Fender is trying its luck at headphones now.

Excuse us... We mean "in-ear monitors".

The American guitar manufacturer - well known for its Strat and Tele electric beasts - has unleashed its first ever range of in-ear headphones. These aren't amateur ear pieces, of course, as they can cost up to $500 a pair. At launch, there are five models available (called DXA1, FXA2, FXA5, FXA6, and FXA7), with pricing starting at $100 a pop. In other words: they're not cheap.

The entry ones, which come with a semi-transparent grey shell, are for listening to music from a smartphone and while "offstage". Interesting. The more expensive models feature metal frames in various colours and have been 3D-printed into a specific shape that's based on thousands of scanned ears - so they'll fit “95 percent of ears like an expensive custom-molded monitor".

Fender's recently-acquired Aurisonics is the brand making them out of Nashville, and in fact, some of the new models are retooled versions of existing products. Every model features custom designed drivers and unique internals. Select models, for instance, have something called Hybrid-Dynamic tuned Balanced Armature Array for a "full frequency response with substantial bass".

It's worth heading over to Fender's site to explore each of the headphones yourself. The range varies in not only price but also specs. We haven't tested them yet so can't be sure of their quality, but based on Fender's history with guitars, we imagine they're pretty top-notch.