Philips has announced the A5-Pro, a new set of headphones aimed exclusively at music professionals designed in partnership with trance DJ Armin Van Buuren. The cans were introduced last night at the Miami Winter Music Conference by the world-renowned DJ, who advised Philips on both design and features.
Built from anodised aluminium, the closed-back design uses 50mm neodymium drivers which Philips say produce "high quality low-frequency sounds" and can handle a 3,500mW power load. With 90-degree swivelling ear cups and a detachable coil cable, the fully collapsible 'phones look built to survive months on the road. The A5-Pro includes 93mm ear cushions in the box, but Philips will also be selling 80mm on-ear cushions for listening on the move and 110mm over-ear cushions for studio work. They twist and lock into place using the same mechanism as a camera lens.
“After my passport the first thing I take on the road with me is my headphones”, van Buuren said. “Through my headphones I control everything. It needs to be a good piece of equipment because you’re using it the whole night of your DJ set.
“I wanted to develop headphones that have easily replaceable parts and that you can stylize: comfortable, with great sound, and durable.”
This isn't the first time Philips and the legendary Dutch DJ have teamed up on a project; he also helped develop the M1X-DJ portable iOS mixing deck/boombox at last year's IFA show, which sadly still has yet to be released here in the UK.
Philips has yet to reveal a launch date, or UK pricing.
