Picasso would be proud – Audio Technica SQ5 headphones

Retro is in right now, so taking a pretty literal interpretation of ‘cubism’ to make their link to Picasso’s revolutionary art style, Audio Technica has announced an ‘over ear’ set of portable headphones, designed for customers who want people to do a double-take as they walk by listening to their MP3 players – and not only because they look like cashed-up vagabonds.

Aiming for a trendy style statement, the $149.95 headphones come in a glossy black, red or white finish but there’s good technology under the square-shaped cups too, with Neodymium magnet drivers and a 42mm CCAW voice coil for powerful audio reproduction over a 10Hz-25kHz dynamic range.

Aimed at outdoor users, the over-ear design of the ATH-SQ5 is meant to combat ambient distractions and along with the regular one metre audio cord, there’s a special short cord for ‘top-pocket’ iPod carriers. They even rotate through loads of degrees, to fold away for storage.