Polk’s Headphone Sales Will Match Its Speaker Volume in 5-7 Years, CEO Says

Polk Audio became the latest company to join the headphone fray Tuesday evening when it launched a line of sports headphones. The line of four sports models is the beginning of a major push into the general headphone category, CEO Jim Minarik said. “More people listen to music through headphones than any other way,” he told us, saying the 30-year-old company “needs to be in this space.” Within 5-7 years, Polk’s headphone business will be as big as its loudspeaker business, Minarik said.

Because Polk’s history is in the audio business, products in its headphone debut “had to be right, had to be perfect, so it took awhile,” Minarik said. When Polk first identified the sports headphone market as its launch segment, “there was really no one else there,” Minarik said, saying Sennheiser beat Polk to that niche. As the company expands its lineup, models will have “much higher acoustical performance,” he said.

Called UltraFit, the sports line is featured in a national magazine and digital advertising campaign featuring professional athletes including defender Heather Mitts of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team; National Basketball Association forward Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies; Thad Young, an NBA forward with the Philadelphia 76ers; and Paul Rabil, midfielder with the Boston Cannons Major League Lacrosse team.

The sports line began selling Wednesday at retailers including Polk’s direct site, J&R Music World, Fry’s Electronics, Amazon, Crutchfield, Newegg and InMotion Entertainment, which operates 60 stores in airports around the country, said Joe Phelps, director of sales for personal audio. Phelps, who had long-term stints with Sennheiser and Bose, said Polk is looking at nontraditional retailers, too, including sports stores and gyms. Polk is also in talks with Chelsea Piers, a sports complex in Manhattan, he said.

Polk is in discussions with Apple for its retail stores, Phelps told us, saying the top three models pack three-button in-line controls for iPods and iPhones. Apple approved the controls before manufacture, a Polk spokesman said, which cleared the way for Apple compatibility to be listed on product packaging.

Polk saw an opportunity to differentiate in the sports market, where many of the existing headphones are “junk” and “throwaway products,” Minarik said. Polk’s strategy is to deliver “high-performance, reliable and durable” headphones, and the company is backing the line with a 2-year “no-questions-asked” warranty, he said. “People buy $20 headphones, use them and throw them away in 3-6 months,” he said. “This product is designed to last and we're very comfortable with the warranty period.” Polk will expand its 2011 headphone offerings with active noise-canceling models in time for the Christmas sales season, Minarik said. An in-ear model will sell for $150, and the over-ear model, which will be “highly competitive with other brands,” will retail for $300-$350, he said.

To develop the sports headphones, 2 years in the making, the company brought in an audiologist to study the structure of the ear physically and acoustically, Minarik told reporters. He said Polk “solved problems” in the way headphones rest on the ear and how sound waves are introduced into the ear canal. Consumers can bend ear frames to secure the phones to their ears while working out, he noted. Suggested retail prices are $49 for the in-ear UltraFit 500, $69 for the in-ear UltraFit 2000, $69 for the on-ear UltraFit 2000 and $99 for the in-ear UltraFit 3000, the company said. Each model comes with a zippered case, “tangle-free” audio cable, and a selection of ear pads or ear tips in different sizes, it said.