Portable Media, audio, earphones, headphones, home entertainment, pfr-v1, sony, top

Sony PFR-V1 Personal Field Speakers Like Orbiting Audio Headgear

Sony's PFR-V1 personal field speakers actually are headphones. But instead of cupping or inserting the drivers over or in your ears, they dangle down and in front of your ears. You know, like a set of home theater stereo speakers. Except attached to you via a headgear like the one you wore with your braces. (Worst junior high experience ever, next to scoliosis back brace.)

The two speakers are one inch in diameter and die-cast aluminum in build, and the headband is of a light metal. Sony claims the the higher frequencies hit the outer ear, and the bass drills into your dome. $500, in April. These headphones have been in Japan for a little while now, and Wired even has a review of a prototype. (Which didn't go over so well.)

What you will look like wearing this V1:

Speakers Made Personal In a marriage between headphones and speakers, the PFR-V1 personal field speakers are designed to create a listening field around your ears. Music is projected through two 1-inch, die-cast aluminum speakers that are connected with a headband made of light-weight duralumin metal. When you place the band on your head, the speakers appear to float in front of your ears. The silicone rubber fittings on the band position the speakers about a half inch from your outer ear and direct the front of the speakers toward your ear canal. The speakers deliver mid- and high-range audio frequencies in a field of sound aimed toward the outer ear, while the bass frequency sound is delivered directly to the ear canal via the extended bass reflex ducts. By placing the speaker unit outside the ear and delivering the audio from multiple directions, you get the sense that music is being played directly in front of you — similar to the experience of being in a concert hall. The PFR-V1 personal field speakers, powered by two AA batteries, will be available in April for about $500.

3:01 AM on Tue Feb 26 2008
By Brian Lam
6,103 views
19 comments

Comments

TorrentFox at 03:58 AM on 02/26/08
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Oh. My. Jesus. I can't think of a better way to effectively destroy 500 dollars. Is it just me, or are they using the same ridiculously flimsy cable and 1/8" plug (wtf?) as on the cheapest of earbuds?
s0crates82 at 04:30 AM on 02/26/08
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very steampunk looking, but way too friggin expensive.
richard8a at 04:51 AM on 02/26/08
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Umm, wow. When I saw the pic I really thought it was another one of those steampunk sculptures. I didn't think this was an actual ~current consumer product. Wow... WTF, Sony? Couldn't you take the concept/theory and apply it in a more aesthetic way?
pocketcowboy at 06:06 AM on 02/26/08
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awesome! would be great for extended listening too.
Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer at 06:39 AM on 02/26/08
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@richard8a: Exactly!

Soooooo, the upshot of all this technology speak is that if you buy these, everyone on the bus gets to hear your Spice Girl fetish as well?
001 at 07:04 AM on 02/26/08
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@Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer: well, never assume that people won't want to show off their Spice Girl fetishes.
strider_mt2k at 07:11 AM on 02/26/08
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Connectedness Index: 717
Brought to you by Acura TSX

Hey, they're fully endorsed by the phone company and your local amateur radio club!

"I'm getting Swaziland on these things!"
(as spoken through a retainer)
john_nyc at 07:22 AM on 02/26/08
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These are the most awesomest headphones I've ever seen. I especially love how those metal loop things seem to go into the user's ear canal. The only thing that would make them more perfect is if the orb-like parts were painted to look like eyeballs. Then I could pretend to be Admiral Ackbar.

If only I hadn't spent this week's allowance on a set of pewter figurines depicting the performing of the world's first colonoscopy.
zarchitect at 08:42 AM on 02/26/08
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We get enough "sound spray" with the regular buds - now we get to have the full spectrum of 15 simultanous live performances... GREAT!
Snicker at 08:53 AM on 02/26/08
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And hey, when you fall asleep wearing them, they can drill right into your eardrum. What fun!
TerryinSt.Paul at 09:02 AM on 02/26/08
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Im buying them because of the chart. EVERYONE knows that red is better than blue and I can clearly see the arrow point to red.
uberfu at 10:19 AM on 02/26/08
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Next up: Sony releases an actual Transformer!
MrBlahBlah at 11:19 AM on 02/26/08
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i knew some guy in middle school with a back brace. poor guy...
four12 at 11:37 AM on 02/26/08
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I wore a Milwaukee brace in high school. Never been closer to killing myself in my entire life; embarrassing and excruciatingly painful at the same time.
Johnny Chimpo at 02:31 PM on 02/26/08
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If your really want a respectable (and still affordable) pair of cans to go with your shiny new MP3 player, pick up some Grado SR60's. Although they are a big on the fugly side and leak sound like crazy, the sound quality is simply remarkable.
s0crates82 at 02:52 PM on 02/26/08
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I want a pair of copper-clad earphones.

I'd also prefer if they were less than $200. Anyone know of any?
infmom at 02:56 PM on 02/26/08
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Don't tell me. They're going to be released on April 1.
MobileMilitia at 03:23 PM on 02/26/08
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they had these when i was in japan in december and i they are retarded. they don't feel that good, and you get all kinds of outside noise with your music. we were in a noisy store so i don't know how they sound to other people while i'm wearing them.
godal at 03:18 AM on 03/14/08
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I tried them in tokyo yesterday, thought they were great!