What does it mean for Fender — a brand synonymous with mid-century cool and electric guitars — to enter consumer audio? Unlike its traditional rival, Marshall, Fender has gone contemporary with its new line of headphones and portable speakers.
Back in the 2010s, Marshall made a name for itself with retro-styled headphones heavily inspired by its iconic guitar amplifiers. Fender isn’t tempted to do a direct translation, and that’s understandable. It’s 2026 — why would you want to do that?
ELIE speakers: the audio hub
An ELIE 12 in its natural habitat.
Let’s start with the ELIE portable speaker series, and contemporary is the name of the game here. On the surface, the ELIE looks like a typical ‘modern living’ speaker with wooden appointments that wouldn’t look out of place in an interior design photo spread.
However, what you get is basically a PA system built into an understatedly stylish, high-end speaker chassis. It’s a unique, if borderline strange, proposition that not many (if any) can claim to offer. But given its pricing of SGD 468 (ELIE 6, 60W) and SGD 588 (ELIE 12, 120W), you essentially have a 2-in-1 Bluetooth speaker with some specs typically found only in specialised PA systems that cost twice as much. However, unlike specialist equipment, ELIE uses a speaker combination of a tweeter, a full-range driver, and a subwoofer, making it suitable for regular music as well.
ELIE 6 is small but packs 60W of power.
Both ELIE 6 and ELIE 12 were designed to handle up to four simultaneous audio channels — Bluetooth, XLR or 1/4″ combo, and two dedicated wireless channels for upcoming Fender accessories. In other words, you can stream a backing track from your phone via LC3 (probably not professional-level low latency, but enough to work), plug in a keyboard or guitar via the XLR or 1/4″ combo jack, and use, say, a Fender low latency wireless microphone accessory, which has been touted though not officially confirmed. You can also connect a second speaker for true stereo mode and multiple speakers (up to 100) for a party setting.
This is also likely one of the few, if any, living room-style speakers that can deliver 48V Phantom power via the XLR, meaning you can power studio-level microphones.
This should appeal to musicians who want a compact practice rig at home, or someone who wants a simple way to sing along to songs with a ‘proper’ mic.
MIX Headphones: modularity in spades
Fender MIX that’s mix-and-matched.
On the one hand, the MIX headphones look like a niche or novelty offering, but they surprisingly check many boxes for mainstream users, including a minimalist aesthetic.
On paper, the headline specs read fairly familiar: 40mm graphene drivers, hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, dual mics for environmental noise cancellation. The battery endurance is generous — up to 100 hours (52 with ANC on) — though there has to be a point where we have to draw the line between ‘lazy to charge’ and ‘fit for purpose’.
The modular design is its most distinctive feature. While Fender shows off that you can mix and match headbands, earcups, and earpads for aesthetics, the ability to easily replace perishable parts like the earpads and headband is a bigger draw.
Easy to put together and take apart.
Fender stopped short of verbally committing to making all parts, including the earcups with built-in drivers, available as standalone purchases at the time of asking. However, the ease of replacing pleather-lined components and the battery is intended to support convenience and device longevity. So, if you’re looking for a pair of headphones for the long haul, knowing that the MIX has a user-replaceable battery will no doubt be a plus.
The battery is cleverly hidden beneath one of the earpads, while a FWD Tx USB-C transmitter is stored underneath the other. The transmitter supports LHDC-V (lossless for maximum performance), LC3 (maximise efficiency, stability, and low latency), and Auracast transmission (‘radio’ broadcast to multiple Auracast compatible headphones). These three options pretty much cover most needs, including long-suffering iPhone users who want high-resolution audio but have limited dongle options.
Fender’s new utilitarianism
As they would say these days, shred-pilling is mid-tier now — the age of boomer guitar gods in strangle-fit leather solomaxxing aura with boomer bends is cooked. Now it’s about utilitymaxxing in a zero-friction meta.
In this new generation with a penchant for offset designs (e.g., Jaguar over Stratocaster) and chic colours like seafoam green, and where a large segment of guitar players are women, it’s no surprise that the designs of these consumer devices lean contemporary — thank goodness they did not go eccentric uncle’s storeroom hoard with this.
It’s hard for an old chunk of coal like me to understand who needs a bedroom-to-busking setup like the ELIE, but I appreciate how it removes obstacles towards performing. In a way, it harks back to the principles behind founder Leo Fender’s original brutalist creation — the iconic Telecaster guitar — which was groundbreaking in the ease with which it facilitated assembly and repair.
It helps that the ELIE and MIX pack as many features as they do vibes, but it remains to be seen how those translate into real-world use. Fender has cannily placed itself in the premium tier for mainstream consumer devices rather than luxury audio brands, avoiding the pitfalls of managing legacy; instead, the onus is on the tech to work — and work well for the price.
ELIE 12 speakers land at SGD 588, while both the ELIE 6 and MIX headphones are SGD 468. Available starting April 2026 through the usual retail channels: Swee Lee, iStudio, Lazada, and the Fender Audio official store.
