Philips has announced the A5 Pro headphones, designed in conjunction with Armin Van Buuren. Meant for professional DJs, the A5 Pro headphones are aluminium closed-back phones, “for noisy club environments”.
“Philips believed in my idea for the A5 Pro and I believed in the idea Philips had,” said the superstar DJ. “I wanted to develop headphones that have easily replaceable parts and that you can stylise: comfortable, with great sound, and durable.”
Tim Homewood of Philips said: “This collaboration is about using Armin’s experience to create an essential tool for the needs of professional DJs. It’s so much more than a simple endorsement – we created this headphone together from scratch.”
Philips and Armin Van Buuren clearly see the value in DJ endorsements, although they’re hardly first to the party. Here’s a short list of celebrity DJs and producers with “signature headphones”:
- Tiesto – AKG
- Mix Master Mike – Skullcandy
- Dr. Dre – Monster/Beats By Dre
- Ludacris – SOUL
- Steve Aoki – WeSC
- Pauly D – SMS Audio
At least the Philips model look good technically; the couplings are closed so we can’t see how durable they are internally, but they have dual-sided locking cable inputs and come with replaceable cushions. There are optional replaceable 80mm on-ear cushions “for on the go”, and replaceable 110mm over the ear “studio cushions” too. They fold, and have a genuine leather headband and coiled cable.
Are you swayed by celebrity DJ endorsements? If so, what would you like your favourite DJ to endorse next? No answer is too silly, let us know in the comments below!
Joey Santos
