Yahoo Finance Nick Jonas explains why you should buy his new headphones
He’s an actor, singer and songwriter. But now, Nick Jonas can add “designer” to his growing resume.
Jonas, 24, unveiled his line of personal audio products at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. Slated to hit shelves sometime during the first quarter of 2017, his collaboration with audio maker Altec Lansing includes a $79 pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones with a battery life of seven hours, a $149 pair of Bluetooth over-the-ear headphones with noise canceling features, a $59 pair of wireless Bluetooth earbuds with six hours of battery life, and a $99 waterproof Bluetooth speaker.
All the products in the line sport a minimal, understated look and will be available in black or white with rose gold accents, except for the speaker, which will only be available in black.
“It’s been a dream of mine to collaborate on something like this,” Jonas told Yahoo Finance.
“Obviously, I do the music and the acting and all that, and that’s more me performing for an audience. But actually giving my fans the chance to be a part of this experience and having a personal touch is really key. Teaming up with Altec Lansing was just an incredible opportunity to take the things that I like in art, culture and fashion and put them into these headphones. I’m just thrilled for these to come out, and hopefully, people will dig what they see.”
Key for Jonas was audio quality, which he described as having clear highs and rich bass. Indeed, the pair of Bluetooth earbuds we listened to bore that out, with a well-rounded sound that offers decent clarity in the mid-to-high range, and ample, yet restrained “oomph” in the bass line.
“Obviously, sound is the most important thing first,” Jonas explained. “We need to make sure it sounds good, which it does. I can vouch for that. And on top of that, as my career has evolved over the last few years, and I’ve moved more into an adult, mature artistry and creative a process, I think it was important to give this that look, as well, while understanding that my fans were on the journey with me. And with this, too, I wanted to make sure that people who have no idea who I am or what I’ve done look at it, and say, ‘Oh, that’s cool. I actually want to use those headphones.”
Jonas has been busy over the last five years. His last three singles charted in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Jonas has also taken turns on the big and small screen, with television appearances including the Ryan Murphy comedy horror series “Scream Queens,” as well as a starring role on the ongoing DirecTV series “Kingdom,” where he plays a gay martial artist. Jonas also recently wrapped filming the remake of “Jumanji” in Hawaii, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jack Black, which he said respects the original 1995 hit starring the late Robin Williams.
In the interim, he has enjoyed his first CES — an experience he found eye-opening, given nearly 200,000 people attended this year, by some estimates.
“My older brother Kevin has been a few times, and he gave me the heads-up of what to look out for,” Jonas explained. “But it’s insane — a lot of energy. The city is packed. It’s great to see so many minds all in one place.”
More of our CES coverage:
Samsung unveils gaming laptops and a partnership with Google
Carnival is turning its ships into floating connected hotels
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JP Mangalindan is a senior correspondent for Yahoo Finance covering the intersection of tech and business. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
