 and Forte Life S will cost $50 – around £25 and £31 respectively, although that excludes international shipping.

MORE: Read all our in-ear headphone reviews and news

Pete was content editor on What Hi-Fi?, overseeing production and publication of digital content. In creating and curating feature articles for web and print consumption, he provided digital and editorial expertise and support to help reposition What Hi-Fi? as a ‘digital-first’ title; reflecting the contemporary media trends. He is now a senior content strategist. 

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