We’ve seen quite a few sets of earphone drop over the past few weeks, but the Philips SHB 7110 are definitely some of the most unique. The Bluetooth headphones have a gestural touch interface to let you adjust the volume of your tunes with a slide of your finger. One huge (and pretty obvious) downside to the phones is they’re connected together with a wire, or course that will probably make them slightly easier to keep track of as well. Pricing and a release date hasn’t been released yet, but we hope the answer is: affordable and soon. [via Dvice]

If the economic downturn has left you with piles of cash you don’t know what to do with- we’ve go the headphones for you. German-based Ultrasone has released a new pair of high-end headphones that have an exterior made of ruthenium metal, gold plated plugs, and interior ear cups covered in Ethiopian sheepskin. All that luxury definitely comes at a price, with the headphones running a whopping $1500 a pair. Not just pretty to look at, the headphones do have some audio qualities making them worthy of the higher price tag. The phones are built on Ultrasone’s new S-Logic Plus technology; each pair has full-bodied surround sound, a 40mm titanium-plated driver, and a frequency range of 6Hz to 42kHz. So they’re worth it, sort of. [via Wired]

When businesses close up shop for the day they traditionally put down their ugly gates and lock up. One store has turned their grate into an advertisement all of its own, by painting it to look like a giant Fender guitar amp. The grate has an input, volume, treble, bass, reverb, lead level, and master knob just like the real thing and even has the Fender logo emblazoned on it. Pretty freaking badass if you ask us. The picture of the store showed up on Flickr, no word on where exactly the store is located- wherever it is we hop they have some pretty good security to keep it from getting damaged. [vai Gizmodo]

In the works since  August, the Cowon L3 has been officially announced. The 7-inch Windows CE 5.0 PMP will certainly sweeten any ride. In addition to the large, sexy screen, the L3 features GPS, 800 x 480 resolution, 128 MB SDRAM, 4 GB of memory, SD slot, fuel consumption indicator and built-in speaker. No pricing or availability information is available yet, but it’s sure nice to look at. [Akihabara News]

Onkyo has released two new pretty cool looking iPod speaker systems. The X-T2CR has a CD player, and the X-T2 plays MDs.  Both of the systems have built-in iPod docks that will allow you to connect any generation iPod to them for playback. The systems also have AM and FFM radio tuners, and A-OMF Cone and 8cm driver units for the speakers. These look to be a little more stylish than your traditional iPod speaker deck, and would work well in a living room as opposed to the dorm room look we typically see.  While we might be a little tired of iPod dock news, this one stands above those we’ve seen in some time. [via AkibaharaNews]

Usually CDs and DVDs don’t mix with your speakers until you hit play. An interesting new home audio design concept out of Poland could change all that. Designers Witek Stefaniak and Anielka Zdanowicz crafted the Soundshelf, a working stereo speaker that doubles as a CD/DVD shelf. Wall and tower shelves provide two useful options.

Simple yet smart, the Soundshelf promises to be a great way to sell the wife on a new stereo system. Rather than big, intrusive speaker boxes, you get a sleek, integrated shelf to organize the living room. Everyone wins (at least in theory, no indication as to how these would actually sound). With the simple, multi-function design element here, perhaps the juvenile Polish quips about solar-powered flashlights can finally be put to rest.  [via designboom]

These E.V.A and Butterfly speakers look cool, but I wouldn’t want to fall on them. The speakers have a woofer that faces the floor and apertures on both sides. The sound reaches you indirectly (rather than being pointed right at you) which is pretty cool, although they’re also a speaker set you’re going to want to keep away from the kiddies. The speakers range in price from a whopping $25,000 to an even more staggering $200,000, so chances are you’re not going to be buying a set anytime soon. What do you think about these? Sure they’re cool- but worth the price? [via Gizmodo]

As if iPod needed a latent endorsement over competitor Zune–watch this thief make away with every valuable on the desk while tossing the Zune back. At least he got an extra pair of earbuds out of it. [Slippery Brick]

Sony’s new XB series headphones  (MDR-XB700/500/300) are designed to produce rich powerful bass “that you can really feel”. Not sure if I need bass pounded relentlessly into my cranium,  but extra sound at the low end is always a coveted feature. The headphones rely on a 50 mm dome driver to deliver tight, clean bass while maintaining clear, accurate mids and highs. Large synthetic leather ear cushions keep the sound exactly where you want it. In a very club-inspired press release, Sony promises that these headphones take you ”straight to the heart of the dance floor”. No word, of yet, as to whether or not you have a choice.  Available in March. [Sony]