Here at Sound Gear Lab we generally offer headphone buying guides but we have an interest in the history of the headphone industry.

A History of Alpine Headphones

The Alpine Headphones Company was founded in 1985 and headquartered in the city of Fullerton, California. The company specialized in making headphones for both music and car audio use.

We will now take a look at their product line over the years as well as some other interesting facts about the company that produced those products.

Alpine Electronics, Inc

The first notable thing to mention is that Alpine Electronics, Inc. was founded in by France T. Fujitsu who wanted to create a line of car stereo equipment for amateurs and professionals alike.

Alpine Headphones was founded five years later by Fujitsu who wanted to expand his line of products to headphones.

The Early Headphone Models

Alpine Headphones releases “Reference” series studio headphones, consisting of the RSL-4, CRS-1 and RSQ-7 models. The differences between these units are very small compared to today’s headphones but this was a huge step for the company.

RSL-4 Model

The RSL-4 was the first combo model with both inline speakers and a microphone. Also, this model had slightly better sound quality than its predecessors.

CRS-1 Model

The CRS-1 was released in two different colors, black and champagne silver RSL-4 is built from scratch by a single person instead of being created through a factory process. This makes it one of the few handmade units ever to be made. 25 examples are made in this prototype unit CRS-1 model is released and the Reference Series comes to an end, making the RSL-4 model the last in its series.

RSQ-7 Model

The RSQ-7 was considered an amazing unit when it was released due to its compactness and what it could do despite this fact. It was one of finest car audio receivers ever made

Alpine’s Consumer Headphones

It wasn’t until 1994 when they introduced their first pair of consumer headphones, model number CDE-SXM30 . The first thing to note about these headphones is that they are aesthetically pleasing for their time period. They’re black with silver metallic highlights which give them a very modern look, especially for back in the ’90s.

The next notable models were manufactured from 1998 to 2000, and were popular among professional DJs. The models in question were the CDE-HD145 (pictured on the left), CDE-HD155 (pictured on the right), and CDE-HD165.

The next notable model was introduced three years later in 2003. It was a portable unit with detachable cords called the CDE-HD137BT (pictured on the right). It was constructed out of aluminum and included an attached cable with a microphone.

The next notable model was introduced six years later in 2009. The CDE-130BT was created for iPod, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7 mobile devices that had standard 3.5mm headphone connectors, CD players etc. It was a lot smaller in size than its predecessor and included buttons on the headphone that would allow users to play/pause, navigate, and alter volume without having to touch their mobile device. The company introduced a similar unit called the CDE-140BT in 2011 which had all of the same features but also had a built in microphone for making calls.

Alpine also has two other models in their headphone lineup. The CDE-143BT which is very similar to the CDE-130BT but instead of having just one button on the side, it had three which served different purposes depending on what was happening when the user pushed them. The second model is the CDE-H185 which is a car audio speaker for use with iPods, iPhones, Android devices and MP3 players. These speakers can be mounted on a wall or ceiling of a vehicle depending on where the user wishes to put them.

Alpine Headphones & The Apple Store

In 2013, Alpine introduced its first line of headphones for use with Apple products. They were the iLX-007, the iLX-700, and the iLX-007M. Since iPads don’t come with headphones, these models were designed to work perfectly with Apple iPad as well as iPhones, iPods, etc. They were briefly sold in Apple Stores until Alpine decided to take them off of the market. It is unclear as to why this decision was made however, some speculated that it had something to do with Apple phasing out 30-pin connector ports on their new mobile devices and going with a newer lightning port.

In March of 2014, Alpine introduced their new line of headphones known as the iLX-F309 , this model was created with the intention of being used on all types of mobile devices. It is considered to be one of their more popular units, despite its relatively high price point.

The next notable unit that Alpine introduced was the iLX-700FM in August 2015. This model was introduced in response to the growing popularity of Bluetooth technology. It was among one of their lower priced units and had a sleek design that would allow for it to blend in with its environment. These bluetooth headphones used lithium ion batteries which were rechargeable and allowed for 8 hours of continuous play time.

If you will have any problems about charging bluetooth headphones, you can read this article to help you how you can fix your charging issues.

Alpine Headphones TKR3

The most recent notable model that Alpine has introduced is the TKR3. This model is an update to their previous line of soundstage headphones and was introduced in 2017. This pair of closed back headphones (Alpine never made a pair of open back headphones) comes with a variety of features including: improved sound quality, improved noise isolation technology, and a longer lasting battery life.

These headphones were sold in the Apple Store until Alpine decided to halt production of their Apple products. There is speculation as to the total number of units that were created, but it is estimated that there are around 10,000 left in stock all over North America . It has also been reported by some customers that they have had success purchasing them through eBay and Amazon.

We also have an article discussing if you can use Bluetooth headphones on an airplane and other wireless devices.