I came upon these pair of headphones at a Sony Style shop in Shanghai. While I'm not an audiophile but I do consider myself a tech geek and this pair just grabbed my attention, and reminding me the days of cool Sony gadgets instead of whats now cool Apple gadgets.
On my 1st audition I was blow away by the sound from the PFR-V1. Its not so much how good or other audiophile used words like "clear" or "warm." Its more about how these pair makes you feel like you have real speakers and sound coming "in front" of you instead of how headphone or earbuds that rams the sound "into your skull." I didn't pick them up because I know Sony Style shops are always the most expensive plus I've plenty of headphones to justify an other $399. However I just saw these discontinued and selling for $190!! Thats a real steal considering there is a included headphone amp that you can use with any 3.5mm jack. The amp alone is worth $20+ at least!
The only complain I have is how thin the wires are on these supposed hi performance $399 headphones. Plus they are not made in Japan instead in Malaysia, made in Japan is something you expect form such experimental and hi-end product from Sony.
Like other reviewers pointed the out, these looks very strange and takes a bit of practice to put on. These are not designed to be used outdoors. Because they are big, awkward and needs a external amp to power correctly which Sony has included that runs on 2 AAA battery.
They are not sealed to your ears so they leak quite a bit of sound. But thats the whole point, they are speakers near your ears instead of headphones creating sound in the middle of your skull. Their sound is natural and won't give you disorientation like sealed headphone/earbuds do. They let in ambient sound so you don't feel like losing your balance while wearing them.
In raw sound performance they are great! Base is plenty and the highs are clear!. The best part is it creates a sound stage that is naturally wide and "in front" of you instead of inside your skull. I'm pretty sure there are other more expensive headphones thats lets you hear more details and sealed bass, but none will create the "in front" of you sound stage this creates.
They went out of stock right after I ordered mine... I hope I didn't get the last one!
-----------UPDATE AFTER 2 MONTH OF USE----------------
I have to say I'm still in love with these headphones as they provide an experience of "openness" that my Shure and Ultimate Ears in ear monitors can't provide. After 2 months of use I have to say I've found the external amp that runs on the 2 AAA battery a bit annoying to use. However plugging-in straight into my Macbook Pro plays loud enough but the external amp ands more body and richer bass. Because of the PFR-V1 I've gotten into the headphone hobby and will be shopping for some desktop headphone amp and DAC soon. Again, these are not for portable or travel use, they are for a quite home.
There is a more professional review on headfonia.com!
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