Musical Fidelity has become the latest hi-fi company to make the move into headphones, with the launch of its £150 EB-50 in-ear monitor. The company says that rather than choosing an 'off the shelf' design, the EB-50 has been 'completely developed and designed by Musical Fidelity'.
That has enabled the designers to engineer in specific performance characteristics, including 'a ruler-flat frequency response, excellent dynamic range and a deep, clear and fast bass'.
The 6mm balanced armature drivers use neodymium magnets, encased in a multilayer anti-resonant material to eradicate internal vibrations, and the whole assembly is encased in a non-resonant military-spec aluminium body.
A high-quality metal splitter is used on the 1.2m cable to separate signal out to the two earpieces, and the cable is fitted withan inline microphone and mute control (above) for use with smartphones.
Seven pairs of ear-tips are provided to enable users to get a proper fit, and cable guides/ear-hooks are also supplied, along with a carry pouch.
Musical Fidelity boss Antony Michaelson says of the new headphones that 'Our design objective was to achieve genuine studio monitor sound quality with that certain Musical Fidelity touch of lightness and musicality.
'This has been no easy task. Many other companies go to an OEM supplier and buy something off the shelf. Not so with MF.
'We have been developing and refining the EB-50s for more than a year. The result is truly excellent and we are very excited to be launching our first headphone design.'