Yamaha Design “Synapses” HPH-W300 / EPH-W53

2017 / HEADPHONE&EARPHONE

Bluetooth® headphones equipped with slant swivels, and Bluetooth® earphones equipped with stabilizers.

Honest

The HPH-W300 headphones feature a “slant-swivel” inclined to match the axis of the swivel mechanism to the angle of the ear, while the EPH-W53 has been designed with particular attention paid to making it easy to grip when worn. Their functionality was based around how they would be used on a daily basis, is expressed in the shape of their construction.

Tactile

The right housing features a touch panel that can be used to adjust volume. Pleasing to the touch, the housings are finished with a leather-like material that is fingerprint-resistant and gives an impression of softness, and have the Yamaha Tuning Fork Mark emblazoned at their center as a symbol of their reliability.

Intuitive

The concave shape that connects the eartip, stabilizer, and cable connection section takes a form that has been designed to be easy to grip and to wear. The stabilizer can be altered to match the varying ear shapes of different people, and serve as a stopper when the earphones are worn.

Dual-View

In contrast to the complex precision of their internal structure, we sought to make the outline of these products clean and simple, emphasizing their relaxed comfortable fit. Users can use these products wirelessly, giving them the freedom to enjoy listening to audio content in comfort both indoors and outdoors.

Takenori Ohmachi: Designer; Yamaha Design Laboratory

Ryo Hadano: Sound Engineer; Yamaha Audio Products Development Division

Built to be worn.

In a market where an extensive range of products featuring myriad different designs and functions appear one after the other, we began to think about what form consumer-model Bluetooth®-compatible headphones and earphones made by Yamaha should take. We offered a variety of proposals from a designer’s standpoint, and worked with engineers on the development of the products themselves.
In the HPH-W300, we completely revised the shape of the arm, and inclined the angle of the swivel mechanism axis by 15 degrees to match the angle of the human ear rather than aligning it in the direction of the headband. We also utilized the rounded rectangular ear pads that had been so well received in Yamaha’s stereo monitor headphones to provide an improved fit.
The EPH-W53 was designed to be easy to grip and wear, and difficult to dislodge. In a market where there are many different ways of wearing earphones in evidence, with the EPH-W53 we created a direct connection between the perception of something being easy to grasp and being easy to wear, and also utilized a stabilizer mechanism to make them difficult to dislodge. The diagonally sliced form of the section connecting the cable to the earphone body was adopted to facilitate cable management, and also served to differentiate the front and rear of the earphones.
Both of these products possess shapes that emerged out of the requirements of function rather than for any decorative purpose, and express their identity as Yamaha products. The diagonal rotating “slide swivel” mechanism of the HPH-W300 can be folded flat, allowing them to fit easily into a slim, flat business bag. The coloring and functionality of the EPH-W53 earphones allow users to feel comfortable for example, when they call into the gym on the way home from work. I hope that people will treasure these products in their daily lives, keeping them close at hand as partners that allow them to listen to audio content anywhere they happen to be.