Fender’s first headphones are the modular MIX, and they do something no other pair can

Too many things in our daily life are meant to be disposable. Things like wireless headphones are difficult to tear apart to replace parts, seeing as most manufacturers would rather have you purchase their upgraded model instead of repairing the pair you already own.

That was one of the first of many reasons why the Fender MIX caught my attention. Rather than soldering the battery in place, one of their major features is a removable and user-replaceable battery, alongside plenty of other modular design choices. They’re sleek, slick, and full of fun features, but are they more than a marketing gimmick?

8/10

Battery Life

100 Hrs, 52 w/ANC ON

Wireless?

Bluetooth / FWD Tx USB-C Wireless Transmitter (included)

Brand

Fender

Transducer Size

40mm

The Fender MIX Wireless Headphones blend premium high-fidelity audio performance with a modular, sustainable design built to last. Whether you are commuting through a busy city or creating in the studio, our Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation and Spatial Audio technology create a 360° immersive stage for every note.

Pros & Cons

• True Modularity
• Massive Battery Life
• FWD Tx Dongle Included
• Tactile Design

• Subpar Microphone Performance
• No Mobile App Support (Yet)
• Missing Premium Quality-of-Life Perks

Fender kindly provided us with a pair of Fender MIX headphones for this review. It had no input in this article and didn’t see any content before publishing.

Specifications and availability

The Fender MIX headphones are available from Fender for $299, available in Skyscraper Black or Olympic White.

A sustainable approach to premium audio

Modular design is incredibly cool in a world where everything is disposable

When you buy Apple AirPod Max headphones, you already know you’re in for the long haul. If the battery dies, you’ll need to send your device in for repair or replacement. Seeing as everything is modular here, that isn’t the case. Even with removable cups becoming more commonplace, the Fender MIX is smart about it. A user-removable battery, alongside a wireless, lossless USB-C dongle, hides behind the aforementioned removable memory foam cushions that hug your head without being too tight, even if you wear glasses. Sustainable materials that feel high-quality and durable. Rather than relying on touch controls, the Fender MIX has a Joystick, called a “multi-function button”, and it’s much better for it. They’re surprisingly comfortable to wear for a full day.

Track navigation, volume control, battery status, and Auracast can be quickly accessed with a few presses of this little joystick. Snuggled up next to this is an ANC button that activates standard ANC, Ambient Mode, or turns it off entirely. Advertised battery life is 100+ hours with ANC off, and roughly 52 hours with ANC turned on. I haven’t had to charge them once across roughly 2 weeks of use during work hours.

The cups pop off easily, and since everything connects via USB-C, you can MIX everything around without even a screwdriver. The ANC mode here is respectable. It’s not on the level of higher-priced headphones, but for drowning out typical noises in your daily life, it does a fantastic job. When my next-door neighbor was getting a tree cut down, it blocked out most of the noise, though chainsaws and crashing lumber still cut through. But when right next to a raging air purifier, I couldn’t hear a thing.

The Fender Sound

Crisp, clear, and maybe a little too bassy

Did you know that Fender teamed up with Volkswagen for a Special Edition Beetle? Over the past 9 years, I’ve grown accustomed to the “Fender Sound”. My daily driver features premium audio from the brand. I figured I knew what to expect, but I was curious to see if the brand had matured. The Fender MIX headphones are equipped with 40mm Graphene drivers, delivering crisp, clear audio quality. It doesn’t matter who listened to the MIX; they always walked away impressed with the clarity and sound quality delivered directly into their ears.

Testing a plethora of different musical offerings, ranging from Eat That Chicken by Charles Mingus to listening for the bongos in September by Earth, Wind, and Fire, I was incredibly pleased with the general sound quality.

However, there is currently no Fender MIX app available, and no way to adjust the EQ on these. There is a secondary flat button on the ear cup that can cycle through three presets for Music, Entertainment, and Voice. Music is great for just about everything, Voice is great for cutting through some of the muddier low-end. Fender has announced an app is coming, but for the $299 price tag, the app should have been available at launch.

For fans of thundering bass, it’s uncompromisingly here. At least the included lossless dongle can reduce the bass a touch. The FWD Tx is actually kind of a secret weapon. You can plug it into a Nintendo Switch, PS5, phone, or laptop to bypass the standard Bluetooth to stream 24-bit/96kHz, high-fidelity audio, with a low-latency mode that drops audio delay to less than 20ms. A 3.5mm headphone jack is also available for those who can’t snip the wire quite yet. The dongle’s physical button enables low-latency with a double-tap and Auracast with a triple-tap. Rather than digging through a phone menu, the physical practicality isn’t lost on me.

Not everything is a hit here

The Fender MIX is a great set of cans, but some flaws eke out

Compared to its higher-priced competition, the Fender MIX is a tremendous debut for the audio-centric company. But as with all debut projects, there are growing pains, starting with the microphone quality. They’re fine. But in a set of $300 headphones that are said to offer “crystal clear quality”, they fall flat. Compared to the ROG Pelta gaming headset and the standard microphone on my Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, there’s a clear loser here.

Seeing as other brands, such as CMF with the Nothing Headphones (a), can squeeze ANC, good mics, and good speakers into a package for $100 less, this level of performance isn’t acceptable at $300. Taking phone calls with these is a mixed bag, as I can hear anyone nice and clear, and I’ve heard multiple times that something doesn’t sound “right” on my end.

They also lack some features that other headphones in this price range offer, including pausing when removing them and Bluetooth Multipoint. Auracast allows other users to connect to stream music together, but I do wish that Multipoint were a thing here.

But honestly, I’d rather have sustainability over technology any day of the week, and on that front, the Fender MIX excels

Should you buy the Fender MIX?

Credit: Shaun Cichacki/MUO

You should buy the Fender MIX if:

• You want a pair of attractive, fully modular headphones
• Love the idea of sustainable build quality, rather than forcing users to upgrade
• Love the ability to connect to devices via Bluetooth or by USB-C dongle
• Enjoy the idea of physical interaction instead of virtual buttons

You shouldn’t buy the Fender MIX if:

• You take a lot of phone calls, as the microphone is subpar
• You want Premium ANC and other tools like MultiConnect
• You NEED an app to change things around

The Fender MIX do a lot of things right. Great audio quality paired with a sleek and stylish form factor, and the promise of sustainability make them very easy to recommend to most users. While mic quality is subpar, the MIX make up for it in many other ways. With an app coming, software updates could refine the pain points, and these headphones could get better with age.

But in an age where everything is meant to be disposable, the Fender MIX stands out. Modular design, sustainable materials, and user-replaceable parts without a PhD in Electrical Engineering; it’s an incredible set of options for a pair of headphones at this price. It makes the case for these being an “heirloom” product, and that’s something that other headphones in the same price range could never tout.

8/10

Battery Life

100 Hrs, 52 w/ANC ON

Wireless?

Bluetooth / FWD Tx USB-C Wireless Transmitter (included)

Brand

Fender

Transducer Size

40mm

The Fender MIX Wireless Headphones blend premium high-fidelity audio performance with a modular, sustainable design built to last. Whether you are commuting through a busy city or creating in the studio, our Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation and Spatial Audio technology create a 360° immersive stage for every note.