November 30, 2007

MONTREAL— Sonomax Hearing Healthcare Inc has announced its partnership with Virgin Entertainment Group and plans for a retail launch in the United States of its custom-fit hi-fidelity earphones. 

Sonomax will officially introduce its technology for use with MP3 players, as well as cellular Bluetooth™ adaptors, gaming, and a wide variety of other audio devices, in the United States at two flagship Virgin Megastores in New York City and Los Angeles in early 2008. The Sonomax and Virgin Entertainment Group initiative responds to a marketplace where global sales of entertainment and communications devices with intra-ear applications, such as MP3s and Bluetooth headsets for telephony, will soon break the 500 million units-per-year mark, and sales are projected to surpass a billion units annually by 2010. 

With earphone sales currently tracking at 40% of MP3 device sales, the market is enormous. The introductory program will showcase Sonomax’s custom-fit earphones that use the company’s patented SonoCustom® and SonoPass® technologies. Sonomax reportedly will fit retail customers in a matter of minutes with custom-fit earphones that provide a verified total acoustic seal, which it says is the single most important element of industry professional grade sound quality.    

“In line with our mission to bring Virgin Megastore customers the best in entertainment technology, we are delighted to partner with Sonomax on this exciting initiative as we believe we are leading MP3 users into a new era of audio entertainment,” says Dee McLaughlin, vice president of marketing for Virgin Entertainment.  “The 60-day program will tell us a great deal about the receptiveness of consumers to a device that provides them with high quality sound, as well as long-wearing comfort due to the precision of Sonomax’s expansion technology.”    

“Virgin Megastores is one of the world’s premiere brands, and we are extremely proud to work with such a key influencer in the consumer entertainment marketplace,” says Nick Laperle, president of Sonomax.  “Our project aims to accelerate a shift in the area of personal audio, and we are very confident that our program in New York and Los Angeles will convincingly demonstrate our technology’s new benchmarks in performance, comfort, and safety, and will lead to a bright future for Sonomax with Virgin Entertainment.”

Virgin Entertainment Group is reportedly the world’s leading multi-channel music and entertainment retailer, providing customers with a range of entertainment experiences through a family of  integrated Virgin-branded businesses.

Source: Sonomax