Tim McGraw launches line of signature headphones

[May 11, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Country music star Tim McGraw says his daughters love wearing his new headphones around the house. Just don't ask them to go past the front door.

"It's tough to get them to go outside of the house," McGraw joked of his three daughters, ages 10, 13 and 14, who balk at being seen wearing the headphones, which prominently feature his signature. "I'm probably the most uncool person they know in their eyes."

His wife, Faith Hill, isn't embarrassed. "She wears them all the time, and was a big part of their design," McGraw says.

McGraw is the first country artist to have his own line of headphones. The JBL Tim McGraw Artist Series was created in partnership with Harman International Industries and includes both on-ear and in-ear styles.

The singer says he's a "Neanderthal when it comes to electronics," but knows what he likes and insisted on creating the proper acoustic soundscape. And because he has 32 No.1 hits under his belt, he knows something about the sound of music.

"The main thing was getting the sound the way I liked it, going through prototypes and saying, `I like the bass a little sharper here, I like the midrange a certain way,'" he says.

McGraw is also joining Paul McCartney and Maroon 5 in JBL's "Hear the truth" campaign. Too many artists, he says, go through fads, but the ones that last have "the truth inside their soul."

"And to be involved with Paul McCartney is a huge deal to me."

McGraw felt the cost of the headphones should be affordable. They retail for $129.95 for an over-the-ear model and less than $50 for an in-ear version.

Harman launched "Hear the truth" for JBL last year with a multimedia campaign featuring Maroon 5 and international superstar A.R. Rahman. In February, McCartney was introduced as a "Hear the truth" artist during the Grammy Awards.

McGraw is currently in rehearsal for his summer stadium tour with Kenny Chesney.

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Online:

http://www.timmcgraw.com/

[Associated Press; By JOHN CARUCCI]

John Carucci covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/jcarucci_ap.

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