You like going places and listening to music. You pack
lightly when you travel, because it’s all about the experience and ease. You don't want to carry a
separate music player for two reasons -- first, they are expensive, and second, you already have your phone! So, you
load your music onto your phone, pack your favorite headphones and go!
But, something’s not right. The music sounds caged-in. It
lacks impact, clarity, and emotion. Your music doesn't sound alive. The
sound is not what you're used to because your phone is not an audiophile
device! It was designed with the average consumer in mind, so it includes mid-grade parts
to save costs.
Most people wouldn't hear the sonic difference because they grew up
listening to MP3s, and they don’t know any better. But you hear the difference, and this gets frustrating. Fortunately, there is an answer!
It’s called HiFi-Skÿn and it
comes from CEntrance, a leader in personal audio. For the last 15 years we've built equipment for recording studios, performance stages and broadcast facilities
worldwide. We've designed mixing consoles, recording equipment, and home stereo
systems for music professionals – the most demanding ears out there.
HiFi-Skÿn is the answer to the phone sound blues. We used our years of experience in designing quality audio products and packaged an awesome
playback system inside of a phone case! Now you can carry the phone with you, do
your work AND listen to music in a whole new way. Leave the expensive music player behind. You no longer
need it. Your iPhone is now a work-and-play device with great sound quality
and a longer battery life.
You voted for these additions and we are working hard to make them happen. Thank you for helping us meet these goals and add to what's already shaping up to be and incredible product! Share this campaign with friends and family!
We reached the first four goals and made tons of improvements. We redesigned HiFi-Skÿn's headphone amplifier. We redesigned the power supply and gave you an easier charging method -- use any USB charger (however iPad charger is preferred due to higher power.) We've worked hard to deliver even better sound quality via an upgraded D/A converter. We are giving you three colors to choose from! Next, we have a custom high-resolution playback app! Help us make these goals a success! Donate to the campaign now!
Earlier on in the product design cycle, we felt that 130 mW of output power would be sufficient to drive the majority of headphones, so we designed that into the product. But during the campaign we got a lot of useful customer feedback, and one of the more persistent requests was for hotter output.
So, we upgraded the Classic Amp to Super Amp, to deliver 210 mW of power. Yet, somehow that still didn't feel like a breakthrough, so we pushed further and also upgraded the power supply to deliver a total of over 300 mW! This covers pretty much all headphones on the market, making HiFi-Skyn an extremely versatile DAC/Amp that gives you extra dynamic range, lowers the distortion and helps control the noise floor, so that music is the only thing reaching your ears.
This new amp plus power supply combo is called "Amp Extreme". It will be standard on all units that will retail at $499
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So why do I need a HiFi-Skÿn?
Problem 1: Your iPhone is no match for your cool headphones
The smartphone is a great digital music player, but its audio quality sucks! You may have awesome headphones, but your iPhone won’t get the best out of them—the sound will be muddy, lack clarity and punch, to say nothing about feeble bass.
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If you are into audio quality, these headphones are the real deal. Your iPhone doesn't support these headphones. That's the first problem we decided to solve.
Problem 2: Audiophiles have to put up with an ugly setup
Today's headphone enthusiasts have to carry several devices with them, because no one device does everything right. But given the choice, which option would you prefer—an ugly stack of boxes or a slick handheld? We think it's the slick handheld.
Experience the "Before and after"! From an ugly stack of devices to an elegant phone case that does it all!
Who wants to carry several devices on a trip, on a long flight, or even on the commute to work? They can get lost, your luggage gets heavy, and what if one cable or component goes bad? You would lose the entire setup!
Leave the component stereo system at home. The days of mixing and matching a portable amplifier to the DAC, to the battery, to the player are gone. We let you use what you already have in your pocket and add what's missing. Your iPhone offers a great, reliable user interface and what we add is a superb-sounding DAC and Amp.
Plus, we are adding an internal battery, which powers the DAC/Amp independently, but can also deliver power to your phone, if needed. We have engineered it all to fit inside the phone case, so you truly carry one device only -- no cables, no bulky pieces, no fuss!
We designed HiFi-Skÿn to solve all of these problems.
We engineered HiFi-Skÿn to take the digital signal out of your phone, process it using the same technology found in our award-winning audiophile products, and amplify it to a powerful, crystal-clear signal that will drive any headphones, with pristine highs and powerful bass. With HiFi-Skÿn, you can have a world-class music player in your pocket, occupying little more space than your iPhone!
A smart case for your smart phone
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The CEntrance HiFi-Skÿn is a sound card inside the phone case. It delivers your music in pristine audio fidelity and on top of that, packs a long-lasting battery to charge your phone while playing! Besides audiophile sound quality, it features a powerful amp that works with most sophisticated headphones on the market. HiFi-Skÿn is perfect for those extended shifts at work, on long flights, or at home, when you need some quality tunes but the phone's buzzy sound just wouldn't cut it.
No more compromises. Leave your music player at home. Carry one device that's perfect for both music
and communication—your phone wrapped in a HiFi-Skÿn.
No bulk, no extra components, no unsightly rubber bands holding things together! Your phone will slide right into HiFi-Skÿn, and the built-in battery can recharge your phone, or allow you to listen for up to 10 hours! Besides that, HiFi-Skÿn acts as a shock-absorbing case for your valuable phone.
Turn your iPhone into an audiophile music player—TODAY!
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Who we are
CEntrance owes its reputation to thousands of users and owners of our products, all around the world. Starting out as designers behind today's famous audio brands, CEntrance now has many of its own products on the market. Our products are endorsed by Hollywood's famous producers, mastering engineers and musicians: people who demand quality— just like you do!—and whose livelihoods depend upon our products.
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Our list of endorsers includes Harry Shearer from This is Spinal Tap, John Kapelos from Law and Order, David Bryson from Counting Crows, Richard Fortus, who plays with Guns and Roses, Rihanna, and Britney Spears; David Hampton, recording engineer for Prince and many others!
CEntrance recording products are used by the following famous broadcasters:
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With CEntrance, you can rely on audio quality, build quality and value.
CEntrance in the Media
We've been profiled in numerous media publications. Here is a small sampling.
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Our motto is "Making Audio Personal™" and we believe that you don't need to pay thousands of dollars for a great sounding system. Over the years we have perfected portable audio technology and learned how to shrink an audiophile system down in size. All these years spent refining portable audio gear resulted in the HiFi-Skÿn—the ultimate Audiophile System for your iPhone!
Proof of our quality
We're CEntrance: A world leader in digital audio. You’ll see our professional products in recording and broadcast studios all over the world. Our personal audio products are killer, too: CNET called our HiFi-M8 “The best-sounding headphone amp ever tested.”
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Our DACmini was featured on the cover of Stereophile magazine!
Just look at the industry awards given to CEntrance over the years:
Industry Awards for CEntrance
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Given our background, you wouldn't expect us to settle for mediocre sound quality—and we didn’t! We used our expertise with audiophile products to transform the audio system of your phone and dramatically improve you music enjoyment.
What does HiFi-Skÿn do?
HiFi-Skÿn does three things:
It plays hi-res music: Your iPhone can store high-resolution music, but you won't hear it with the ear buds. To access your phone's true playback potential, you need an external DAC and a headphone amplifier. HiFi-Skÿn supports asynchronous digital streaming and mastering-level sound up to 24-bit / 192 kHz resolution, dramatically improving sound quality compared to your iPhone's audio jack.
It charges your phone: We've built in a powerful, 1-Amp charging circuit that will recharge your phone TWICE AS FAST as a typical USB port. When on the go, HiFi-Skÿn can use its own battery to power-boost your phone, saving you in a bind.
It protects your investment: We've chosen attractive, impact-resistant poly-carbonate plastic to make a phone case that is both stylish and tough under everyday use. The elegant enclosure protects the battery, audio electronics and controls inside—and keeps your investment safe.
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HiFi-Skÿn features at a glance
Borrowing from our DACmini Desktop DAC and HiFi-M8 portable DAC, we used expensive, audiophile-grade components such as D/A converters, amplifiers and power supplies to dramatically raise the bar on sound quality. HiFi-Skÿn makes it possible to listen to hi-res files on your phone. Here are the main features:
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Now your iPhone can play better, longer, while staying safer!
Impressions from CES 2015
Several audio journalists and early adopters came up to our booth at CES 2015 to experience the product. Everyone loved the sound, portability and features of the HiFi-Skÿn. There was a lot of excitement in the air. People cannot wait to get this product!
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Who is HiFi-Skÿn for?
You may have invested in awesome headphones, but when you plug them into the phone, something's missing from your music. It just doesn't sound the same as it does on your home system or your desktop system... It just isn't ALIVE. If this is painfully familiar, then HiFi-Skÿn is for you. It'll breathe LIFE into your music.
A quick checklist:
- Not ready to give up your iPhone 5 yet? Add hi-res sound and an extra battery, and get awesome audio playback quality that is future-proof with DSD support!
- Planning to upgrade to iPhone 6? Your old iPhone 5 can now become a music player with extended battery life!
- Have an iPod Touch 5G with lots of music on it? HiFi-Skÿn will fit it perfectly, and is a great way to get a hi-res music player with a familiar interface, for less.
The HiFi-Skyn story
HiFi-Skÿn has been in development for well over a year. The design goal was always simple -- improve sound quality of the most popular phones in the world. But making the product so small was a challenge: components reserved for audiophiles are typically larger than consumer-grade parts. But nevertheless, we kept trying.
First, we released HiFi-M8, a portable iPhone DAC/amp, which was extremely popular, but just a bit big. Then we released Mini-M8, which was 30% thinner, but STILL a little big for everyday use.
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We kept pushing the boundaries and eventually packed all circuitry into something as tiny as a phone case. We are finally happy with what we've got and cannot wait to bring this product to you!
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Miniaturizing HiFi-Skÿn required modern SMT technology and precision assembly equipment. Today we already have a network of reliable production suppliers. When planning this project, we worked to minimize any cost, logistics and quality risks. This reduces the "gotchas" and speeds up the delivery to you.
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As of today, we have fully functional samples and design is ready for production. The technology used in HiFi-Skÿn is already proven -- it comes from our award-winning HiFi-M8, Mini-M8 and other products.
We showed HiFi-Skÿn prototypes at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver in October 2014, and the hardcore headphone enthusiasts at CanJam loved it! We made more tweaks and will be showing the updated product at CES, January 2015.
What will I get?
Until now, high-end sound carried a high price tag. We know—our own award-winning HiFi-M8 and Mini-M8 cost $700 each. That's because we make them in smaller quantities to satisfy the needs of audiophiles. This product is different. We are going to reduce the cost due to larger production volumes and pass the savings on to you.
HiFi-Skÿn's retail price will be $399. But Indiegogo contributors such as yourself will have access to a limited number of attractive perks. These deals won't last, so act now to take advantage of exceptional savings! But it gets even better—you can make money by simply sharing this campaign with your friends across all of your social media channels (facebook, twitter, instagram, reddit, head-fi, etc.)
Share and get free gear!
"Get a Free Skyn for referring 10 contributors!"
If you send your campaign link to your friends and ten of them contribute, we will give you a free Skyn! You don't need to contribute yourself.
Important: Use the sharing tool at the top of the campaign. Your sharing link is unique -- that's the link you need to send to your friends. That's how we will know how many contributors you have referred. Your link will look something like this:
http://igg.me/at/hifi-skyn/x/111111
Note: 111111 is a bogus number, your own number will be different.
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Selecting the model to match your phone
Selecting the model that fits your phone is simple—just let us know which phone you have and we will send you the correct HiFi-Skÿn model. After you contribute, we will contact you to clarify your phone's model. But if you change your phone in the meantime—don't worry—until we start shipping you can still change your mind.
We currently support iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPod Touch 5th Generation. We plan to add more phones, including android phones, as we reach campaign milestones. Stay tuned for more info on that!
Regarding the colors, we will start with black and will be adding new colors as campaign milestones are met. We will ask about your preference now and will give you a chance to change your pick, as more colors may become available later.
Product Specifications
DIMENSIONS: |
172 mm x 64 mm x 20 mm (LxWxH) * |
CASE MATERIAL: |
Impact-resistant PC plastic, colors TBD |
POWER: |
AC adapter & rechargeable battery |
BATTERY LIFE: |
10 hrs on full charge (estimated) |
AUDIO TRANSFER: |
Lightning jack, asynch digital audio |
OUTPUT JACK: |
3.5 mm headphone plug |
THD+N: |
.001% (estimated for Amp Extreme) |
FREQ. RESPONSE: |
20Hz...40kHz (Amp Extreme) |
OUTPUT POWER: |
300 mW per channel (32 Ohm load, est for Amp Extreme) |
COMPATIBILITY: |
iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPod Touch 5G |
* Dimensions listed for the Phone 5 model
Why did we pick that name?
In many Scandinavian languages, the word "Skyn" means "sensation". As audiophiles ourselves, we know what it feels like when the music fidelity is so good, it seems like the band is playing right in front of you in the room. That true sensation of "being there" is what this product is designed to deliver. Users of our products are amazed with the audio quality that lets them rediscover their entire music collections. We want you to have the same experience, on the go. Try it and you will be a believer. You won't go back to iPhone's headphone jack ever again!
Let's work together!
We are obsessed with sound quality, but we don't develop products in isolation -- we prefer to include the user in the process. This is your chance to shape what's next. HiFi-Skÿn is our fourth crowd-sourcing effort. Previous projects, co-developed with the community went extremely well. We listen to your feedback, stay in a dialog, and implement your requests when selecting features and design.
By pledging your support, you can help us increase the amount of product we can order from the factory, as well as accelerate the speed, with which we can get it into your hands. This in turn lowers production costs and helps us make the product more affordable. Your support will be a vital spark in growing a company obsessed with creating the best sounding, most liberating audio devices in the world.
Please support us today and help us fight bad sound on this planet!
Risks & Challenges
This is not our first product. We already have many products on the market, so the risks are minimized due to our experience.
We have a goal of shipping units in March 2015. Your support will help us speed up mass-production, acquire parts and tooling, and hire additional manpower to get units shipping asap. If we don't meet the funding goal, we will still continue with the project and will bring this revolutionary product to market. We believe in this product concept and will make it happen. We've done this on our own with DACport, DACmini, HiFi-M8, and other products, but here we are looking to speed things up via crowd-funding. So speed the main risk, which you can help mitigate by contributing today. Help us deliver the product as fast as possible!
Other Ways You Can Help
Please spread the word about this product across all of your social media channels and don't forget to use the Indiegogo share tools!
If you send your campaign link to your friends and ten of them contribute, we will give you a free Skyn! You don't need to contribute yourself.
Important: Use the sharing tool at the top of the campaign. Your sharing link is unique -- that's the link you need to send to all friends. That's how we will know how many contributors you have referred. Your link will look something like this:
http://igg.me/at/hifi-skyn/x/111111
Note: 111111 is a bogus number, your own number will be different.
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Share your link and let people know about it on facebook, twitter, instagram, reddit, head-fi and other sites! Make some noise!
This way you can win free products from CEntrance just for sharing. That's our way of saying thanks.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Will HiFi-Skÿn bypass the internal iPhone DAC?
- What can you say about the HiFi-Skÿn sound signature?
- Will there be enough power to drive demanding headphones?
- Does it output a digital signal to leverage an outboard DAC?
- I live in a foreign country. Can you ship to my address?
- Is there a gain switch to accomodate different headphones?
- Is it also possible to have the Skyn as a pure DAC to a desktop amp?
- Is the phone easy to remove with little wear to the case?
- When do I select the phone model? What happens if I change my phone later?
- Will streaming from TIDAL be supported? What other means are there for playing hi-res FLAC or DSD files?
- Why does an established company such as CEntrance need crowdfunding?
Will HiFi-Skÿn bypass the internal iPhone DAC?
Yes. HiFi-Skÿn bypasses the iPhone sound system and uses our award-winning technology and audiophile-grade components to dramatically improve the audio quality over the stock iPhone. It's our mission to upgrade the sound quality of the phone, and we will work hard to make sure you are not disappointed!
Back to FAQ
What can you say about the HiFi-Skÿn sound signature?
The CEntrance "House Sound" is described as clean and natural. Our award-winning HiFi-M8 was called "The Best Amp/DAC ever tested" by CNET. Our DACmini CX was featured on the cover of Stereophile magazine. You should expect HiFi-Skÿn to sound similar to those two products.
Back to FAQ
Will there be enough power to drive demanding headphones?
Initial amplifier was rated at 160mW per channel, which is very impressive. But you demanded more power and once the stretch goal is met, we will upgrade the amp to what's used in HiFi-M8 or DACmini CX. Those two products are known to drive almost any headphones with clean, pitch-black noise floor.
Back to FAQ
Does it output a digital signal to leverage an outboard DAC?
As a "Made-for-iPhone" certified vendor, we are not allowed to provide digital output for copyright reasons. But rest assured, the DAC inside the DACmini CX, which got us on the cover of Stereophile, is the same DAC you will get with the HiFi-Skÿn. You will not be disappointed!
Back to FAQ
I live in a foreign country. Can you ship to my address?
We will ship worldwide. We use FedEx and provide the tracking number as soon as the unit is shipped. We still need to estimate the overall weight of the package. When it's close to shipping time, we will contact you separately about the shipping fee.
Back to FAQ
Is there a gain switch to accommodate different headphones?
Yes, the gain switch is included. It controls the output level and has three positions: IEMs, Line out, Overhead headphones.
Back to FAQ
Is it also possible to have the Skÿn as a pure DAC to a desktop amp?
Yes. The 3.5mm headphone jack also functions as a line level output, so you can feed that to powered speakers or a larger amp. Just make sure you move the gain switch to the middle position to ensure line-level output.
Back to FAQ
Is the phone easy to remove with little wear to the case?
We are working with poly-carbonate plastic, which is both strong and flexible. We have designed the cover to be easy to remove and replace.
Back to FAQ
When do I select the phone model? What happens if I change my phone later?
Your contribution covers all listed phone models. We will ask you about your phone model and preferred color when we are ready to ship.
Back to FAQ
Will streaming from TIDAL be supported? What other means are there for playing hi-res FLAC or DSD files?
Streaming from Tidal and many other services is supported. Several applications already support high-res files, including Onkyo. We are considering our own application and may feature that as a stretch goal later.
Back to FAQ
Why does an established company such as CEntrance need crowdfunding?
Great question. We use crowdfunding because it is also crowdsourcing, a way to connect with our customers and discuss features of a new product. This helps us make sure we design products that people enjoy using.
Back to FAQ
With CEntrance, you can rely on audio quality, build quality and value. We've been profiled in numerous media publications. Here is a small sampling.