Sony's PFR-V1 headset rated "very good" despite impracticability

It was a long time coming, but we finally have a full review of Sony's PFR-V1 "personal field speakers." C|net's intrepid review team took the headphones for a spin and unsurprisingly found them to be "expensive and impractical" and almost entirely lacking in bass. Goofy looks aside, they did move the music from inside your skull to in front of your face as promised. Of course, that little novelty comes with excessive sound leak to the annoyance of those around you. As such, the headphones are limited to at-home or closed-door office use unless you relish the scorn of others. C|net still rewards the $500 oddity with a generous 7 out of 10 (very good) rating despite a long list of qualifications.

Update: Be sure to check C|net's video review.

[Thanks, TI]

[Bobs @ Apr 16th 2008 5:34AM]

... That looks painful.

[devsemail @ Apr 16th 2008 9:49AM]

you want a decent review check out this one from a group of people who are able to read instructions and fit the headphones on properly.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/review/2008/03/24/Sony-PFR-V1-Personal-Field-Speaker-Headphones/p1
And i quote...
It's not too often that I'm genuinely surprised by a product, but that's exactly what happened when I placed the PFR-V1s on my head. Perhaps unfairly, I hadn't expected these headphones to sound anywhere near as good as they do, and even now I'm not quite sure how Sony has managed to create a sound as clear, full and completely immersive as this.

The unconventional design also makes for the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn - even after hours of listening I could hardly tell that the PFR-V1s were on my head. And despite the drivers being positioned a fair way from your ears, the majority of ambient noise disappears without the need for active noise cancelling or ear canal seals.

There's no denying that the Sony PFR-V1s don't come cheap, but that shouldn't put off the target buyer. In fact, I'll be buying a pair of these headphones as soon as I get paid, making the PFR-V1s a true Editor's Choice.

[OneLove @ Apr 16th 2008 11:21AM]

damn, that guy needs an extreme makeover!

[enlashok @ Apr 16th 2008 5:49AM]

its a lower quality akg1000 made 10 years too late nothing to see here

[Gaz @ Apr 16th 2008 11:47AM]

He needs a shave and stop using fake highlights other than that, hes hair is a little bit emo and that automatically makes him hot!

[wakanya @ Apr 21st 2008 11:18AM]

Have you actually listened it? It's not rip off nor lower quality item.

Sony designers admitted the idea itself is in the market more than 20 years. They R&D the idea long time but couldn't make product because they had to make balance between comfortability and sound quality.

As you mentioned, AKG K1000 produces superb sound, but it's heavy and not comfortable to wear. The problem is, to produce good base, speakers need to be big, just like K1000. Of course, die hard audiophiles don't care, but SONY is targeting much wider users and it was not acceptable size and weight.

Things changed recently. They realized new materials and duct design can reduce the speaker size, and carefully located speaker can control reflective sound more precisely.

(you can read designers interview here
http://www.sony.jp/topics/headphone/pfr-v1/index.html
it's Japanese article though)

I have one and I can say it's crystal clear sound and surprisingly comfortable. Some says base is weak. That might be true since most geeks here love canal type inner headphone like Etymotic or Shure, or full cover headset.

But we have to understand they're totally different systems and unfortunately, we can't get everything. Canal headphone tends to exaggerate base and sacrifice accuracy, full cover headphone produce most accurate sounds but generally it's heavy, open ear headphone can't produce as much base as others but can render accurate, speaker like sounds and can be very comfortable.

it's all matter of balance but I think Sony did good job here.

[dvmrp @ Apr 16th 2008 5:51AM]

AKG K1000 mimic

[gibsonorbust @ Apr 16th 2008 5:50AM]

Misleading how they are displayed backwards.

Ill stick with my Sennheiser HD650s.

[enlashok @ Apr 16th 2008 6:00AM]

k-701 for life!

[Gaz @ Apr 16th 2008 11:45AM]

Think I'll stick with my Beyerdynamic DT231s baby!

[supermeerkat @ Apr 16th 2008 6:12AM]

Oh my god! I've fallen asleep and awoken in the FUTURE!

[batteryhq @ Apr 16th 2008 8:35AM]

Haha! Check the video review on that same link. Classic.

[Asterra @ Apr 16th 2008 7:00AM]

What does "not unsurprisingly" mean? Is 6:00am the wrong time to try untangling that?

[versus @ Apr 16th 2008 7:05AM]

I tried these on when I was in the Sony building in Japan.
These are surprisingly comfortable and do sound quite good. I'd probably agree with the lack of bass remark, and the cost one to boot as well. In all though, it is quite comfortable and does provide good sound and a very unique experience.

[AcidFlash @ Apr 16th 2008 9:26AM]

Different take from the Trusted Reviews guys...

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/review/2008/03/24/Sony-PFR-V1-Personal-Field-Speaker-Headphones/p1

[batteryhq @ Apr 16th 2008 9:38AM]

Spam? That's pretty low.

[AcidFlash @ Apr 16th 2008 9:42AM]

It's not spam, it's another review and opinion on this story, only posted because they have quite different opinions...

[MUFC4Life @ Apr 16th 2008 9:54AM]

Actually its not spam, TR did a review of these headphones ages ago (march 24) and gave them an incredible review. It does seem that the genii at Cnet were unable to read the instructions and fit the headphones properly. How can something with a 21mm amplified driver and independent bass tubes give no bass response???

here is a synopsis of their review

It's not too often that I'm genuinely surprised by a product, but that's exactly what happened when I placed the PFR-V1s on my head. Perhaps unfairly, I hadn't expected these headphones to sound anywhere near as good as they do, and even now I'm not quite sure how Sony has managed to create a sound as clear, full and completely immersive as this.

The unconventional design also makes for the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn - even after hours of listening I could hardly tell that the PFR-V1s were on my head. And despite the drivers being positioned a fair way from your ears, the majority of ambient noise disappears without the need for active noise cancelling or ear canal seals.

There's no denying that the Sony PFR-V1s don't come cheap, but that shouldn't put off the target buyer. In fact, I'll be buying a pair of these headphones as soon as I get paid, making the PFR-V1s a true Editor's Choice.

[Nicholas @ Apr 16th 2008 9:32AM]

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/review/2008/03/24/Sony-PFR-V1-Personal-Field-Speaker-Headphones/p1

another view/take on them.

[wout @ Apr 16th 2008 9:49AM]

wow thanks to this article i now know cnet.co.uk exists. that video review is excellent and so much better than cnet.com's nerdy video reviews.

[Joe @ Apr 16th 2008 11:05AM]

You trust C|net?! I can't trust their reviews at all... they're biased many times- for instance, notice that for most Nikon Camera's (including my awesome D40) they rate low and blab about how Canon's are better... ugh. It's kind of hard to believe that crap when every other review out there speaks well of them.

[Yuri @ Apr 16th 2008 5:52PM]

I quite like CNet, they're not really all that biased, if at all biased.

When they review a product, they do still always point out features they like, and features they don't like, and let regular consumers review and display consumer reviews right up with the editor reviews.

[aoi tsuki @ Apr 17th 2008 11:13PM]

It was a little difficult to take the review seriously when the reviewer opens with a reference to tentacle porn.

TENTACLE PORN