Steven Lamar, the former Beats employee who is still involved in litigation against the company, has launched his own project for a line of headphones that double as a fashion statement.
Roam, Lamar's new venture, has launched Ropes earbuds for preorder. Available in graphite and black or graphite and orange, the earbuds are designed to be worn as an accessory as well as a listening device, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
"I do think we're affecting a behavioral change here, in getting people to wear their earphones all the time," Lamar told Businessweek. "That's going to take some time."
Ropes earbuds, which cost $299, consist of wire loops designed to go over the wearer's ears, with the buds themselves attached to short metal bars. The bottom of the device can connect to a music player as well as a second set of headphones. Ropes also has Bluetooth connection to communicate with a smartphone.
According to Lamar, the earbuds aren't just aesthetically striking--they also make for a better and more customizable listening experience. Ropes wearers can shift the sound dynamic for different kinds of music through a companion app.
That ability to customize the sound is vital for listeners, Lamar told The Verge.
"Everybody is different. Everybody hears things differently in the left ear than the right ear," he said. "I'm going to give you an app to personalize it the way you want to hear it."
Consumers can adjust settings for different kinds of music and then share those custom settings as suggestions for their friends.
Lamar, who filed a lawsuit against Beats when Apple agreed to buy the headphone maker earlier this year, has claimed that Beats is using his idea from 2006. The resulting legal tangle has not yet been resolved.
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