It's safe to assume that Bose held a press conference today. In fact, I know they did. I did not, however, attend. Walking these New York City streets is almost as much. The advertisements for their in-ear headphones are nearly unavoidable. The mailroom guy has seen them,
your girlfriend's sister-in-law has seen them, your grandma's seen them, everybody's seen them. And, of course, they've not only infiltrated our great city, but have hit several other markets, worldwide. I forget the dollar amount they've dropped on advertising, but it's something absolutely ludicrous, as Mikey Fremer (or Mikey Tyson) might say.
John Atkinson brought this up last week when
we were visited by Shure's Chris Lyons and Kathy Riley. JA asked, "What impact have you felt from Bose's entrance into this market?"
Lyons was quick to respond, "Not as much as we anticipated. In fact, more than anything, it's gotten people to consider spending $99 or more on a pair of headphones."
Kathy Riley was eager to confirm that Bose's fat-ass wallet [my phrase, not hers] has actually benefited Shure, building greater awareness of the market, in general. Shure may not have the marketing budget of Bose, but Shure certainly have the products. They Shure do! People may go into their local shop to purchase a pair of earphones, looking, of course, to take the performance of their MP3 players up a notch, or simply wanting to add to their collection of accessories, only to find they have many more options than they imagined.
In fact, today, JVC announced their entry into the great wide world of in-ear noise-canceling headphones with the introduction of their HA-NCX77. I'm not sure (heh heh) about their sound quality, but I can say, with certainty, that JVC needs to work on their nomenclature. "HA-NCX77" doesn't exactly soothe the savage beast. It's not even easy to type.
The press release states that the (say it with me, folks) HA-NCX77 headphones "reflect JVC's commitment to style and technology." I, too, am committed to style and technology. Which is why I wear Levi's (527, 32x32). The HA-NCX77 uses a contoured canal design with a slightly angled earpiece for "a natural and secure fit that provides maximum sound isolation." Sound can be muted using a simple switch on the HA-NCX77's power supply. This is somewhat similar to Shure's optional $50 Push-To-Hear device, but, as far as I can tell, does not amplify outside sounds as the PTH does. The JVC switch remains nameless. And perhaps we are better off.
The HA-NCX77 is available now at a suggested retail price of $79.95, which is, in our world, absolutely not ludicrous. Be on the lookout for more noise-cancelling earphones from names big and small. Thank Bose.
