Philips, a part of Gibson Innovations, has had a very active CES 2016 event with several announcements, as the list included Philips Fidelio soundbar, the Philips Flite headphones, Bluetooth speakers, Hi-Fi range, and also the HX series of headphones, which include HX1 and HX5 headphones with a unique design having LED lights.
Calling these as the brightest headphones yet, Philips has included pulsing LEDs to these on-ear and in-ear headphones, and these LEDs located on the earcups pulsate according to the beat of the music. The headphones look seriously cool, and they might easily attract onlookers around when the LEDs light up and pulsate with the music.
“The Philips HX1 and HX5 headphones combine advanced technology with expressive design, they visualize music.” said Pascal van Laer, Headphones Business Leader, Gibson Innovations. “We have taken our headphones portfolio further by combining light and music into our products. Giving the consumer a whole new experience. Both products deliver beat pulsing LEDs, deep bass, powerful design and the robust build DNA that makes Philips headphones stand out.”
The HX1 in-ear headphones have 8.6mm compact drivers for deep bass, and they have the BassReflex ports that efficiently vent air out. On the other side, for the HX5 over-ear headphones to take advantage of the large size, Philips has included 40mm neodymium drivers.
There is a dedicated LED button, so you can choose when to light up them or when to just listen to the music without powering up the lights. There is some light thrown on the battery life, but we aren’t sure how that works with smartphone battery usage – Up to 6 hours of powerful LED (HX1); 8 hours (HX5). The HX1 and HX5 are accompanied by rubber cables for extra durability.
The LEDs might not attract every set of listeners, but there is certainly a group of music lovers who would love to flaunt the type of music they listen to, as the beats and lights sync up.
Pricing and Availability of Philips HX1 and HX5
Both the headphones are going to be available from March 2016 in North America, and the pricing is set at $49 for Philips HX1, and $99.99 for Philips HX5.