Photos: Sony's gadget bonanza

Available in April for around $500, the Sony PFR-V1 headphones are a bizarre-looking solution to an age-old audiophile headphone dilemma: How do you recreate the superior sound stage characteristics of listening to full-size speakers, in a portable product that fits on your head?

The PFR-V1 personal field speakers are a set of 1-inch, die-cast aluminum speakers that are draped over your head and placed near your temples, about a half-inch in front of your ears. While the speakers take care of mid and high frequencies, low frequencies are driven directly into the ear canal through extended bass reflex tubes. A small, AA-battery powered headphone amplifier powers the whole thing for about 200 hours.