The idea of a Sonos headphone has been around for years, and aside from a few patents, there’s not been concrete news that’s surfaced. Until now, maybe.
British-based RHA Audio made earphones up until very recently. The last one we tested was the TrueControl ANC model, but since then things have become very quiet. So quiet that even other brands that do business with RHA Audio haven’t heard from them recently.
While their website is still live, RHA Audio’s Twitter account now has zero posts and little has been heard from their other social media accounts in quite some time.
The plot thickens when a search is made for RHA Audio via Companies House on Gov.UK. RHA Audio is now no longer known as RHA Technologies Limited as it was before. The change of name in the company occurred on June 4th 2021, with RHA Technologies Limited now registered as Origin North Limited. We have no idea what Origin North is a reference to, and a quick Google search brings up a defunct restaurant.
The next piece of news comes in October 2021, where Eddie Lazarus, Chris Mason and Maxime Bouvat-Merlin were appointed as directors for this newly named company. What makes this is interesting is that Eddie Lazarus serves as the Chief Legal Officer for Sonos, Chris Mason as the Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer and Maxime Bouvat-Merlin as the Senior Vice President, HW Products Development and Operations.
As of October 26th, 2021 (dated as taking place on October 8th), the Companies House lists the cessation of Andrew John Reid as a director for the company, Reid being one of the founders of RHA. On the same day is notification of Sonos as “person with significant control” – which equates to ownership of 75% or more in the company.
Given Sonos filed patents to the USPO in February of 2021 with regards to a design of a true wireless product, the involvement with RHA/Origin North would indicate progress is being made in terms of producing a pair of headphones.
Sonos has been moving outside the home with its Move and Roam products, as well as its car partnership with Audi, and this, if true, would continue that trend of extending Sonos’ reach into wireless portable products.
It remains to be seen just how far off a Sonos headphone is, but with this Companies House filing, it does feel much closer than it has ever been.
We’ve contacted Sonos for comment and it responded with the following: “Innovation remains the core of Sonos – both in the products we build and the culture that fuels them. Occasionally we will acquire teams, talent, and/or technology that augment our existing and future product roadmap. We do not have anything further to share at this time.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.