Fender Builds Bodacious DX And FX Series Ear Buds With Chops Like A Stratocaster

Fender is a household name when it comes to guitars, guitar amplifiers and related gear. The company's legendary Stratocaster guitars have been played by many a great rock and blues icon, from Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Clapton and many others. However, the company now is also looking to make a name for itself in the personal audio market or perhaps even a space you'd call "pro-sumer" or at least for audiophiles, with an innovative family of IEMs, or in-ear monitors. Fender has a model for every budget, with ear buds ranging in price from $99 for the entry-level DXA1 to $499 for the symphonic FXA7.

The headphones were designed in Nashville, Tennessee — which also happens to be where they’re hand-assembled. With the exception of the budget DXA1, the rest of the members in the headphone family feature 3D-printed DHT (Digital Hybrid Technology) housings that the company suggests will fit 95 percent of ears.

For those that want the Fender name, but don’t want to dole out a lot dinero, you could settle for the DXA1, which features 8.5mm drivers, 14Hz-22kHz frequency response, and 116dB @1mW sensitivity. These also look more like traditional earbuds (think Shure) and come with a detachable MMCX cable.

Throw another $100 into the mix, and you’ll step up to the FXA2, which gets you custom 9.25mm rare-earth drivers with a Groove-tuned port, 3D printed shell, 6Hz-23kHz frequency response and 112dB @1mW sensitivity. The specs one-upmanship continues through the $299 FXA5 and $399 FXA6, but the real centerpiece of this collection is no doubt the FXA7.

The FXA7 also features custom 9.25mm rare-earth drivers with a Groove-tuned base port, but tosses in a zero-crossover design and dual Hybrid-Dynamic tuned Balanced Armature Array (HDBA) tweeters. Frequency response is listed at 6Hz-24kHz and you’ll find distortion-free audio thanks to 110dB @1mW sensitivity. And when you throw in the 3D-printed housing with the secure-fit tips, ambient noise is reduced by up to 22dB, which allows you to better focus on the music that you’re belting out. But of course, this hand-assembled craftsmanship is going to set you back $499.

Granted, Fender’s lineup of IEMs is not going to fit as perfectly as custom-made headphones like musicians use on stage, but they’re probably about the closest you’re going to find in an “off-the-shelf” solution. And with a name like Fender, you can bet that these are quality pieces through and through from the bargain basement DXA1 on up to the FXA7.

All four IEMs are available for preorder right now or you can find them at Amazon too.