British company Ashdown Engineering is renowned for its bass guitar amps, which are used by U2, The Who, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, and many others. However, their consumer audio under the Ashdown Meters brand is also noteworthy, with a prime example being the Ashdown Meters Linx set of TWS headphones and Bluetooth speakers. The concept revolves around a central charging case for the TWS headphones, which also features a vintage Ashdown volume meter with real-time music-responsive lighting.
Key features include:
- Two speakers with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity
- 3 hours of standalone use, touch controls, IPX4 water resistance
- Meters SAI (Seamless Audio Integration)
- 5-band user-customizable equalizer
The pair of compact wireless speakers, with IPX-rated protection, can be placed up to 10m apart and are equipped with specially tuned 2.5-inch full-range drivers, providing sufficient sound for a desktop or small room.
Essentially, the Meters Linx headphones and speakers form a well-designed wireless set that can also switch to Bluetooth receiver mode when the headphones are placed in the charging case. The headphone design resembles custom in-ear monitors used by musicians, featuring a specially engineered balanced armature driver combined with a 7mm dynamic driver. When taken out of the charging case, they offer 6 hours of uninterrupted use, while the case itself can provide an additional 24 hours of battery life.
The Linx TWS headphones feature the Qualcomm QCC3020 chip, which supports aptX Adaptive for low-latency audio and high-resolution audio codecs. Meters Linx also boasts a 24-bit passthrough audio pipeline with high-performance digital-to-analog converters for high-resolution sound reproduction. The QCC chipset also supports echo and noise cancellation with cVc (clear voice capture) technology for making calls. Intuitive touch controls on the left and right earbuds allow for playback/pause, volume adjustment, track skipping, and other functions.
A built-in motion sensor detects when the headphones are in use, optimizing battery charge. When users place the Linx headphones back into the charging case, the Linx speakers, featuring the QCC3020 chip, automatically power on, ensuring seamless music switching. These speakers have the same Bluetooth range as the headphones (10 meters) and can also be charged via USB-C. The built-in 600mAh battery provides 3 hours of playback or talk time after a 1-hour charge.
Package includes:
- 2 wireless speakers
- USB-C cable
- Documentation