Ears On Sony’s PFR-V1 Space Headphones

It’s like putting on orthodontal headgear—bewildering and maybe slightly humiliating. The metal probes that stick into your ear for bass are cold and creepy, like I’m being probed. If you lean your head back, they dive deeper into your ear and pick up a serious sensation of weight. And unless you have big hair (like me, ’cause I need a haircut), you probably look like a tool wearing them. But once the ear prongs warmed up, so did I—I prefer the feel to headphones or earbuds, actually.

It’s pretty light as long as you don’t look up. And you don’t feel space age-y. The sound is good, but it’s not isolated, so you can (and do) hear a lot of ambient noise, though if the volume’s up, you can’t really make out what anyone’s saying. Bass didn’t particularly stand out, but it wasn’t lacking. My two big concerns: The sound doesn’t quite justify US$500, and I don’t know how comfortable they would be after a couple hours of continuous wear. I think they’re pretty neat overall though.