This 1988 WM-505 (which may not even have made it to the US) was dug up by retrothing, and comes both with wireless headphone ability and a rechargeable (?) proprietary Sony slim battery. The whole thing is pretty damn small for a Walkman from 1988, and is impressive for both its early wireless-ness, and for the engineering acumen needed to make something so compact. [Retro thing via Crunchgear]

Listening Test: It's music tech week at Gizmodo.

The NOISE BLACKOUT feature on the JABRA HALO STEREO BLUETOOTH HEADSET allows you to vanish

loud patrons

around you, so you can communicate effectively while impressing cleverly. The headset warmly embraces Bluetooth 2.0/A2DP for most excellent music listening, and features touch controls so you can easily express salutations to others or explore the variety of your music library.

The lightweight 3 oz. folding design means you can also take these on the go, so you can easily impress cleverly from anywhere. If you're not clever enough for a wire-free experience, you can use a cord, though maximum impressiveness may decrease.

My proposition to you is for you to give me your bank info, so I can pull $130 dollars from your account, give it to Jabra, and I can deliver to you your very own JABRA HALO STEREO BLUETOOTH HEADSET so you can impress cleverly.

Jabra HALO stereo headset featuring Noise Blackout™ technology (MSRP: $129.99; Available: May 2009)

The Jabra HALO is a wireless Bluetooth stereo headset that allows users to enjoy wireless music and answer phone calls in crystal clear stereo sound. Featuring A2DP technology, the Jabra HALO gives users the ability to seamlessly connect to any Bluetooth music-playing device - and all 3.5 mm music playing devices - including mobile phones, Mp3 players, laptops, and TVs. In addition, ensuring that users won't miss phone calls while listening to music, the HALO fades out music to allow for incoming calls. The HALO features a lightweight (only 3 ounces!) over-the-head design with a foldable headband – small enough to take it wherever you go. The HALO also has the versatility to switch between wireless and wired connectivity if a device doesn't support Bluetooth stereo (A2DP) technology. The device also features Zirene® Power Bass for audio enhancement.

Apparently Sony realizes this, so they're working on a technology to send music signals directly through your body. Because the signal is sent through a tinny electrostatic charge, they can only fit 48 kbps into the transmission without it becoming a painful experience. Somehow I think that some audiophiles would love to brag about being able to withstand the pain of transmission to get hott 320 kbps quality listening, but who knows if Sony will be up for marketing to the masochists. –Adam Frucci

Body-wired headphones [New Scientist]

So are they worth your next pay check? Click through for the verdict on these chunky headphones.

For their noise-canceling abilities, the ety8s did a good job. Even when they were turned off, "we could barely hear conversations going on around us." Sound quality was also good and the buds work up to 22 feet away from your iPod. However, unless you have long hair to cover their fuglyness, "you'll have to weigh the fashion faux pas against the sound quality and convenience of no longer finding yourself wrapped up in an earphone cord." It's a shame cause I've personally liked Etymotic's earbuds, but if I'm paying $299 bucks for a pair of cans, the last thing I should have to do is hide them. – Louis Ramirez

Etymotic ety8 [via Laptop Mag]