House of Marley Unveils a Sound Bar and Headphones at CES 2015

Not one to lag behind, House of Marley is also showing off new audio gear at the ongoing CES 2015 expo in Las Vegas. Its star attraction is the One Foundation sound system based on Qualcomm AllPlay, a smart media platform that aims to provide an open source environment for audio equipment to communicate with each other, regardless of the brand. It will be available for $799 in autumn (approximately Rs. 50,500).

The One Foundation is essentially a sound bar that has a custom-glazed oak wood finish with magnetic breakaway speaker grills. These grills hide the system's two 5.25-inch woofers and two 1-inch tweeters. House of Marley claims they have enhanced the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities for the One Foundation. The sound bar uses AllPlay to to stream music directly from the users' phones, tablets, local server or cloud.

"House of Marley is a lifestyle portrayed in every speaker, headphone or accessory that adorns the HoM logo," said Sam Vanderveer, Senior Vice President and General Manager, House of Marley. "In 2015 we continue to push the bar in personal and home audio systems with standout products that truly connect people with their music. Our new product lines tap into uncharted territory and promote a lifestyle that is House of Marley - superior quality, consciously crafted and cause minded."

In addition to the One Foundation, House of Marley also revealed re-skinned headphones and new ones as well. The Journey Bluetooth in-ear headphones feature a flexible loop, which is good for workouts as it secures it in place. It has Bluetooth with aptX, which can stream CD-like audio to the headset. It also has a microphone and a 3-button controller. They are priced at $129 (approximately Rs. 8,200) and ready to on sale sometime in summer.

House of Marley also unveiled two wired in-ear headphones, Mystic and Little Bird, a pair of on-ear headphones - Roar, and two over-the-ear headphones, Tribute and Legend. The Mystic has 9mm drivers whereas the Little Bird has slightly larger 9.2mm drivers. The Roar has 40mm drivers, an in-line microphone and a one-button controller. Tribute and Legend, both, feature 50mm and 40mm drivers, respectively. The Tribute has leather ear cushions while the Legend boosts of Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). The Mystic and Little Bird are both priced at $15 (approximately Rs. 1,000) each while the Roar is priced at $40 (approximately Rs. 2,500). These products are expected to hit the retail markets in another two months. On the other hand, Tribute and Legend are going to be more expensive propositions at $250 (approximately Rs. 15,800) and $280 each (approximately Rs. 17,700), and should be available sometime in autumn.

House of Marley has also added two speakers in its Chant line - Chant mini and Chant BT Sport. The Chant BT Sport can create a daisy chain with another BT Sport. The Chant Mini will be available in March for $50 (approximately Rs. 3,200) and Chant BT Sport for $100 (approximately Rs. 6,400) in June.