April 23, 2004 (TOKYO) -- Sony Corp will launch a portable MD player and headphones to its Qualia series.

Already, the electronics company has commercialized a projector called the Qualia 004, aimed at home theaters, Super Audio CD (SACD) systems called the Qualia 007, the Qualia 015, a Trinitron CRT monitor, and a super-compact digital camera called the Qualia 016.

The addition of the MD player and the headphones will increase the Qualia series to six products.

The portable MD player to be commercialized is the Qualia 017 (product Q017-MD1).

Sony Marketing (Japan) Inc will sell the product and start accepting orders on April 24, 2004. It will be priced at 189,000 yen (consumption tax included). The material of the body is brass and it is coated by palladium, which is used for coating luxury watches and fountain pens.

Because it requires highly complex processes to make, the monthly output will be just 15 units.

The headphones are called the Qualia 010 (Q010-MDR1). This product features a wide frequency range of 5Hz to 120kHz available for playback. The firm provides a fitting service for customers to match their head size.

The new headphones also are sold by Sony Marketing and orders will be accepted staring July 1, and priced at 262,500 yen (consumption tax included).

Portable MD player 'Qualia 017'

'Qualia 010' headphones

Related stories:
- Sony Unveils 'Qualia' Brand
- Inside Sony: Will the Qualia Project Turn the Tide?

(Mamoru Harada, Staff Editor, Nikkei Electronics)

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