The wireless headphone market started booming in 2014, and we’ve seen evidence this week at CES that it’s not slowing down. Sony just updated its popular MDR headphone lineup with the the MDR-1ABT, a new wireless model that adds touch sensor control. With the tap or swipe of a finger, users will be able to pause, play, or skip forward and back through music without reaching for their phones or media players.
Sony adds touch control with its newest wireless MDR headphones
Connecting via Bluetooth, Sony's new headphones will use a number of different technologies to maintain a high-resolution sound in the absence of a wired connection. Onboard you'll find a digital audio converter, as well as company's S-Master HX digital amplifier, and Sony's Digital Sound Enhancement Engine. The latter can upscale any audio signal to near high-resolution quality by recreating more subtle high-frequency harmonics lost in heavily compressed files. Echo cancellation and noise suppression will also be standard.
Sony's first wireless MDR model — the MDR-10RBTs — didn't impress us much last month compared to other options on the market, in part because of the lack of features. This time around, it looks like the company is headed in the right direction. The MDR-1ABT headphones will be available later this spring, but right now there's no word on pricing.
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