Like to listen to music while you exercise? Love that feeling of sweat-coated earphones squidging around in your auditory canals? Sony's betting you don't.

The company has announced its range of Active Series headphones — lightweight, funny-looking contraptions made from silicone rubber that withstands icky perspiration.

There are five styles in the range:

• MDR-AS20J Loop Style (AU$49): Kidney-shaped loops clip onto your ears to ensure each ear bud is held firm. The loops are flexible but non-adjustable, so they won't fit everyone.


• MDR-AS30G Street Style (AU$69): As with Sony's other street headphones, these are equipped with ear pads that sit on the ear and a connecting band that goes behind the head. There's a single, short cord trailing from the left side that's best suited to armband MP3 players.


• MDR-AS40EX Hanging Ear (AU$89): The AS40EX style is your basic ear buds with a twist — included in the pack is a set of "hangers" that can be attached to each bud to provide a stabilising structure around the ear. Moisture guards guide sweat away from the drivers. Ew.


• MDR-AS50G Street Style EX (AU$99): This model shares the behind-the-neck, single cord design of the AS30Gs, but with ear buds instead of ear pads. Silicon bud tips come in three sizes and there's an extension cable to turn the 1.2-metre cable into a 2.4-metre one.


• MDR-AS100W Vertical EX Monitor (AU$199): Haven't seen the likes of these in a while: Sony goes for an old-school look with a pair of ear-bud headphones featuring a band that goes over the head. The jump in price seems due to the addition of a shock absorbing mechanism, which Sony says will prevent the sound of your footsteps from interfering with the strains of Eye Of The Tiger. A hard carrying case should please athletes whose prowess requires them to tour internationally.

MDR-AS50G Street Style EX (left) and MDR-AS20J Loop Style headphones