TDM. launches Neo headphones that transform into a Bluetooth speaker with a simple twist

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Ever turned up to a hangout with headphones around your neck and then wished you had thrown a Bluetooth speaker into the bag as well? TDM. is betting that carrying both should be unnecessary. Its Neo headphones work like a regular pair of over-ear cans, but twist the headband, and they turn into a portable speaker when the music needs to leave your ears and fill the room.

The concept sounds more like something you would spot at CES than a finished product, but Neo is now on sale in the U.S. for $249. TDM. bills it as the world’s first high-fidelity headphones that transform into a speaker, though that remains the company’s own claim.

Four drivers do the heavy lifting

Inside Neo sits a four-driver layout, which explains how TDM. is getting two very different jobs out of one pair of headphones. Two independently tuned 40mm drivers face inward for regular listening, while another pair faces outward and takes over in speaker mode.

The speaker pair gets five watts of power per side, backed by dual integrated amplifiers. TDM. has essentially avoided asking the same drivers to behave like both headphones and room speakers, which is probably the more sensible way to tackle such a strange design.

A patented mechanism inside the headband handles the transition between the two modes. The twist action can also be customized to change modes, pause playback, or power Neo off. The companion app adds separate EQ controls for headphone and speaker use, along with Game Mode, Find My Device, and power-management settings.

The weight penalty is smaller than you might expect

Putting four drivers and enough battery inside a pair of headphones was always going to add some heft, but Neo weighs under 340 grams. For comparison, Sony’s WH-1000XM6 comes in at roughly 254 grams, while the AirPods Max 2 sits at around 385 grams. So yes, Neo is noticeably heavier than Sony’s flagship cans, but it still comes in below Apple’s pair despite carrying the hardware needed to pull speaker duty as well.

TDM. claims more than 200 hours of playback in headphone mode and over 16 hours as a speaker. Five minutes on a USB-C charger is rated for eight hours of headphone listening. More interestingly, the battery module itself is replaceable, which is still far from common on wireless headphones.

Bluetooth 6 handles wireless connectivity and supports multipoint pairing, while SBC and AAC are the listed codecs. TDM. has also kept a 3.5mm input, so Neo can still be used over a cable when needed. Neo is available in black and white for $249 through TDM.’s website, Amazon, and Walmart in the U.S. A carrying case and 3.5mm cable come in the box, with wider availability planned later.

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