Company Announces New Partnership with Elite Hearing, LLC - the Largest Network of Independent Hearing Healthcare Providers in the United States, Further Broadening HyperSound Clear's Distribution Channel
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Turtle Beach Corporation (NASDAQ: HEAR), the leading-edge audio technology company, today announced that after nearly two years of development and preparation, its groundbreaking hearing healthcare device – HyperSound Clear™ – has officially launched and is now being sold to consumers through hearing healthcare providers. Turtle Beach began fulfilling initial pre-orders for HyperSound Clear in October, and the Company is now executing a controlled rollout of the product to a small group of hearing healthcare providers through the end of 2015, and will further expand HyperSound Clear availability in early 2016. Additionally, the Company has vastly broadened its network of providers via a new distribution partnership with Elite Hearing, LLC, the largest network of independent hearing healthcare providers in the United States. Elite Hearing is part of Amplifon USA, a subsidiary of Amplifon S.p.A. – the global leader in hearing healthcare for more than 65 years, and currently supports more than 1,600 member locations across the U.S. Through this new partnership, consumers will be able to purchase HyperSound Clear through Elite Hearing's network of hearing healthcare providers.
"With a completely new type of consumer technology like this, our priority for HyperSound Clear is to bring it into the market at the right pace versus attempting to maximize revenue early-on," said Rodney Schutt, Senior Vice President and General Manager for the HyperSound business at Turtle Beach Corporation. "We are deliberately introducing HyperSound Clear into the channel slowly, which allows us to better monitor and integrate feedback from our partners and focus on customer satisfaction. Our current production schedule through the end of the year is limited and already fully allocated, and we're on-track to deliver product to a smaller subset of our hearing healthcare partners first, with the expectation that by the end of Q1 next year we'll have increased our manufacturing output and the number of hearing healthcare partner locations that carry HyperSound Clear."
HyperSound® technology is a fundamentally new approach to sound delivery that generates a highly directional, narrow beam of audio in the air. Similar to how a flashlight directs a beam of light, HyperSound Clear directs a beam of audio to targeted listeners, which has been shown to significantly improve sound clarity and speech intelligibility in individuals with hearing loss1. HyperSound Clear works in parallel with the audio from the TV or home theater system, so a person with hearing loss will experience immersive, 3D audio when sitting in the HyperSound beam, while everyone else in the room hears audio from the TV speakers or home theater system at a normal volume level. This means that people with hearing loss, along with family members and friends, can once again return to the family room to enjoy the latest home entertainment together. Additionally, HyperSound Clear will be programmed by a hearing healthcare professional to a specific user's hearing profile to deliver optimal results, and is customizable for up to two individuals.
HyperSound Clear is available for a MSRP of $1,675, and consumers interested in purchasing it should speak with their hearing healthcare provider. Additionally, through its partnership with CaptionCall® Turtle Beach is offering complimentary white glove installation for a limited time for each HyperSound Clear unit sold in the U.S., where the Company will install and setup the first-of-its-kind directed audio solution for people with hearing loss for the optimal home listening experience. Once purchased, programmed and brought home, patients in the U.S. will be contacted by a member from CaptionCall to schedule the complimentary in-home installation.
Researchers estimate that one in five Americans, and one in three people over age 65, suffer from hearing loss. Impacting over 48 million Americans, hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition in the United States. An estimated 360 million people worldwide suffer from some form of hearing loss, and HyperSound Clear offers a new way for people living with hearing loss to once again enjoy home entertainment.
To learn more about HyperSound technology and HyperSound Clear, please visit the official website at http://hypersoundhearing.com.
About Turtle Beach Corporation
Turtle Beach Corporation (www.turtlebeachcorp.com) designs leading-edge audio products for the consumer, commercial and healthcare markets. Under the Turtle Beach brand (www.turtlebeach.com), the Company markets a wide selection of quality gaming headsets catering to a variety of gamers' needs and budgets, for use with video game consoles, including officially-licensed headsets for the Xbox One and PlayStation®4, as well as for personal computers and mobile/tablet devices. Under the HyperSound brand (www.hypersound.com), the Company markets pioneering directed audio solutions that have applications in digital signage and kiosks, consumer electronics and healthcare. The company's shares are traded on the NASDAQ Exchange under the symbol: HEAR.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking information and statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Except for historical information contained in this release, statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events. Forward looking statements are based on management's statements containing the words "may", "could", "would", "should", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "target", "project", "intend" and similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current belief, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management.
While the Company believes that its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurances that its goals and strategy will be realized. Numerous factors, including risks and uncertainties, may affect actual results and may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made by the Company or on its behalf. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the substantial uncertainties inherent in acceptance of existing and future products, the difficulty of commercializing and protecting new technology, the impact of competitive products and pricing, general business and economic conditions, risks associated with the expansion of our business including the implementation of any businesses we acquire, our indebtedness, and other factors discussed in our public filings, including the risk factors included in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company's other periodic reports. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company any is under no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement after the date of this release whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
1 Mehta, R., Mattson, S., & Seitzman, R., Kappus, B. (2015, August). Speech recognition in the sound field: directed audio vs. conventional speakers. Audiology Online, Article 14901. Retrieved from http://www.audiologyonline.com.
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SOURCE Turtle Beach Corporation
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