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Sony unveils h.ear headphones and noise-cancelling Walkman (pictures)

Sony has launched a new range of hi-res portable audio gear at IFA in Berlin including headphones and players. We went hands-on.

Andrew Lanxon
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Andrew Lanxon
Ty Pendlebury
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1 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Sony H.ear headphones and Walkman

BERLIN -- Sony has announced its new H.ear range of "hi-res" portable products which includes in-ear and on-ear headphones in addition to a new Walkman.

The H.ear in, H.ear On and NW20 series Walkman come in bright "fashion" colors in addition to compatibility with higher-than-CD quality audio.

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2 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Sony's H.ear On headphones

Sony's new MDR-100AAP headphone comes in five different colors, which correspond to the H.ear On Walkman.

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3 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Sony's H.ear In headphones

The H.ear In headphones go in your ears. Geddit?

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4 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Walkman NW20

The Walkman NW-A20 series will feature two models -- the 16GB NW25 and the 64GB NW27 -- which feature noise-cancelling compatibility and up to 50 hours playback of 24-bit/192kHz files.

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5 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

NW20 series

Like the headphones, the Walkman comes in five different colors.

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6 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Foldable

The H.ear Ons fold for better portability.

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7 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Hi-res for 200 bucks

The headphones are due in the US in November for $200 and while UK and Australia details are still unannounced, this converts to £130 or AU$285.

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8 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Also available in red

The H.ead On.

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None more black

It also comes in black.

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Sony MDR-EX750NA

The H.ear In MDR-EX750NA headphones offer active noise cancellation in addition to the same five funky colors. Pricing and availability is yet to be announced.

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11 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Funky

The H.ead In comes in green.

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12 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

H.ead On

An IFA attendee checks out the new range.

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13 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

NW20

It comes in red, and still features Sony's proprietary cable.

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It comes in blue too

Don't feel blue, little MP3 player.

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15 of 15 Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Sony Walkman NW-A20

It's not easy being green.

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