The AKG Quincy Jones Signature Line
Yesterday we announced the AKG Quincy Jones Signature Line by Harman, available in 3 different styles and 3 different colors. As reported today by the LA Times:
“More than 25 years after producing “Thriller,” Quincy Jones is still looking for ways to reinvent the music experience.
The legendary producer has teamed with professional audio company AKG to launch a line of headphones.
Dubbed the Quincy Jones Signature Line, the collection of headphones will be a mix of in-ear, over-ears and on-ear minis set for release in October. Jones said the partnership isn’t something new, as he’s been using AKG headphones exclusively for years now.
“It fit like a glove. It feels like home,” Jones said in a phone call from his Paris home. “I didn’t have to sit there and talk about quality. [AKG] just blow[s] everybody away.”
Jones said he is more than aware of the current trend of musicians hawking personalized headphones.
Monster teamed with Dr. Dre to roll out a line of sleek – and pricey – headphones. Dre has Beats by Dr. Dre, Sean Combs is the face of Diddy Beats and Lady Gaga put her over-the-top style on her Heart Beats line. Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z even got in on the action with both rappers endorsing their own brand of Skullcandy headphones.
But Jones said he’s isn’t just jumping on the celebrity endoresement bandwagon.
Artists “do this all the time. But, I’m very discriminate about that,” he clarified. “I’ve been with [AKG] my whole career. It wasn’t a hard decision. I go with the heart first.”
Christopher Dragon, spokesman for AKG’s parent company Harman, further stressed Jones’ point.
“One of the important factors here is this is not a new partnership. It’s one we took to the next step,” Dragon said. “It was far more than, ‘Hey, do you want to endorse these headphones?’”
With prices ranging from $150 to nearly $500, the sticker shock might be difficult for some consumers to overcome. But Dragon argues (of course) that consumers get what they pay for.”
– Gerrick D. Kennedy, Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2010
To view the full LA Times article, click HERE
To view the official Quincy/AKG site, visit www.akg.com/quincy
Here are a few more photos from GIZMODO:
